Experimental and numerical investigations of a catastrophic long-runout landslide in Zhenxiong,Yunnan, southwestern China

On 11 January 2013, a catastrophic landslide of ～0.2 million m³ due to a prolonged low-intensity rainfall occurred in Zhenxiong, Yunnan, southwestern China. This landslide destroyed the village of Zhaojiagou and killed 46 people in the distal part of its path. The displaced landslide material traveled a horizontal distance of ～800 m with a vertical drop of ～280 m and stopped at 1520 m a.s.l. To examine the possible mechanism and behavior of the landslide from initiation to runout, the shear behavior of soil samples collected from the sliding surface and runout path was examined by means of ring shear tests. The test results show that the shear strength of sample from the sliding surface is less affected by shear rate while the shear rate has a negative effect on the shear strength of runout path material. It is suggested that the source and runout path materials follow the frictional and Voellmy rheology, respectively. Post-failure behavior of the landslide was modeled by using a DAN-W model, and the numerical results show that the selected rheological relationships and parameters based on the results of ring shear tests may provide good performance in modeling the Zhenxiong landslide.     

Numerical runout simulation of debris avalanches in the Faroe Islands, North Atlantic Ocean

The Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic Ocean are susceptible to flow-type landslides in coarse-grained highly organic colluvium. Following several hazardous debris avalanche events, research work has been initiated to quantify landslide risk. A central task in this work is to predict landslide runout behavior. From numerical simulation of four debris avalanches, this study provides a first screening of which rheology and appertaining input parameters best predict runout behavior of debris avalanches in the Faroe Islands. Three rheologies (frictional, Voellmy, and Bingham) are selected and used for individual back analysis of the events in the numerical models BING and DAN3D. A best fit rheology is selected from comparing predicted and observed landslide runout behavior. General back analysis to identify the optimal input parameters for the chosen rheology is performed by cross validation, where each debris avalanche is modeled with input parameters from the three other events. Optimal input parameters are found from the model run producing the most accurate runout length and velocity. The Bingham is selected as the best fit rheology, a result differing from similar studies of coarse-grained landslides. A reason for why particularly the frictional rheology proves unsuitable is its tendency to produce too long runout lengths of the low-weight runout material, a result showing important limitations for using the frictional rheology in DAN3D. Optimal Bingham input parameters are τ _y ?=?980 Pa and μ _b ?=?117 Pa/s. However, future studies performed in 2D models are needed for precise parameterization before results can be used for landslide risk assessment.     

Linking rainfall-induced landslides with predictions of debris flow runout distances

Rapid debris flows are among the most destructive natural hazards in steep mountainous terrains. Prediction of their path and impact hinges on knowledge of initiation location and the size and constitution of the released mass. To better link mass release initiation with debris flow paths and runout lengths, we propose to capitalize on a newly developed model for rainfall-induced landslide initiation (“Catchment-scale Hydro-mechanical Landslide Triggering” CHLT model, von Ruette et al. 2013) and couple it with simple estimates of debris flow runout distances and pathways. Landslide locations and volumes provided by the CHLT model are used as inputs to simulate debris flow runout distances with two empirical- and two physically-based models. The debris flow runout models were calibrated using two landslide inventories in the Swiss Alps obtained following a large rainfall event in 2005. We first fitted and tested the models for the “Prättigau” inventory, where detailed information on runout path was available, and then applied the models to landslides inventoried from a different catchment (“Napf”). The predicted debris flow runout distances (emanating from CHLT simulated landslide positions) were well in the range of observed values for the physically-based approaches. The empirical approaches tend to overestimate runout distances relative to observations. These preliminary results demonstrate the added value of linking shallow landslide triggering models with predictions of debris flow runout pathways for a range of soil states and triggering events, thus providing a more complete hazard assessment picture for debris flow exposure at the catchment scale.     

