Analysis of the bedding landslide due to the presence of the weak intercalated layer in the limestone

Analysis and research results show that the sliding plane of Jiudingshan landslide is along the weak intercalated layer (clay-filled) in the limestone and the sliding block is separated by the tension crack on the slope crest. The earlier study results show that for the rough, ups and downs structural plane, when i is greater than 2.0, the shear strength of the structural surface is intensely close to the strength of the filling. By the earlier theory, this failure must be through the clay filling. In this study, the failure is back-analyzed and the shear strength of the infilling is tested by the laboratory direct shear tests for which samples were retrieved in the field. The failure cannot be explained by the laboratory results of shear strength parameters. To simulate the field conditions, the real strength parameters of sliding surface are measured by the in situ shear tests for the weak intercalated layer. By the in situ tests, it is shown that the failure initiates along the contacts between the clay infilling and the limestone boundaries, but not through the clay itself. Though the contact surface is the interface of the clay–limestone, the cohesion is not 0 and it is not negligible too.