Rainfall-induced landslides by deficit field matric suction in unsaturated soil slopes

Landslides are mainly triggered by decrease in the matric suction with deepening the wetting band by rainfall infiltrations. This paper reports rainfall-induced landslides in partially saturated soil slopes through a field study. A comprehensive analysis on Umyeonsan (Mt.) landslides in 2011 was highlighted. The incident involves the collapse of unsaturated soil slopes under extreme-rainfall event. Fundamental studies on the mechanism and the cause of landslides were carried out. A number of technical findings are of interest, including the failure mechanism of a depth of soil and effect of groundwater flow, the downward movement of wetting band and the increase of groundwater level. Based on this, an integrated analysis methodology for a rainfall-induced landslide is proposed in this paper that incorporates the field matric suction for obtaining hydraulic parameters of unsaturated soil. The field matric suction is shown to govern the rate of change in the water infiltration for the landslide analysis with respect to an antecedent rainfall. Special attention was given to a one-dimensional infiltration model to determine the wetting band depth in the absence of the field matric suction. The results indicate that landslide activities were primarily dependent on rainfall infiltration, soil properties, slope geometries, vegetation, and groundwater table positions. The proposed methodology has clearly demonstrated both shallow and deep-seated landslides and shows good agreement with the results of landslide investigations.     

三峡库区黄土坡滑坡非饱和水力参数研究

非饱和水力参数在计算滑坡降雨入渗过程与稳定性时是至关重要的材料参数。在三峡库区黄土坡滑坡上进行双环渗透试验,获取黄土坡滑坡表土层的饱和渗透系数。对黄土坡滑坡表土层的含水率和基质吸力进行实时监测,采集了黄土坡滑坡表土层中含水率和基质吸力随时间的变化数据,采用van Genuchten土-水特征曲线模型拟合了4个实时监测剖面的土-水特征曲线及其拟合参数。将饱和渗透系数与土-水特征曲线拟合参数代入van Genuchten渗透系数函数模型,求出了黄土坡滑坡表土层在非饱和条件下的渗透系数函数,为黄土坡滑坡在降雨作用下的稳定性计算提供了可靠的水力参数     

降雨作用下欢喜坡冰水堆积体角砾土强度特性

为探究降雨作用下欢喜坡冰水堆积体角砾土的强度变化规律,进行了天然和4种不同降雨历时条件下的角砾土现场剪切试验,并结合土水特征曲线探讨了该类特殊土体的非饱和强度特性。降雨作用对欢喜坡冰水堆积体角砾土的抗剪强度有着显著的影响,其近似饱和时的黏聚力和内摩擦角比天然含水率情况分别降低64.3%和22.5%;降雨入渗使角砾土基质吸力迅速降低,因此在短时强降雨条件下会导致角砾土抗剪强度丧失过大,容易诱发浅层土体滑坡;建立了欢喜坡冰水堆积体角砾土非饱和黏聚力与含水率参数χ(w)的关系式,实际应用时可采用多项式函数来确定χ(w)。     

Effects of degree of saturation on shallow landslides triggered by rainfall

The empirical rainfall threshold concept and the physical-based model are two commonly used approaches for the assessment of shallow landslides triggered by rainfall. To investigate in detail the rainfall-triggered shallow landslides, many physical-based models coupling the infinite slope stability analysis with the rainfall infiltration modeling in variably saturated soil were developed. However, in those physical-based shallow landslide models, the unit weight and the unsaturated shear strength were assumed constant rather than depending on the degree of saturation. In this study, the effects of the unit weight and the unsaturated shear strength as function of degree of saturation on rainfall-triggered shallow landslides are examined. Several designed scenarios and a real case scenario are used to conduct the examinations. The results show that not only the occurrence of shallow landslides but also the failure depth and the time to failure could be misassessed if the influences of degree of saturation on the unit weight and the unsaturated shear strength are neglected.     

