Temporary Confined Water-Induced Landslide in the Binary Structure of a Gentle Slope: A Case Study of the Fanshantou Landslide

With the increase in rainfall, landslides occur on many gentle slopes in the mountainous areas of southeast China. Gentle slopes have a particular dual geological structure, i.e., the lower part is a gravel soil layer with good water permeability, and the surface layer is clay soil with relatively p...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lei Wang, Yuequan Shang, Jun Zheng, Yingqiu Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-02-01
Series:Water
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/5/596
Description
Summary:With the increase in rainfall, landslides occur on many gentle slopes in the mountainous areas of southeast China. Gentle slopes have a particular dual geological structure, i.e., the lower part is a gravel soil layer with good water permeability, and the surface layer is clay soil with relatively poor water permeability. Under conditions of heavy rainfall, a gentle slope with this structure is likely to collect temporary confined water. The intermittent creep of the upper slope is caused by the floating force of the temporary confined water, which causes landslide disasters. The conditions that bring about temporary confined water are related not only to the stratum structure, but also to the rainfall intensity and the initial height of the water table level. On the basis of the characteristics of the stratum of the gentle slope landslide on the front of Fanshantou Mountain, we constructed a hydrological model in GEO-STUDIO. We investigated the effect of different rainfall intensities and initial water table levels on confined water under continuous rainfall conditions and conducted a corresponding stability analysis. The results show that when both the initial water table level and the rainfall intensity are high, temporary confined water is formed rapidly, increasing the chance of a landslide disaster. The research results provide a theoretical basis for the treatment of landslides on similar gentle slopes in the mountainous areas of southeast China.
ISSN:2073-4441