Hybrid simulation of the initiation and runout characteristics of a catastrophic debris flow

On 13 August 2010, a catastrophic debris flow with a volume of 1.17 million m³ occurred in Xiaojiagou Ravine near Yingxiu town of Wenchuan county in Sichuan Province, China. The main source material was the landslide deposits retained in the ravine during the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. This paper describes a two-dimensional hybrid numerical method that simulates the entire process of the debris flow from initiation to transportation and finally to deposition. The study area is discretized into a grid of square zones. A two dimensional finite difference method is then applied to simulate the rainfall-runoff and debris flow runout processes. The analysis is divided into three steps; namely, rainfall-runoff simulation, mixing water and solid materials, and debris flow runout simulation. The rainfall-runoff simulation is firstly conducted to obtain the cumulative runoff near the location of main source material and at the outlet of the first branch. The water and solid materials are then mixed to create an inflow hydrograph for the debris flow runout simulation. The occurrence time and volume of the debris flow can be estimated in this step. Finally the runout process of the debris flow is simulated. When the yield stress is high, it controls the deposition zone. When the yield stress is medium or low, both yield stress and viscosity influence the deposition zone. The flow velocity is largely influenced by the viscosity. The estimated yield stress by the equation, τ _y = ρghsin θ, and the estimated viscosity by the equation established by Bisantino et al. (2010) provide good estimates of the area of the debris flow fan and the distribution of deposition depth.     

Characteristics of grain size distribution and the shear strength analysis of Chenjiaba long runout coseismic landslide

Study on the grain size distribution characteristics and the frictional strength behavior of the slide deposits are helpful to disclose the landslide runout process and understand the mechanism of a long runout landslide. We performed grain size distribution analysis on samples collected from Chenjiaba landslide induced by Wenchuan earthquake. The grain size distribution of samples from the landslide sections quantitatively depicts a gradual coarsening upward grading from shear zone to the top section. Then a multistage-multiphase ring shearing approach was used to determine a comparative shear strength behavior of samples from each landslide section. In this method, a sample was sheared continuously for large displacement and fast rate on different normal stress conditions. The multiphase shear mode with a maximum of 105 mm/min rate has allowed observing the qualitative change and patterns of the frictional resistance behaviors of soils under different normal stresses. The results of coefficient of friction values under multiphase shear mode have shown substantial post peak shear weakening behaviors after large shear displacement that can be narrated with long runout processes. The shear strength test results indicate that the shear zone samples have developed higher friction angle values compared to overlying section samples, on the last phase of shear process, which may be very important to understand the braking mechanism of a long runout landslide.     

基于双重注意力机制的滑坡识别方法优化

随着计算机视觉技术的发展,通过卫星图像深度学习进行滑坡识别的研究正在逐步展开。通过引入双重注意力机制,提出了一种基于卷积神经网络的滑坡图像识别优化算法。基于统计的2 200张滑坡图像数据集,探讨了10种网络结构及4种注意力机制对滑坡识别结果的影响,并通过比例为4∶1的训练集和测试集进行滑坡识别,验证了本文方法的有效性。结果表明：ResNet结构相较于其他网络结构表现更为优秀,就该算例而言,ResNet-101结构具有最高的召回率、精确率和F1度量。融入了双重注意力机制的卷积神经网络相较于单个神经网络而言,滑坡识别的精确率更大,且滑坡边界分割结果更接近于真实的滑坡边界,其中,ResNet-101+DAN模型为最优模型。相较之下,单个神经网络无法克服图像噪声的影响,图像分割结果不佳。     