滑坡防治前后滑带土基质吸力特征研究

降雨使坡内地下水位上升,坡体的基质吸力和暂态孔隙水压力会随着降雨过程和时间呈现不同的变化趋势。采用抗滑桩、挡墙等工程防治后,针对滑坡体滑带土的性质变化以及抗滑结构的设置是否会影响到滑坡体的自然排水通道,导致坡体地下水位的抬升,从而影响滑坡防治效果等问题进行了研究。以鹰厦线K290滑坡为主线,通过开展滑坡饱和-非饱和渗流模型试验与数值分析,探讨了降雨入渗及地下水位变化下滑坡体及滑带土体积含水率与基质吸力的变化规律,以及其对滑坡防治前后坡体渗流场的影响。在此基础上,探讨了滑带土基质吸力对抗剪强度的贡献。研究表明：防治前后滑坡体及滑带土基质吸力受降雨强度等条件影响明显,不同深度处滑带土基质吸力变化呈现不同的变化规律,在土质滑坡的防治中应考虑抗滑桩的布置对滑带土性质的影响。     

A distributed hydrological–geotechnical model using satellite-derived rainfall estimates for shallow landslide prediction system at a catchment scale

This paper describes the potential applicability of a hydrological–geotechnical modeling system using satellite-based rainfall estimates for a shallow landslide prediction system. The physically based distributed model has been developed by integrating a grid-based distributed kinematic wave rainfall-runoff model with an infinite slope stability approach. The model was forced by the satellite-based near real-time half-hourly CMORPH global rainfall product prepared by NOAA-CPC. The method combines the following two model outputs necessary for identifying where and when shallow landslides may potentially occur in the catchment: (1) the time-invariant spatial distribution of areas susceptible to slope instability map, for which the river catchment is divided into stability classes according to the critical relative soil saturation; this output is designed to portray the effect of quasi-static land surface variables and soil strength properties on slope instability and (2) a produced map linked with spatiotemporally varying hydrologic properties to provide a time-varying estimate of susceptibility to slope movement in response to rainfall. The proposed hydrological model predicts the dynamic of soil saturation in each grid element. The stored water in each grid element is then used for updating the relative soil saturation and analyzing the slope stability. A grid of slope is defined to be unstable when the relative soil saturation becomes higher than the critical level and is the basis for issuing a shallow landslide warning. The method was applied to past landslides in the upper Citarum River catchment (2,310 km²), Indonesia; the resulting time-invariant landslide susceptibility map shows good agreement with the spatial patterns of documented historical landslides (1985–2008). Application of the model to two recent shallow landslides shows that the model can successfully predict the effect of rainfall movement and intensity on the spatiotemporal dynamic of hydrological variables that trigger shallow landslides. Several hours before the landslides, the model predicted unstable conditions in some grids over and near the grids at which the actual shallow landslides occurred. Overall, the results demonstrate the potential applicability of the modeling system for shallow landslide disaster predictions and warnings.     

东南沿海残积土地区降雨诱发型滑坡预报雨强-历时曲线的影响因素分析

东南沿海山地丘陵地区每年雨季期间有大量土质滑坡发生,如何对由降雨诱发的滑坡进行预报一直都是一个热点研究课题,雨强-历时曲线（简称I-D曲线）是目前国内外常用的降雨型滑坡预报的降雨量临界值曲线。针对东南沿海地区的浅层残积土滑坡,根据相关勘察数据及资料,概化得到了该类型边坡的地质剖面及岩土层性质,然后应用Geo-Studio软件分析了边坡初始湿润条件、土体抗剪强度、饱和渗透系数、边坡坡角、残坡积土层厚度及雨型等参数对I-D曲线的影响规律。分析结果表明：残坡积土抗剪强度参数、饱和渗透系数、边坡坡角、雨型等因素对I-D曲线的影响显著,边坡安全系数降至临界值所需降雨历时随抗剪强度参数值降低、表层残积土渗透系数增加或坡角增大而减少;当雨强较小时,初始湿润条件对I-D曲线的影响显著;当雨强大于残坡积土层饱和渗透系数时,入渗量主要由渗透系数控制,边坡安全系数降至临界值所需降雨历时不随雨强增大而变化。该研究结果为I-D曲线在东南沿海残积土地区降雨诱发滑坡预警预报中的应用奠定了基础。     