高速远程滑坡的地貌学与沉积学研究进展

本文总结了当前有关高速远程滑坡远程机制的研究现状,探讨了滑坡地貌学和沉积学对于揭示高速远程滑坡运动学机理的重要意义。通过梳理前人关于高速远程滑坡堆积形态的分类,分析了高速远程滑坡主要的形态学特征、蕴含的运动学信息以及高速远程滑坡的脱落块体、丘体、脊结构、断层等的地貌结构特征,并进一步指出这些地貌结构的形成主要是滑坡体物质不均匀运动的结果,其受地形和内聚力的影响。高速远程滑坡的沉积学特征明显受到岩性、地形和基底等因素的影响,本文对高速远程滑坡的沉积相模式及其运动学意义进行了分析,并对地层不变性与反序结构两个重要堆积特征进行了讨论。最后,指出高速远程滑坡地貌学与沉积学研究当前主要存在的一些问题,建议将大型物理模拟与数值模拟方法相结合,加强对高速远程滑坡地貌微形态和堆积结构的形成机制研究。     

泥石流流变参数敏感性分析

合理的流变参数选取对准确刻画泥石流、高速远程滑坡运动过程和动力行为至关重要。本研究基于三维连续介质动态数值模型,构建Voellmy流变模型,结合方差分析方法,比较了不同流变参数对泥石流运动行为的影响程度。结果表明:动力底摩擦角和湍流系数均会对泥石流与高速远程滑坡的动力特征产生一定的影响,但影响程度各异。较大的动力底摩擦角会产生更大、更快的能量耗散过程,使得运动过程整体滞后;较高的湍流系数增加了流体层之间的动量交换强度,具有较大的与周围界质混合的能力,对周围介质的卷吸作用增大。物源区体积（湍流系数）在一定程度上仅影响泥石流运动速度,对致灾范围和规模影响作用不大。沟道下垫面情况、颗粒物组成、孔隙水压力（底摩擦角）与灾害体流速、移动距离和堆积区体积、面积关系很密切,在很大程度上影响泥石流、滑坡强度,致灾范围和规模。研究成果以期为流变参数选取提供很好的借鉴方法,也为地质灾害防治提供一定的技术参考。     

Simulation of the sliding process of Donghekou landslide triggered by the Wenchuan earthquake using a distinct element method

In the village of Donghekou (in Qingchuan County, Sichuan Province, China), a major landslide was triggered by the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008 with more than 10 × 10⁶ m³ of rock displaced. The kinematic behavior of this landslide is simulated using a 2D discrete element model. The numerical model used in this work is composed of discs bonded together. The initial boundary conditions are applied along the ball–wall contacts by using an initial velocity estimated from the strong motion data. The constraints are mainly issued from the final geometry of the landslide including its capacity to dam the river. The modeling thus indicates that a low friction coefficient (about 0.1) is required to account for the actual landslide characteristics. The runout behaviors are analyzed and some useful conclusions are drawn.     

Characteristics and numerical runout modeling of the heavy rainfall-induced catastrophic landslide–debris flow at Sanxicun,Dujiangyan, China,following the Wenchuan Ms 8.0 earthquake

The 2008 Ms 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake triggered a large number of extensive landslides. It also affected geologic properties of the mountains such that large-scale landslides followed the earthquake, resulting in the formation of a disaster chain. On 10 July 2013, a catastrophic landslide–debris flow suddenly occurred in the Dujiangyan area of Sichuan Province in southeast China. This caused the deaths of 166 people and the burying or damage of 11 buildings along the runout path. The landslide involved the failure of ≈1.47 million m³, and the displaced material from the source area was ≈0.3 million m³. This landslide displayed shear failure at a high level under the effects of a rainstorm, which impacted and scraped an accumulated layer underneath and a heavily weathered rock layer during the release of potential and kinetic energies. The landslide body entrained a large volume of surface residual diluvial soil, and then moved downstream along a gully to produce a debris flow disaster. This was determined to be a typical landslide–debris flow disaster type. The runout of displaced material had a horizontal extent of 1200 m and a vertical extent of 400 m. This was equivalent to the angle of reach (fahrböschung angle) of 19° and covered an area of 0.2 km². The background and motion of the landslide are described in this study. On the basis of the above analysis, dynamic simulation software (DAN3D) and rheological models were used to simulate the runout behavior of the displaced landslide materials in order to provide information for the hazard zonation of similar types of potential landslide–debris flows in southeast China following the Wenchuan earthquake. The simulation results of the Sanxicun landslide revealed that the frictional model had the best performance for the source area, while the Voellmy model was most suitable for the scraping and accumulation areas. The simulations estimated that the motion could last for ≈70 s, with a maximum speed of 47.7 m/s.     