Effect of rainfall on a colluvial landslide in a debris flow valley

A colluvial landslide in a debris flow valley is a typical phenomena and is easily influenced by rainfall. The direct destructiveness of this kind of landslide is small, however, if failure occurs the resulting blocking of the channel may lead to a series of magnified secondary hazards. For this reason it is important to investigate the potential response of this type of landslide to rainfall. In the present paper, the Goulingping landslide, one of the colluvial landslides in the Goulingping valley in the middle of the Bailong River catchment in Gansu Province, China, was chosen for the study. Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT), Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS), together with traditional monitoring methods, were used to monitor changes in water content and the deformation of the landslide caused by rainfall. ERT was used to detect changes in soil water content induced by rainfall. The most significant findings were as follows:(1) the water content in the centralupper part (0~41 m) of the landslide was greater than in the central-front part (41~84 m) and (2) there was a relatively high resistivity zone at depth within the sliding zone. The deformation characteristics at the surface of the landslide were monitored by TLS and the results revealed that rainstorms caused three types of deformation and failure: (1) gully erosion at the slope surface; (2) shallow sliding failure; (3) and slope foot erosion. Subsequent monitoring of continuous changes in pore-water pressure, soil pressure and displacement (using traditional methods) indicated that long duration light rainfall (average 2.22 mm/d) caused the entire landslide to enter a state of creeping deformation at the beginning of the rainy season. Shear-induced dilation occurred for the fast sliding (30.09 mm/d) during the critical failure sub-phase (EF). Pore-water pressure in the sliding zone was affected by rainfall. In addition, the sliding L1 parts of the landslide exerted a discontinuous pressure on the L2 part. Through the monitoring and analysis, we conclude that this kind of landslide may have large deformation at the beginning and the late of the rainy season.     

Formation mechanism of a rainfall triggered complex landslide in southwest China

This case study is about a landslide that occurred after 4 days of heavy rainfall,in the morning of June 29,2012,in Cengong County,Guizhou Province of China,geographical coordinated 108°20′-109°03′E,27°09′-27°32′N,with an estimated volume of 3.3×106 m3.To fully investigate the landslide process and formation mechanism,detailed geotechnical and geophysical investigations were performed including borehole drilling,sampling,and laboratory tests coupled with monitoring of displacement.Also,a combined seepage-slope stability modeling was performed to study the behavior of the landslide.After the heavy rainfall event,the sliding process started in this area.The landslide development can be divided into different parts.The man-made fill area,spatially distributed in the south side of the landslide area with low elevations,slid first along the interface between the slope debris and the strongly weathered bedrock roughly in the EW direction.Consequently,due to severe lateral shear disturbance,the slope in the main sliding zone slid next towards the SW direction,along the sliding surface developed within the strongly weathered calcareous shale formation located at a depth of 25-35 m.This means it was a rainfall triggered deep-seated landslide.Finally,retrogressive failure of a number of upstream blocks occurred,which moved in more than one direction.The initial failure of the man-made fill area was the‘engine’of the whole instability framework.This artificial material with low permeability,piled up in the accumulation area of surface and sub-surface and destroyed the drainage capacity of the groundwater.The numerical modeling results agreed with the analysis results obtained from the laboratory and field investigations.A conceptual model is given to illustrate the formation mechanism and development process of the landslide.     

Experimental investigation on the failure mechanism of a rock landslide controlled by a steep-gentle discontinuity pair

A type of rock landslide is very common in practical engineering, whose stability is mainly controlled by the rock bridge between the steep tensile crack at the crest and the low-inclination weak discontinuities at the toe(namely, ligament is the term for the locking section in the slope). To obtain a deeper understanding into the failure process of this kind of landslide, twenty-four physical slope models containing a steep-gentle discontinuity pair(a steep crack in the upper part and a low-inclination discontinuity in the lower part) were tested by applying vertical loads at the crests. The results indicate that the inclination angle of the ligament(θ) has great influence on the failure and stability of this type of rock slope. With the change of θ, three failure patterns(five subtypes) concerning the tested slopes can be observed, i.e., tensile failure of the ligament(Type 1), tension-shear failure of the ligament(Type 2) and two-stage failure of the main body(Type 3). The failure process of each failure mode presents five stages in terms of crack development, vertical load, horizontal/vertical displacements and strains in the ligaments. The specific range of the ligament angle between different failure patterns is summarized. The discussion on the failure resistances and ductility of different failure patterns, and the guiding significances of the experimental findings to the stability evaluation and the reinforcement were conducted.     

Failure mechanism and stability analysis of the Zhenggang landslide in Yunnan Province of China using 3D particle flow code simulation

Based on the principle of 3D particle flow code, a numerical landslide run-out model is presented to simulate the failure process of the Zhenggang landslide (in southwestern China) under the effect of water after a rainfall. The relationship between the micro-mechanical parameters and the macro-shear strength of the grain material is determined through numerical calibrations. Then the rainfall effect is considered in numerical simulations and rain-induced sliding processes are performed, which help us to discuss the mechanism of deformation and failure of this landslide together with field observations. It shows the Zhenggang landslide would most likely be activated in Zone I and would gain momentum in Zone II. In order to prevent the potential disaster, a tailing dam is advised to be designed about 175 m downstream from the current landslide boundary of Zone II. Verified by field observations, the presented landslide model can reflect the failure mechanism after rainfall. It can also provide a method to predict the potential disaster and draft disaster prevention measures.     

