Experimental Study on Failure Process and Hydrological Response of Granite Residual Soil Slope with Different Fissure Positions in Southern China

Abstract

Granite residual soil slope is often destroyed, which poses great threats to Rong County in southeastern Guangxi, China. Heavy rainfall and fissures are the major triggering and internal factors. The fissure that controls the slope stability and the associated failure mechanisms remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to identify the controlling fissures through field investigation, elucidate the effect of its position, and analyze the failure process and hydrological response of residual soil slope through artificial flume model tests. The results comprised five aspects. (1) Surface weathering and unloading fissures could affect slope stability. (2) The failure processes with different fissure positions exhibited inconsistent characteristics. (3) The volume moisture content (VMC) had the most direct response at the fissure tip. The corresponding infiltration rate was the highest. The response time of pore water pressure (PWP) was longer than that of VMC. Fluctuations in PWP were associated with VMC and changes in the soil microstructure due to local deformation. (4) Slope failure was accompanied by serious soil erosion. This could be attributed to the infiltration direction and the interaction between soil and water. (5) Fissured soil slopes experienced five similar failure processes: sheet erosion and partial failure of the slope foot, occurrence of preferential flow and enlargement of the sliding area, creep deformation and tension fissure emergence, block sliding and gully erosion, and flow-slip.

Keywords

failure process / fissure position / granite residual soil slope / hydrological response / rainfall / engineering geology

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China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, Part of Springer Nature