Transient modeling of regional rainfall-triggered shallow landslides

This study investigates the transient modeling of regional rainfall-triggered shallow landslides in unsaturated soil using the Richards equation. To model shallow landslides within a distributed regional-scale framework, infinite slope stability analysis coupled with the hydrological model with consideration of the fluctuation of time-dependent pore water pressure and the soil–water characteristic curve proposed by van Genuchten was developed. The validity of the proposed model is established through several test problems by comparing the numerical results with the analytical solutions. A new procedure to set up wide-range shallow landslide analysis and to integrate regional distribution variations for input data such as geology, groundwater level, hydrogeological characteristics, and rainfall intensity and duration was presented. The results obtained demonstrate that the computed distribution of the safety factor is consistent with the distribution of actual landslides. In addition, the fluctuation of pore water pressure in unsaturated soil dominates the stability of landslides during typhoons accompanied by heavy rainfall. The findings observed in this study are a fundamental contribution to environmental effects for landslides in areas with higher occurrence and vulnerability to extreme precipitation.     

湘西陈溪峪滑坡变形机理及稳定性评价

浅层滑坡在我国广泛分布,但在区域范围内分布规律性较差,且具有突发性、隐蔽性和破坏性强等特点。湘西武陵山区地质条件复杂、降雨丰沛、人类工程活动强烈,突发性地质灾害频发,尤以降雨诱发的浅层滑坡为主。文章以湘西地区慈利县陈溪峪滑坡为例,开展了降雨量、基质吸力、地下水位和地表变形等的监测;结合滑坡的现场调查及监测成果,分析滑坡的形成条件和变形机理;在此基础上,考虑基质吸力对边坡稳定性的贡献,将强度折减有限元法推广到非饱和土边坡,计算得到了不同降雨工况下滑坡稳定性。结果表明:当强降雨降落到滑坡体上时,坡内基质吸力值均迅速减小,直至一定值后（9.5 kPa左右）不再变化;坡内地下水位受季节性降雨影响显著,短时强降雨引起地下水变化幅度不如长时间降雨对地下水位造成的影响大;陈溪峪滑坡的地质力学成因为蠕滑推移式土质滑坡,运动形式为沿基覆界面的浅层滑坡;短时强降雨是诱发滑坡变形的最关键因素。陈溪峪滑坡在持续降雨条件下的降雨量预警值约为280 mm,在短时强降雨条件下的降雨强度预警值约为240 mm/d。     

Correlation of unsaturated soil and dielectric property for monitoring of subsurface characteristics: development of unsaturated dielectric mixing models and its application

The behavior due to rainfall infiltrating the ground plays a role in landslides, groundwater recharge and various other ground responses. Most of these geotechnical behaviors have a correlation between soil pore space and soil volumetric water content in the unsaturated and saturated soil porous media. Therefore, the soil porosity associated with soil pores and the distribution of volumetric water content are significantly important hydrological characteristics. In the case of shallow slope failure such as landslide, the infiltration activity due to the connectivity of soil pore spaces in a porous media is induced. Slope failure may be attributed to the effect of a wetting front with the slope due to liquid infiltration, which changes the volumetric water content, soil matric suction and shear strength of the slope. This study was performed with an unsaturated injection test using a frequency domain reflectometry (FDR) dielectric device which measures the dielectric constant of unsaturated soil and the study then proposed the unsaturated dielectric mixing models to calculate soil porosity and effective porosity of unsaturated soils. From the experimental results the ratio of effective porosity to porosity of soils are measured in a range of 70–85%. These experimental results show a decrease of about 5–10% for unsaturated soil compared to the ratio of effective porosity to porosity of saturated soil. The infiltration passages of tracer material are restricted within the pore connectivity in the unsaturated soil which is caused by dead-pores in the soil. Using the FDR device and the unsaturated dielectric mixing models, we can consider the acquisition of physical properties to detect the infiltration activity, the response of the dielectric constant along with the injected tracer and hydrological parameters for the unsaturated soil porous media.     