Effects of river flow velocity on the formation of landslide dams

Natural dams are formed when landslides are triggered by heavy rainfall during extreme weather events in the mountainous areas of Taiwan.During landslide debris movement, two processes occur simultaneously: the movement of landslide debris from a slope onto the riverbed and the erosion of the debris under the action of high-velocity river flow. When the rate of landslide deposition in a river channel is higher than the rate of landslide debris erosion by the river flow, the landslide forms a natural dam by blocking the river channel. In this study, the effects of the rates of river flow erosion and landslide deposition(termed the erosive capacity and depositional capacity, respectively) on the formation of natural dams are quantified using a physics-based approach and are tested using a scaled physical model.We define a dimensionless velocity index vde as the ratio between the depositional capacity of landslide debris(vd) and the erosive capacity of water flow(ve).The experimental test results show that a landslidedam forms when landslide debris moves at high velocity into a river channel where the river-flow velocity is low, that is, the dimensionless velocity index vde 54. Landslide debris will not have sufficient depositional capacity to block stream flow when the dimensionless velocity index vde 47. The depositional capacity of a landslide can be determined from the slope angle and the friction of the sliding surface, while the erosive capacity of a dam can be determined using river flow velocity and rainfall conditions. The methodology described in this paper was applied to seven landslide dams that formed in Taiwan on 8 August 2009 during Typhoon Morakot,the Tangjiashan landslide dam case, and the YingxiuWolong highway K24 landslide case. The dimensionless velocity index presented in this paper can be used before a rainstorm event occurs to determine if the formation of a landslide dam is possible.     

Field investigations and numerical modeling of a giant landslide in the region of Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis:Jiaobunong landslide

Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis (EHS) is a tectonically active region that undergoes continuous geomorphic changes.Large landslides are predominant in this region.A ...     

Field experiment of rainfall infiltration on a soil slope and simulations based on a water-air two-phase flow model

Rainfall infiltration on a soil slope is usually an unsaturated seepage process that can be described by a water-air two-phase flow model. The effect of pore air pressure on rainfall infiltration has been widely recognized and validated by means of numerical simulations and laboratory experiments. However, whether a slope can actually seal pore air continues to be debated by researchers. In this study, a water-air two-phase flow model is used to simulate the rainfall infiltration process on a soil slope, and a field experiment is conducted to realistically test the sealing conditions of a slope. According to the numerical simulation, the areas of water and air flow in and out on the slope surface are relatively stable and can be classified as the "inhalation zone" and "overflow zone", respectively. Intermittent rainfall on the soil slope has an amplifying effect on pore air pressure because rainfall intensity is usually at the millimeter level, and it causes pore air pressure to reach the cm level. A field experiment was performed to determine whether a slope can realistically seal pore air and subsequently verify the regularity of rainfall infiltration. Air pressure sensors were buried in the slope to monitor the pore air pressures during the rainfall process. The monitoring results show that the pore air pressure in the slope changed, which indicates that the slope can seal air. Moreover, the amplification effects of intermittent rainfall on pore air pressure were observed for natural rainfall, which agrees well with the numerical simulation results.     

The formation of the Wulipo landslide and the resulting debris flow in Dujiangyan City,China

The Wulipo landslide, triggered by heavy rainfall on July 10, 2013, transformed into debris flow,resulted in the destruction of 12 houses, 44 deaths, and 117 missing. Our systematic investigation has led to the following results and to a new understanding about the formation and evolution process of this hazard. The fundamental factors of the formation of the landslide are a high-steep free surface at the front of the slide mass and the sandstone-mudstone mixed stratum structure of the slope. The inducing factor of the landslide is hydrostatic and hydrodynamic pressure change caused by heavy continuous rainfall. The geological mechanical model of the landslide can be summarized as "instability-translational slide-tension fracture-collapse" and the formation mechanism as "translational landslide induced by heavy rainfall". The total volume of the landslide is 124.6×104 m3, and 16.3% of the sliding mass was dropped down from the cliff and transformed into debris flow during the sliding process, which enlarged 46.7% of the original sliding deposit area. The final accumulation area is found to be 9.2×104 m2. The hazard is a typical example of a disaster chain involving landslide and its induced debris flow. The concealment and disaster chain effect is the main reason for the heavy damage. In future risk assessment, it is suggested to enhance the research onpotential landslide identification for weakly intercalated slopes. By considering the influence of the behaviors of landslide-induced debris flow, the disaster area could be determined more reasonably.     