Spatial variability effect of internal friction angle on the post-failure behavior of landslides using a random and non-Newtonian fluid based SPH method

This study proposed a random Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics method for analyzing the post-failure behavior of landslides,which is based on the Karhunen-Loeve(K-L) expansion,the non-Newtonian fluid model,and the OpenMP parallel framework.Then,the applicability of this method was validated by comparing the generated random field with theoretical result and by simulating the post-failure process of an actual landslide.Thereafter,an illustrative landslide example was created and simulated to obtain the spatial variability effect of internal friction angle on the post-failure behavior of landslides under different coefficients of variation(COVs) and correlation lengths(CLs).As a conclusion,the reinforcement with materials of a larger friction angle can reduce the runout distance and impact the force of a landslide.As the increase of COV,the distribution range of influence zones also increases,which indicates that the deviation of influence zones becomes large.In addition,the correlation length in Monte Carlo simulations should not be too small,otherwise the variation range of influence zones will be underestimated.     

Landslide risk assessment and management: an overview

Landslides can result in enormous casualties and huge economic losses in mountainous regions. In order to mitigate landslide hazard effectively, new methodologies are required to develop a better understanding of landslide hazard and to make rational decisions on the allocation of funds for management of landslide risk. Recent advances in risk analysis and risk assessment are beginning to provide systematic and rigorous processes to enhance slope management. In recent years, risk analysis and assessment has become an important tool in addressing uncertainty inherent in landslide hazards.This article reviews recent advances in landslide risk assessment and management, and discusses the applicability of a variety of approaches to assessing landslide risk. Firstly, a framework for landslide risk assessment and management by which landslide risk can be reduced is proposed. This is followed by a critical review of the current state of research on assessing the probability of landsliding, runout behavior, and vulnerability. Effective management strategies for reducing economic and social losses due to landslides are described. Problems in landslide risk assessment and management are also examined.     

海底滑坡中滑水效应的危害

海底滑坡是危害最大的海洋地质灾害之一,可以沿海底斜坡搬运超大体积的沉积物,并作高速运动。滑水是海底滑坡高速和长距离滑动的主要原因,涉及复杂的滑坡体-环境水相互作用。本文采用新型数值方法物质点法对滑水的危害性进行研究,分别对室内试验和真实滑坡案例中滑坡体的运动过程进行了反分析。考虑滑水发生的力学条件,将上部流体拖曳阻力、底部海床阻力和滑水发生时的水垫层阻力共同作用于滑坡体,得到的滑坡体运动距离与试验和观测结果一致。分析了滑坡体在滑水发生后的动力特性,研究表明滑水大幅增强了海底滑坡的运动距离和滑动速度。     

Morphological methods and dynamic modelling in landslide hazard assessment of the Campania Apennine carbonate slope

Landslide risk of the Campanian carbonate slopes covered by pyroclastic deposits is mainly connected with the occurrence of high-velocity debris avalanches and debris flows. Analyses show that flows initiate as small translational slides in the pyroclastics. The failure process is controlled by the interaction of both natural and human-induced factors. Geomorphological settings play a decisive role in locating the source failures. Therefore, the crucial aspects in landslide hazard and risk assessment are: (a) recognise the geomorphological control factors, (b) determine parameters defining landslide intensity (velocity, volume, depth of deposit) and (c) predict landslide runout distance. An approach combining geomorphology and numerical analysis has been adopted in the work reported here. Potential future landslide intensity scenarios are simulated predicting the runout behaviour of potential instabilities by using a dynamic model previously calibrated by back-analysing observed events of similar scale and type. The selected area is a sector of the Avella Mountains having the same geomorphological environment as the 1998 Sarno landslides (Campania, Southern Italy).     

