Fast shear behavior of granular materials in ring-shear tests and implications for rapid landslides

The high mobility of rapid landslides is one of the most important subjects of both theoretical and practical interest to engineers and scientists. The idea that ultralow resistance could explain the high mobility inspires researchers to examine the shear behavior of granular materials under a wide range of conditions, but the response of granular materials to fast loading rates is largely unknown. The motivation for this study was to examine several fundamental issues of particle properties and mechanical conditions on the fast shear behavior of granular materials. Two granular materials were studied in the oven-dried state and were sheared by employing a ring-shear apparatus. Results indicated that angular particles (silica sand) had higher shear strength parameters than spherical particles (glass beads). In addition, the dilative process was observed during shearing, which depended on normal stress and particle shape. A slightly negative shear-rate effect on shear strength was observed for both granular materials under a certain range of shear rates. Furthermore, cumulative shear displacement had a significant effect on the degree of particle crushing. Fast ring-shear tests also revealed that shear rate had a slightly negative effect on particle crushing. Based on these experimental results, the possible applications of dynamic grain fragmentation theory to assess the high mobility of rapid landsliding phenomena were discussed. It was indicated that the magnitude and release rate of elastic strain energy generated by grain fragmentation played important roles on the dynamic process of landslide mobility.     

Evaluating the susceptibility of landslide landforms in Japan using slope stability analysis: a case study of the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake

This study analyzed 267 landslide landforms (LLs) in the Kumamoto area of Japan from the database of about 0.4 million LLs for the whole of Japan identified from aerial photos by the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience of Japan (NIED). Each LL in the inventory is composed of a scarp and a moving mass. Since landslides are prone to reactivation, it is important to evaluate the sliding-recurrence susceptibility of LLs. One possible approach to evaluate the susceptibility of LLs is slope stability analysis. A previous study found a good correlation (R ² = 0.99) between the safety factor (F _s ) and slope angle (α) of F _s  = 17.3α ^?0.843. We applied the equation to the analysis of F _s for 267 LLs in the area affected by the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake (M _j  = 7.3). The F _s was calculated for the following three cases of failure: scarps only, moving mass only, and scarps and moving mass together. Verification with the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake event shows that the most appropriate method for the evaluation of LLs is to consider the failure of scarps and moving mass together. In addition, by analyzing the relationship between the factors of slope of entire landslide and slope of scarp for LLs and comparing the results with the Aso-ohashi landslide, the largest landslide caused by the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake, we also found that morphometric analysis of LLs is useful for forecasting the travel distance of future landslides.     

Effects of entrainment phenomenon on the rapid and long-runout movement of landslides in Wenjia gully,Sichuan, China

Zeolite was synthesized via alkaline fusion from the tailings dam sediments of a sand mine in southern Brazil. The sediments are composed of a mixture of i     

Tasks and problems involved in the handling of disaster waste upon April 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake,Japan

The potential impacts of tsunamis along the Catalan Coast (NW Mediterranean) are analysed using numerical modelling. The region is characterized by moderate to low seismic activity and by moderate- to low-magnitude earthquakes. However, the occurrence of historical strong earthquakes and the location of several active offshore faults in front of the coast suggest that the possibility of an earthquake-triggered tsunami is not negligible although of low probability. Up to five faults have been identified to generate tsunamis, being the highest associated possible seismic magnitudes of up to 7.6. Coastal flooding and port agitation are characterized using the Worst-case Credible Tsunami Scenario Analysis approach. The results show a multiple fault source contribution to tsunami hazard. The shelf dimensions and the existence of submerged canyons control the tsunami propagation. In wide shelves, waves travelling offshore may become trapped by refraction causing the wave energy to reach the coastline at some distance from the origin. The free surface water elevation increases at the head of the canyons due to the sharp depth gradients. The effects of potential tsunamis would be very harmful in low-lying coastal stretches, such as deltas, with a high population concentration, assets and infrastructures. The Ebro delta appears to be the most exposed coast, and about the 20% of the delta surface is prone to flooding due to its extremely low-lying nature. The activity at Barcelona port will be severely affected by inflow backflow current at the entrance of up to 2 m/s.     