牵引流化重力流沉积过程与堆积机制:以渤海湾盆地歧口凹陷为例

以具备牵引流特色的重力流沉积体为载体的高效储集体,是陆相湖盆沉积学研究与勘探突破的重要领域.渤海湾盆地歧口凹陷沙一段发育的大规模多期次陆相重力流具有其沉积特征的独特性(面积约940km2,纵向分布厚度约1.1km).依据水动力条件及沉积过程机制,存在层级递进继承型、渐进过渡型、兼并融合型3种牵引流与重力流动力学过程,细分为泥质碎屑流、砂质碎屑流、过渡型同生流、(高密度-低密度悬浮)似涌浪浊流、(高密度-低密度)准稳态浊流5种机制类型,并依据其发育背景识别出了滨海地区中央隆起带上以重力流水道为主导特征的水道型重力流沉积体系和受次洼地貌控制的面流型重力流.本研究细化了沉积动力学过程-堆积机制-沉积相-岩相一体化的关联性,确定了牵引流化重力流发育的关键控制因素.作为极具潜力的优质储层目标,陆相牵引流化重力流沉积体的研究成果在丰富理论体系的同时,对油气勘探新领域的拓展与突破具重要意义,具备生产实践价值,对于其他陆相湖盆油气勘探具有重要的借鉴作用.     

Landslide initiation and runout susceptibility modeling in the context of hill cutting and rapid urbanization: a combined approach of weights of evidence and spatial multi-criteria

Rainfall induced landslides are a common threat to the communities living on dangerous hill-slopes in Chittagong Metropolitan Area, Bangladesh. Extreme population pressure, indiscriminate hill cutting, increased precipitation events due to global warming and associated unplanned urbanization in the hills are exaggerating landslide events. The aim of this article is to prepare a scientifically accurate landslide susceptibility map by combining landslide initiation and runout maps. Land cover, slope, soil permeability, surface geology, precipitation, aspect, and distance to hill cut, road cut, drainage and stream network factor maps were selected by conditional independence test. The locations of 56 landslides were collected by field surveying. A weight of evidence (WoE) method was applied to calculate the positive (presence of landslides) and negative (absence of landslides) factor weights. A combination of analytical hierarchical process (AHP) and fuzzy membership standardization (weighs from 0 to 1) was applied for performing a spatial multi-criteria evaluation. Expert opinion guided the decision rule for AHP. The Flow-R tool that allows modeling landslide runout from the initiation sources was applied. The flow direction was calculated using the modified Holmgren’s algorithm. The AHP landslide initiation and runout susceptibility maps were used to prepare a combined landslide susceptibility map. The relative operating characteristic curve was used for model validation purpose. The accuracy of WoE, AHP, and combined susceptibility map was calculated 96%, 97%, and 98%, respectively.     

Model test of the influence of cyclic water level fluctuations on a landslide

Many landslides in reservoir areas continuously deform under cyclic water level fluctuations due to reservoir operations. In this paper,a landslide model, developed for a typical colluvial landslide in the Three Gorges Reservoir area, is used to study the effect of cyclic water level fluctuations on the landslide. Five cyclic water level fluctuations were implemented in the test, and the fluctuation rate in the last two fluctuations doubled over the first three fluctuations. The pore water pressure and lateral landslide profiles were obtained during the test. A measurement of the landslide soil loss was proposed to quantitatively evaluate the influence of water level fluctuations. The test results show that the first water level rising is most negative to the landslide among the five cycles. The fourth drawdown with a higher drawdown rate caused further large landslide deformation. An increase of the water level drawdown rate is much more unfavorable to the landslide than an increase of the water level rising rate. In addition, the landslide was found to have an adaptive ability to resist subsequent water level fluctuations after undergoing large deformation during a water level fluctuation. The landslide deformation and observations in the field were found to support the test results well.     

