Geology hazards of the deposit slopes show seriously endanger human life, property safety, and the construction of basic facilities. Researchers have suggested that the complex mechanical characteristics of the soil-rock mixture inside the slope are attributed to the obscure failure mechanism of the landslide.Soil-rock mixture (SRM), which is a typical multi-phase geotechnical medium system as the major component of the deposit slope, shows the heterogeneity, discontinuity, and scale effect.
Prof. Qian Sheng, Dr. Xiaodong Fu and Dr. Zhenping Zhang from the Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics of the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS) proposed an equivalent mechanical strength model for the soil-rock-mixture (SRM) with a rock mass skeleton structure based on the generalized Hoek-Brown criterion. The quantitative expression methods of the parameters in the equivalent mechanical strength model were given utilizing several test data of the SRM mechanical tests in previous literature. The determination methods of mechanical parameters of the deposit slope were proposed, and the failure mechanisms of the deposit landslides considering parameter deteriorations subjected to rainfall were revealed.
These findings are helpful to further understand the complex mechanical properties of the SRM and could provide a simple approach to estimate the strength parameters of the SRM. The results could provide the reference for the stability and safety assessment of the deposit slope under rainfall.
The results have been published in Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment, Internation Journal of Geomechanics (ASCE) and other mainstream journals.
The results were supported by the Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS (No. 2021325), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51779250; No. U1402231) and the International Partnership Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. 131551KYSB20180042).
Paper link:
An approach to predicting the shear strength of soil-rock mixture based on rock block proportion
Stability of Cracking Deposit Slope Considering Parameter Deterioration Subjected to Rainfall
Application of Novel High-Tech Methods to Geological Hazard Research
A non-linear strength criterion for soil-rock mixture based on rock block proportions
Figure 1 Schematic image of the relationship between SRM and engineering rock mass
Figure 2 Calculation flow chart of the shear strength of the SRM based on the equivalent mechanical strength model