四川泸定MS6.8级地震诱发崩滑灾害快速评估

强震诱发崩滑灾害可严重加剧地震灾害损失,快速评估地震诱发崩滑分布对于应急救灾工作部署具有重要意义。利用2022年9月5日泸定M_S6.8级地震震前30 m分辨率地形数据结合1∶50万比例尺地质图,采用Newmark累积位移方法开展了泸定地震诱发崩滑灾害快速评估。结果显示：(1)地震诱发崩滑灾害较为严重,崩滑高危险区面积约为45 km²,主要分布在鲜水河断裂以西大渡河西岸近东西向支沟两岸,其中以燕子沟、磨子沟、海螺沟、飞水沟、湾东河、什月河、田湾河等崩滑危险性较高,对沟内居民及游客生命安全威胁较大,沟内公路受崩滑阻断风险较高,局部河道有被崩滑堵塞风险;(2)泸定县冷碛镇、兴隆镇、磨西镇、得妥乡等4个乡镇及石棉县田湾乡、草科乡、新民乡、先锋乡、蟹螺乡、挖角乡等6个乡镇崩滑危险性较高;(3)震中附近地区大渡河沿线省道S434和S211受崩滑阻断可能性较大;(4)贡嘎雪山一带预测地震崩滑危险性为中等,但需关注冰崩型、岩崩型高位远程灾害(链)风险。通过与震后应急排查、遥感解译等获取的地震Ⅷ度、Ⅸ度区内发生的崩滑分布对比,表明在大渡河西岸各支沟滑坡位移分析...     

Seismogeological effects on rocks during the 12 April 1998 upper So a Territory earthquake (NW Slovenia)

On 12 April 1998, the strongest earthquake (M_L 5.7), with an epicentre in Slovenia, in the last 100 years shook the upper So a Territory (NW Slovenia). Its maximum intensity was between VII and VIII according to the European Macroseismic Scale (EMS-98). Its epicentre is located in the area SE of the town of Bovec in the Krn mountain range (Julian Alps). Apart from substantial material damage to nearby settlements, the earthquake caused considerable changes to the landscape through many rockfalls and landslides. In this paper, we try to assess the effects of this event on the natural surroundings. The presented results are useful to understand the relation between “seismogeological” effects and the intensity scale EMS-98 for this particular event, but might also be a first step towards a future statistically meaningful assessment of the intensity scale on the basis of “seismogeological” effects.     

A computer simulation study of (OH) defects in olivine

Recent experiments (Miller et al. 1987; Bell and Rossman 1992; Bai and Kohlstedt 1992) have shown that olivine, the dominant mineral in the Earth's upper mantle, can contain substantial amounts of water in the form of OH. There is uncertainty, however, as to the mechanisms by which water dissolves into the mineral structure and as to the site it occupies in the host lattice. We have therefore used atomistic computer simulation techniques based on the Born model of solids, to investigate the structures and energies of OH defects in olivine. Our calculations suggest that the most favourable route for incorporation of OH into olivine involves reactions with water accompanied by the reduction of ferric iron for which we obtain a solution energy of 0.46 eV. We propose therefore that the OH content will be largely controlled by the concentration of Fe³⁺.     

Mechanism of a long-runout landslide triggered by the August 1998 heavy rainfall in Fukushima Prefecture,Japan

Heavy rainfall from 26 to 31 August 1998 triggered many landslides in Nishigo Village of southern Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. The Hiegaesi landslide, a long-runout landslide with travel angle of 11°, which occurred in loamy volcanic-ash/pumice layer and was deposited in a nearby rice paddy, was investigated. In an observation pit dug in the middle part of the landslide deposit, the sliding zone just above the deflected rice plants was observed, and it was confirmed that grain crushing occurred in the sliding zone. The triggering and sliding mechanisms of this landslide then were investigated by ring-shear tests in laboratory. For the triggering mechanism, one saturated naturally drained test (test A: torque-controlled test) and one saturated undrained test (test B: speed-controlled test) were conducted on the samples taken from the source area of the landslide. Even in the naturally drained test opening the upper drain valve of the shear box, a temporary liquefaction occurred. In the undrained test, excess pore-pressure was generated along with shearing, and “sliding-surface liquefaction” phenomenon was observed. The effective stress and shear resistance finally decreased to near zero. These results can explain the observed phenomenon of small friction resistance like a flow of liquid when the sliding mass slid out of the source area. For the sliding mechanism of the landslide in the rice paddy, saturated undrained test (test C: speed-controlled test) was performed on soil sample above the deflected rice plants. The apparent friction angle obtained in this test was 8°. In addition, the residual friction angle measured after test B and test C was the same value of 41°. Combining with the observation on the shear zone in the ring-shear box after test C, it is concluded that, during the sliding in rice paddy, the undrained shear strength of the soil layer itself mainly influenced the high mobility of the landslide, probably because the friction between rice plants and soils is greater than the undrained shear strength inside the soil mass.     