Integrated Landslide Susceptibility Analysis and Hazard Assessment in the Principality of Andorra

In the paper we present the procedure for hazard assessment that has been used to prepare the landslide hazard map of the Principality of Andorra at 1:5,000 scale. The main phases of the hazard assessment are discussed. Susceptibility analysis has involved the location of the potential slope failures, and the estimation of both landslide volume and runout distance. In the susceptible areas, landslide magnitude and frequency has been determined in order to produce the Hazard Zoning Map. Data required for hazard assessment have been introduced into a GIS or derived directly from available Digital Terrain Models. Data handling and treatment with the GIS has allowed the performance of the landslide hazard assessment and mapping in a fast and reproducible way.     

Landslide hazards triggered by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, Sichuan, China

The 2008 Wenchuan earthquake (M _s = 8.0; epicenter located at 31.0° N, 103.4° E), with a focal depth of 19.0 km was triggered by the reactivation of the Longmenshan fault in Wenchuan County, Sichuan Province, China on 12 May 2008. This earthquake directly caused more than 15,000 geohazards in the form of landslides, rockfalls, and debris flows which resulted in about 20,000 deaths. It also caused more than 10,000 potential geohazard sites, especially for rockfalls, reflecting the susceptibility of high and steep slopes in mountainous areas affected by the earthquake. Landslide occurrence on mountain ridges and peaks indicated that seismic shaking was amplified by mountainous topography. Thirty-three of the high-risk landslide lakes with landslide dam heights greater than 10 m were classified into four levels: extremely high risk, high risk, medium risk, and low risk. The levels were created by comprehensively analyzing the capacity of landslide lakes, the height of landslide dams, and the composition and structure of materials that blocked rivers. In the epicenter area which was 300 km long and 10 km wide along the main seismic fault, there were lots of landslides triggered by the earthquake, and these landslides have a common characteristic of a discontinuous but flat sliding surface. The failure surfaces can be classified into the following three types based on their overall shape: concave, convex, and terraced. Field evidences illustrated that the vertical component of ground shaking had a significant effect on both building collapse and landslide generation. The ground motion records show that the vertical acceleration is greater than the horizontal, and the acceleration must be larger than 1.0 g in some parts along the main seismic fault. Two landslides are discussed as high speed and long runout cases. One is the Chengxi landslide in Beichuan County, and the other is the Donghekou landslide in Qingchuan County. In each case, the runout process and its impact on people and property were analyzed. The Chengxi landslide killed 1,600 people and destroyed numerous houses. The Donghekou landslide is a complex landslide–debris flow with a long runout. The debris flow scoured the bank of the Qingjiang River for a length of 2,400 m and subsequently formed a landslide dam. This landslide buried seven villages and killed more than 400 people.     