Method for determining the position of landslide slip-surface with a typical inclinometric curves

In the actual monitoring of deep hole displacement, the identification of slip surfaces is primarily based on abrupt changes observed in the inclinometric curve. In conventional identification methods, inclinometric curves exhibiting indications of sliding can be categorized into three types: B-type, D-type, and r-type. The position of the slip surface is typically determined by identifying the depth corresponding to the point of maximum displacement mutation. However, this method is sensitive t...     

An easy approach to assess the susceptibility of a landslide by utilizing simple raster overlay methods: A case study on Huangtupo landslide (P.R. China)

Semi qualitative index based methods using rankings and ratings are commonly used in susceptibility estimations over a wide area. However, generalized ranking and ratings are not applicable for one single landslide. This paper gives an easy and transferable approach to a susceptibility assessment of Huangtupo landslide (P.R. China), using raster addition without taking account for ranking and ratings. Slope, aspect, curvature, location and drainage buffer distance raster data sets have been obtained out of open source digital elevation models using ESRI’s ArcGIS. These conditioning factor raster data sets have been translated into raster data sets including simple yes or no criteria, referring to triggering or not. Subsequently they have been added by raster math to acquire a simple raster overlay map. After that this map is compared to initial displacement measurements, obtained by using a ground based synthetic aperture radar device. Acquired data is recalculated to a raster data set using the same spatial extent, to provide the possibility of comparison of the two raster data sets. The results reveal, that 76.35% of all measured movements occur in areas where raster cells include three or more conditioning factors, indicating that easy raster math operations can lead to satisfying results in local scale.     

Characteristics and interpretation of the seismic signal of a field-scale landslide dam failure experiment

Outburst floods caused by breaches of landslide dams may cause serious damages and loss of lives in downstream areas; for this reason the study of the dynamic of the process is of particular interest for hazard and risk assessment. In this paper we report a field-scale landslide dam failure experiment conducted in Nantou County, in the central of Taiwan.The seismic signal generated during the dam failure was monitored using a broadband seismometer and the signal was used to study the dam failure process.We used the short-time Fourier transform(STFT) to obtain the time–frequency characteristics of the signal and analyzed the correlation between the power spectrum density(PSD) of the signal and the water level. The results indicate that the seismic signal generated during the process consisted of three components: a low-frequency band(0–1.5 Hz), an intermediate-frequency band(1.5–10 Hz) and a highfrequency band(10–45 Hz). We obtained the characteristics of each frequency band and the variations of the signal in various stages of the landslide dam failure process. We determined the cause for the signal changes in each frequency band and its relationship with the dam failure process. The PSD sediment flux estimation model was used to interpret the causes of variations in the signal energy before the dam failure and the clockwise hysteresis during the failure. Our results show that the seismic signal reflects the physical characteristics of the landslide dam failure process. The method and equipment used in this study may be used to monitor landslide dams and providing early warnings for dam failures.     

Evaluating effectiveness of frequency ratio,fuzzy logic and logistic regression models in assessing landslide susceptibility: a case from Rudraprayag district,India

Rudraprayag in Garhwal Himalayan division is one of the most vulnerable districts to landslides in India. Heavy rainfall, steep slope and developmental activities are important factors for the occurrence of landslides in the district. Therefore, specific assessment of landslide susceptibility and its accuracy at regional level is essential for disaster management and proper land use planning. The article evaluates effectiveness of frequency ratio, fuzzy logic and logistic regression models for assessing landslide susceptibility in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand state, India. A landslide inventory map was prepared and verified by field data. Fourteen landslide parameters and generated inventory map were utilized to prepare landslide susceptibility maps through frequency ratio, fuzzy logic and logistic regression models. Landslide susceptibility maps generated through these models were classified into very high, high, medium, low and very low categories using natural breaks classification. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve, spatially agreed area approach and seed cell area index (SCAI) method were used to validate the landslide models. Validation results revealed that fuzzy logic model was found to be more effective in assessing landslide susceptibility in the study area. The landslide susceptibility map generated through fuzzy logic model can be best utilized for landslide disaster management and effective land use planning.