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.     

Volume,gravitational potential energy reduction,and regional centroid position change in the wake of landslides triggered by the 14 April 2010 Yushu earthquake of China

In recent years, earthquake-triggered landslides have attracted much attention in the scientific community as a main form of seismic ground response. However, little work has been performed concerning the volume and gravitational potential energy reduction of earthquake-triggered landslides and their severe effect on landscape change. This paper presents a quantitative study on the volume, gravitational potential energy reduction, and change in landscape related to landslides triggered by the 14 April 2010 Yushu earthquake. At least 2,036 landslides were triggered by the earthquake. A total landslide scar area of 1.194 km² was delineated from the visual interpretation of aerial photographs and satellite images and was supported by selected field checking. In this paper, we focus on possible answers to the following five questions: (1) What is the total volume of the 2,036 landslides triggered by the earthquake, and what is the average landslide erosion thickness in the earthquake-stricken area? (2) What are the elevations of all landslide materials in relation to pre- and post-landsliding? (3) How much was the gravitational potential energy reduced due to the sliding of these landslide materials? (4) What is the average elevation change caused by these landslides in the study area? (5) What is the vertical change of the regional centroid position above sea level, as induced by these landslides? It is concluded that the total volume of the 2,036 landslides is 2.9399?×?10⁶ m³. The landslide erosion thickness throughout the study area is 2.02 mm. The materials of these landslides moved from an elevation of 4,145.243 to 4,104.697 m, resulting in a decreased distance of 40.546 m. The gravitational potential energy reduction related to the landslides triggered by the earthquake was 2.9213?×?10¹² J. The average regional elevation of the study area is 4,427.160 m, a value consistent with the assumption that the accumulated materials were remained in situ. This value changes from 4,427.160 to 4,427.158 m with all landslide materials moved out of the study area, resulting in a reduction in elevation of 2 mm. Based on the assumption that all landslide materials moved out of the study area, the elevations of the centroid of the study area’s crust changed from 2,222.45967 to 2,222.45867 m, which means the centroid value decreased by 1 mm. This value is 0.001 mm when assuming that the materials were remained in situ, which is almost negligible, compared with the situation of “all landslide materials moved out of the study area.”     

Finite element simulation of impulse wave generated by landslides using a three-phase model and the conservative level set method

A numerical model has been developed using the finite element method for the simulation of impulse waves generated by landslides. The fluid-like landslide is modeled as a generalized non-Newtonian visco-plastic fluid. A three-phase flow model based on the incompressible viscous Navier–Stokes equations is solved using the finite element method to describe the motion of the three types of fluid in landslide. The conservative level set method is expanded to n-phase flow cases and employed to capture the interface of the three phases: air, water, and the landslide. The overall performance of the approach is checked by a number of validation cases: a Rayleigh–Taylor instability problem to illustrate the capability of the proposed method to deal with interface capturing, a benchmark test of a subaerial landslide generated by an impulse wave is carried out and compared with the published experimental data and numerical results, and finally, the 1958 Lituya Bay landslide generated impulse wave, and its results are compared against a scaled-down experiment and other published numerical results. It can be noted that the current model has an excellent ability to capture the complex phenomena that occurs during the whole process of the landslide-generated impulse wave, and considering the simplified treatment of the landslide and the numerical model, fairly good agreement between computed and experimental results has been observed for all simulation cases.     