强震区高位滑坡远程灾害特征研究——以四川茂县新磨滑坡为例

近年来,在汶川地震等强震区常发生一种特大的高位滑坡地质灾害,它从高陡斜坡上部位置剪出并形成凌空加速坠落,具有撞击粉碎效应和动力侵蚀效应,导致滑体解体碎化,从而转化为高速远程碎屑流滑动或泥石流流动,并铲刮下部岩土体,使体积明显增加。新磨滑坡就是这种典型,它发生于2017年6月24日,滑坡后缘高程约3450m,前缘高程约2250 m,高差1200 m,水平距离2800 m,堆积体体积达1637×10~4m~3,摧毁了新磨村村庄,导致83人死亡。新磨滑坡地处叠溪较场弧形构造带前弧西翼,母岩为中三叠统中厚层变砂岩夹板岩,是1933年叠溪Ms7.5级震中区(烈度X度)和汶川Ms8.0级强震区(烈度IX度),形成震裂山体。滑源区分布多组不连续结构面,将厚层块状岩体分割成碎裂块体,在高程3150~3450 m区间形成明显的压裂鼓胀区,特别是存在2组反倾节理带,具有典型的"锁固段"失稳机理。滑坡体高位剪出滑动,连续加载并堆积于斜坡体上部,体积达390×10~4m~3,导致残坡积岩土层失稳并转化为管道型碎屑流;碎屑流高速流滑至斜坡下部老滑坡堆积体后,因前方地形开阔、坡度变缓,转化为扩散型碎屑流散落堆积,具有"高速远程"成灾模式。据此,可建立强震山区高位滑坡的早期识别方法,当陡倾山脊存在大型岩质高位滑坡时,应当考虑冲击作用带来的动力侵蚀效应和堆积加载效应,特别是沿沟谷赋存丰富的地下水时,发生高速远程滑坡的可能性将明显增加。因此,在地质灾害调查排查中,在高位岩质滑坡剪出口下方的斜坡堆积体上的聚居区等应划定为地质灾害危险区。在强震山区地质灾害研究中,不仅应采用静力学理论分析滑坡的失稳机理,而且应采用动力学方法加强运动过程的成灾模式研究。     

滑坡-碎屑流物理模型试验及运动机制探讨

滑坡-碎屑流由于高速、远程的特点常常引发灾难性事故,其复杂的运动机制导致预测致灾范围非常困难。通过开展室内模型试验,研究了碎屑粒径、滑床糙率和挑坎对运动特性的影响。试验结果发现,滑坡碎屑运动距离受控于前端碎屑,且随着碎屑的粒径增大而增加,增加滑床糙率、挑坎均可使碎屑的运动距离减小。在前人研究成果的基础上结合碎屑材料的力学特性探讨了滑坡-碎屑流出现流态化的原因和高速远程机制,即高速运动中颗粒间的作用力远小于完整岩体,因此颗粒间的“黏聚力”不能维持滑坡体的整体性,同时致使滑坡体与滑床接触的过程中传递至滑坡体内部的摩阻力减少,从而导致碎屑滑坡的远程结果。     

Identification of a locking segment in a high-locality landslide in Shidaguan,Southwest China

Natural Hazards - Identification of a locking segment is crucial to assess the potential runout risk and the overall stability of a high-locality landslide. However, it is difficult to...     

Laboratory experiments on three-dimensional deformable granular landslides on planar and conical slopes

Landslides of subaerial and submarine origin may generate tsunamis with locally extreme amplitudes and runup. While the landslides themselves are dangerous, the hazards are compounded by the generation of tsunamis along coastlines, in enclosed water bodies, and off continental shelves and islands. Tsunamis generated by three-dimensional deformable granular landslides were studied on planar and conical hill slopes in the three-dimensional NEES tsunami wave basin at Oregon State University based on the generalized Froude similarity. A unique pneumatic landslide tsunami generator (LTG) was deployed to control the kinematics and acceleration of the naturally rounded river gravel and cobble landslides to simulate broad ranges of landslide shapes and velocities along the slope. Lateral and overhead cameras are used to measure the landslide shapes and kinematics, while acoustic transducers provide the shape of the subaqueous deposits. The subaerial landslide shape is extracted from the camera images as the landslide propagates under gravity down the hill slope, and surface reconstruction of the landslide is conducted using the stereo particle image velocimetry (PIV) system on the conical hill slope. Subaerial landslide surface velocities are measured with a planar PIV system on the planar hill slope and stereo PIV system on the conical hill slope. The submarine deposits are characterized by the runout distances and the deposit thickness distributions. Larger cobbles are observed producing hummock type features near the maximum runout length. These unique laboratory landslide experiments serve to validate deformable landslide models as well as provide the source characteristics for tsunami generation.     