三峡库区黄土坡滑坡降雨入渗模型研究

传统的入渗模型未考虑坡角和降雨强度对滑坡入渗过程的影响,为了更好地描述黄土坡滑坡降雨入渗过程,在Green- Ampt入渗模型的基础上推导了考虑坡体倾角和小降雨强度影响的降雨入渗模型。为了获取改进的入渗模型参数,在黄土坡滑坡1#崩滑体上进行了双环渗透试验与降雨、土的含水率和基质吸力现场监测。结果表明,黄土坡滑坡1#崩滑体饱和渗透系数为4.81×10-5 m/s;降雨时体积含水率增加,降雨停止后体积含水率降低,深部表现出一定的滞后特性;基质吸力变化趋势与体积含水率相反,降雨使其减小,降雨停止后逐渐增大。通过双环渗透试验与现场监测,获取了黄土坡滑坡降雨入渗模型参数值。将入渗模型计算值与现场监测数据进行对比,该模型计算值与现场监测数据吻合,说明该降雨入渗模型可用于黄土坡滑坡降雨入渗分析。     

滑坡对降雨响应的多指标监测及综合预警探析:以赣南罗坳滑坡为例

降雨量和位移是当前降雨型滑坡监测预警最常用的指标。然而,降雨量和位移监测结果只能反映降雨作用下滑坡的变形情况,不能揭示滑坡内在物理力学性状对降雨的响应。因此,除降雨量和位移监测之外,建立包括体积含水率、基质吸力等反映滑坡动态演化过程的关键指标监测体系必将成为今后更真实地把握滑坡内在演化趋势、更准确地建立滑坡综合预警判据的最有效手段。笔者对赣南地区典型降雨型滑坡进行了多指标监测及综合预警示范研究。结果表明:(1)在降雨条件下滑坡土体内部体积含水率、基质吸力和温度等多指标均产生有规律的动态响应;(2)随着降雨的持续,滑体体积含水率与基质吸力的变化均具有显著的滞后现象;(3)体积含水率和基质吸力变化速率与滑体位移具有显著的正相关性;(4)滑体温度分布变化规律受大气温度和体积含水率的共同影响。以实测数据的滑坡稳定性分析为基准,在考虑实际降雨入渗深度与滑坡稳定性的关联度上,建立了包括日降雨量、体积含水率增加速率、基质吸力减小速率以及位移速度多元指标预警方法体系,提出了基于关键指标综合预警体系及确定方法,旨在为降雨滑坡准确预警提供新模式。     

The role of infiltration processes in steep slope stability of pyroclastic granular soils: laboratory and numerical investigation

Rainfall-induced landslides on steep slopes are a common feature in much of Italy’s mountain areas covered by shallow-pyroclastic deposits. Generally, these deposits are unsaturated and have a slope angle higher than 40°–50°; hence their stability is due to the positive effect of matric suction on soil shear strength. During rainfall, rainwater infiltration causes a decrease in suction, which in turn causes changes in soil mechanical and hydraulic properties, leading towards an instability process. However, the response of pyroclastic soil slopes to rainwater infiltration is not fully understood. The aim of this study is to link slope instability to the infiltration process on the basis of advanced geotechnical characterization, in situ monitoring and numerical analysis calibrated through a back-analysis of well-instrumented flume tests.     

Examination of influences of rainfall patterns on shallow landslides due to dissipation of matric suction

The influences of rainfall patterns on shallow landslides due to the dissipation of matric suction are examined in this study. Four representative rainfall patterns including the uniform, advanced, intermediated, and delayed rainfalls are adopted. The results show that not only the occurrence of shallow landslides but also the failure depth and the time of failure are affected by the rainfall pattern. The different rainfall patterns seem to have the same minimum landslide-triggering rainfall amount. There is a rainfall duration threshold for landslide occurrence for a rainfall event with larger than the minimum landslide-triggering rainfall amount. For each rainfall pattern, the rainfall duration threshold for landslide occurrence decreases to constant with the increase of rainfall amount. The uniform rainfall has the least rainfall duration threshold for landslide occurrence, followed by the advanced rainfall, and then the intermediated rainfall. For each rainfall pattern, the failure depths and the times of failure from the same amount of rainfall with different durations could be largely different. In addition, the differences of the failure depths and the times of failure between various rainfall patterns with the same amount and duration of rainfall could be also significant. The failure depth and the time of failure, as compared with the occurrence of shallow landslides, are more sensitive to the rainfall condition. In other words, in comparison with the evaluation of the occurrence of shallow landslides, it needs more accurate rainfall prediction to achieve reliable estimations of the failure depth and the time of failure.     

Prototyping an experimental early warning system for rainfall-induced landslides in Indonesia using satellite remote sensing and geospatial datasets

An early warning system has been developed to predict rainfall-induced shallow landslides over Java Island, Indonesia. The prototyped early warning system integrates three major components: (1) a susceptibility mapping and hotspot identification component based on a land surface geospatial database (topographical information, maps of soil properties, and local landslide inventory, etc.); (2) a satellite-based precipitation monitoring system () and a precipitation forecasting model (i.e., Weather Research Forecast); and (3) a physically based, rainfall-induced landslide prediction model SLIDE. The system utilizes the modified physical model to calculate a factor of safety that accounts for the contribution of rainfall infiltration and partial saturation to the shear strength of the soil in topographically complex terrains. In use, the land-surface “where” information will be integrated with the “when” rainfall triggers by the landslide prediction model to predict potential slope failures as a function of time and location. In this system, geomorphologic data are primarily based on 30-m Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) data, digital elevation model (DEM), and 1-km soil maps. Precipitation forcing comes from both satellite-based, real-time National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), and Weather Research Forecasting (WRF) model forecasts. The system’s prediction performance has been evaluated using a local landslide inventory, and results show that the system successfully predicted landslides in correspondence to the time of occurrence of the real landslide events. Integration of spatially distributed remote sensing precipitation products and in-situ datasets in this prototype system enables us to further develop a regional, early warning tool in the future for predicting rainfall-induced landslides in Indonesia.     

Influence of matric suction on shear strength behavior of a residual clayey soil

In this paper, the shear strength with respect to the matric suction of unsaturated soils was studied. For this purpose, unsaturated triaxial testing procedures were applied to the undisturbed residual soil specimens. An apparatus for performing triaxial tests was designed and constructed. In the tests, matric suction was controlled by using the axis translation technique, and pore water volume changes were measured by means of a volume change transducer with 10⁻⁸ m³ sensitivity. The test results indicated that the matric suction contributes to the shear strength of unsaturated soil specimens, and this contribution called suction strength varies non-linearly with respect to the matric suction. The logarithmic model needing to know the air-entry value and the internal friction angle of a soil specimen for prediction of the suction strength were presented and compared with the test results. It was found that suction strength values predicted from the proposed model were in satisfactory agreement with the experimental results.     

Modelling of unsaturated ground behaviour influenced by vegetation transpiration

Vegetation contributes to weak soil stabilisation through reinforcement of the soil, dissipation of excess pore pressure and increasing the shear strength by induced matric suction. This paper describes the way vegetation influences soil matric suction, shrinkage and ground settlement in the vadose zone through transpiration. A mathematical model for the rate of root water uptake, including the root growth rate considering ground conditions, type of vegetation and climatic parameters, has been developed. A finite element approach is employed to solve the transient coupled flow-deformation equations. The finite element mesh is built using partially saturated soil elements capable of representing the salient aspects of unsaturated permeability and the soil water characteristic curve. The model formulation is based on the effective stress theory of unsaturated soils. Based on this proposed model, the distribution of the ground matric suction profile adjacent to the tree is numerically analysed. Current field measurements of soil matric suction and moisture content collected from Miram site located in Victoria State, Australia by the authors are compared with the numerical predictions. The results indicate that the proposed root water uptake model incorporated in the numerical analysis can be used for prediction of ground properties influenced by tree roots.     