The July 14, 2003 Qianjiangping landslide,Three Gorges Reservoir,China

The Qianjiangping landslide occurred after the first impoundment of the Three Gorges Reservoir in July 2003. Field investigation revealed that failure occurred when the reservoir reached 135 m, but the stability of the affected slope was already reduced by pre-existing bedding-plane shears, quarrying of mudstone from the landslide toe, and previous heavy rain. A possible explanation of the rapid and long runout mechanism of the landslide is that movement on a bedding-plane shear ruptured the calcite cement and rapidly reduced the sandstone strength to residual shear strength.     

When hazard avoidance is not an option: lessons learned from monitoring the postdisaster Oso landslide,USA

On 22 March 2014, a massive, catastrophic landslide occurred near Oso, Washington, USA, sweeping more than 1 km across the adjacent valley flats and killing 43 people. For the following 5 weeks, hundreds of workers engaged in an exhaustive search, rescue, and recovery effort directly in the landslide runout path. These workers could not avoid the risks posed by additional large-scale slope collapses. In an effort to ensure worker safety, multiple agencies cooperated to swiftly deploy a monitoring and alerting system consisting of sensors, automated data processing and web-based display, along with defined communication protocols and clear calls to action for emergency management and search personnel. Guided by the principle that an accelerating landslide poses a greater threat than a steadily moving or stationary mass, the system was designed to detect ground motion and vibration using complementary monitoring techniques. Near real-time information was provided by continuous GPS, seismometers/geophones, and extensometers. This information was augmented by repeat-assessment techniques such as terrestrial and aerial laser scanning and time-lapse photography. Fortunately, no major additional landsliding occurred. However, we did detect small headscarp failures as well as slow movement of the remaining landslide mass with the monitoring system. This was an exceptional response situation and the lessons learned are applicable to other landslide disaster crises. They underscore the need for cogent landslide expertise and ready-to-deploy monitoring equipment, the value of using redundant monitoring techniques with distinct goals, the benefit of clearly defined communication protocols, and the importance of continued research into forecasting landslide behavior to allow timely warning.

     

An integrated model simulating the initiation and motion of earthquake and rain induced rapid landslides and its application to the 2006 Leyte landslide

A gigantic rapid landslide claiming over 1,000 fatalities was triggered by rainfalls and a small nearby earthquake in the Leyte Island, Philippines in 2006. The disaster presented the necessity of a new modeling technology for disaster risk preparedness which simulates initiation and motion. This paper presents a new computer simulation integrating the initiation process triggered by rainfalls and/or earthquakes and the development process to a rapid motion due to strength reduction and the entrainment of deposits in the runout path. This simulation model LS-RAPID was developed from the geotechnical model for the motion of landslides (Sassa 1988) and its improved simulation model (Sassa et al. 2004b) and new knowledge obtained from a new dynamic loading ring shear apparatus (Sassa et al. 2004a). The examination of performance of each process in a simple imaginary slope addressed that the simulation model well simulated the process of progressive failure, and development to a rapid landslide. The initiation process was compared to conventional limit equilibrium stability analyses by changing pore pressure ratio. The simulation model started to move in a smaller pore pressure ratio than the limit equilibrium stability analyses because of progressive failure. However, when a larger shear deformation is set as the threshold for the start of strength reduction, the onset of landslide motion by the simulation agrees with the cases where the factor of safety estimated by the limit equilibrium stability analyses equals to a unity. The field investigation and the undrained dynamic loading ring shear tests on the 2006 Leyte landslide suggested that this landslide was triggered by the combined effect of pore water pressure due to rains and a very small earthquake. The application of this simulation model could well reproduce the initiation and the rapid long runout motion of the Leyte landslide.