土坡失稳的有效降雨量研究

降雨易引起花岗岩残积土边坡失稳。在分析降雨对边坡土体含水率影响的基础上,通过饱和度和含水率的关系推求出土体从非饱和过渡到饱和的有效降雨量。结果表明：对土质边坡,并非所有的降雨都会引起边坡的失稳,降雨入渗使边坡土体从非饱和向饱和状态发展,当边坡土体饱和度达到一定程度的时候易产生边坡失稳;土坡存在饱和区和非饱和区的临界深度,降雨对边坡的影响即为使得该深度以上的土体从非饱和过渡到饱和的过程,须采取不同的抗剪强度来计算处于临界深度上下两部分土体的稳定状态。研究结果对确定土坡失稳的降雨量阀值、进一步认识滑坡失稳机制,对滑坡的预测预报具有理论及实际意义。     

考虑非饱和土基质吸力的丁家坡滑坡变形机制及稳定性评价

丁家坡滑坡位于云阳县黄石镇中湾村,对拟建的云阳—开州（云开）高速公路安全具有潜在的威胁。为了查明丁家坡滑坡特征,开展了野外工程地质测绘、钻探与试验测试,采用Geo-studio完全耦合计算模式分析了不同降雨工况下滑坡渗流场、应力场、位移场的变化,考察了基质吸力在滑坡稳定性评价中的作用,并计算了不同降雨历时、降雨强度下滑坡的稳定性系数。结果表明:（1）丁家坡滑坡的斜坡地形、松散的岩性、潜在的临空面等因素决定了滑坡的形成与发育,坡体渗透性较好,降雨作用激励滑坡的变形,目前该滑坡处于蠕滑阶段;（2）降雨入渗后,坡体孔隙水压力增加,基质吸力减小,有效应力和抗剪强度降低,在土-岩界面形成剪应力集中,产生应变和位移,滑坡变形破坏;（3）高强度短历时的降雨使坡体浅层迅速饱和,易形成浅层滑,低强度长历时的降雨使坡体浸润较深,易造成深部滑动,其潜在滑动面主要为土-岩界面;（4）在非饱和状态下土体基质吸力对滑坡的稳定性具有重要影响;（5）目前滑坡处于基本稳定状态,一旦发生降雨,滑坡稳定性将降低,降雨历时越久、降雨强度越大,滑坡越易失稳。相对于滑坡Ⅱ区,滑坡Ⅰ区对云开高速公路安全的影响更大,应该重点对滑坡Ⅰ区进行防护治理。该研究可为工程设计、施工及滑坡的预警预报提供依据。     

原状非饱和黄土的三轴试验研究

利用特制的非饱和土三轴仪器,对不同含水量条件下原状非饱和黄土的强度和土-水特征曲线进行了试验研究。试验结果表明：非饱和黄土的抗剪强度随着含水量的不同而不同,含水量越大,非饱和黄土的基质吸力就越小,抗剪强度亦越小。含水量趋于饱和时,非饱和黄土的抗剪强度值逐渐接近于饱和黄土的强度值。原状非饱和黄土的抗剪强度均高于饱和黄土的抗剪强度。非饱和黄土的内摩擦角受含水量的影响不大。凝聚力受含水量的影响很大,含水率越大,基质吸力越小,总凝聚力越小。根据实验结果,提出了非饱和土的抗剪强度模型,该模型易于确定,与实测基本吻合,误差较小,满足非饱和黄土的强度计算要求。