Analysis on mechanism of landslides under ground shaking: a typical landslide in the Wenchuan earthquake

A high steep rock hill with two-side slopes near National Road 213 is used as a prototype in this paper. The full process from initial deformation to sliding of the slope during ground shaking is simulated by a new discrete element method—continuum-based discrete element method. Then, the seismic responses of a high steep rock hill with two-side slopes are researched from the base of time, frequency and joint time–frequency domain using Hilbert–Huang transform and Fourier Transform. The findings are: first, the stress concentration phenomenon occurs at the top of the sliding mass, and then some tension and shear failure points appear, which expand from the top toward the toe of the sliding mass along the structural plane. At the same time, the number of tension failure points gradually increases. Then the toe of the sliding mass fails, and shears out from its toe which results in the landslide. If the material parameters are under the same conditions, the landslide in the middle of the slope occurs before that at the foot of slope, and the starting time of landslide and the arrival time of the peak ground acceleration are synchronous or the former slightly lags behind the latter. The difference of distribution and dissipation of earthquake energy in the sliding body and sliding bed is the major influence factor to induce the landslide. When the accelerations are small, the instantaneous frequency of accelerations between sliding bed and sliding body is generally consistent, the energy transmittance coefficients of the sliding structural plane and the controlled frequency band of the energy all range in a limitation; with the increase of the seismic intensity, the instantaneous frequency and the energy transmittance coefficients gradually decrease, and then they are steady within the lower limitation. At the same time, the controlled frequency band also shifts gradually from high frequency band to the lower one. Based on the input seismic wave, the peak acceleration amplifies as the increase of elevation, regardless of the monitoring points on the steep slope, gentle slope side or inside of the slope. Generally speaking, amplification of the vertical peak acceleration is stronger than that of the horizontal peak acceleration, and amplification of the peak acceleration on a steep slope is stronger than that on a gentle slope, and that of inside of the slope is the weakest amplification.     

Liquefaction,building settlement,and residual strength of two residential areas during the 2016 southern Taiwan earthquake

Acta Geotechnica - On February 6, 2016, a moment magnitude (Mw) 6.4 earthquake struck southern Taiwan and devastated the Tainan area. Although the intensity of ground shaking was only moderate...     

Evidence for surface rupture associated with the Mw 6.3 L'Aquila earthquake sequence of April 2009 (central Italy)

An earthquake of Mw = 6.3 struck L'Aquila town (central Italy) on 6 April 2009 rupturing an ∼18-km-long SW-dipping normal fault. The aftershock area extended for a length of more than 35 km and included major aftershocks on 7 and 9 April and thousands of minor events. Surface faulting occurred along the SW-dipping Paganica fault with a continuous extent of ∼2.5 km. Ruptures consist of open cracks and vertical dislocations or warps (0.1m maximum throw) with an orientation of N130°–140°. Small triggered slip and shaking effects also took place along nearby synthetic and antithetic normal faults. The observed limited extent and small surface displacement of the Paganica ruptures with respect to the height of the fault scarps and vertical throws of palaeo-earthquakes along faults in the area put the faulting associated with the L'Aquila earthquake in perspective with respect to the maximum expected magnitude and the regional seismic hazard.     

Geological and geomorphological characteristics of landslides triggered by the 2004 Mid Niigta prefecture earthquake in Japan

The 2004 Mid Niigta prefecture earthquake (M_JMA 6.8) triggered more than one thousand landslides in the Miocene to Quaternary sedimentary rocks in Japan. The most common landslides were shallow disrupted landslides on steep slopes, which has been common in many previous disastrous earthquakes in the world. The Mid Niigta prefecture earthquake also triggered more than one hundred deep landslides, providing valuable information on the conditions for their occurrence. A field investigation and the interpretation of aerial photographs taken before and after the earthquake suggest that reactivation of existing landslides and undercutting of slopes are the most important factors for deep landslides to be triggered by earthquakes. In addition, planar sliding surfaces seem to be essential for the generation of catastrophic landslides triggered by this earthquake. Planar bedding–parallel sliding surfaces were formed at the boundary between the overlying permeable sandstone and underlying siltstone or along the bedding planes of alternating beds of sandstone and siltstone. Sliding surfaces along the slope-parallel oxidation front were formed in the area of black mudstone. New landslides (rockslide-avalanches) occurred with the sliding surfaces in a several-cm thick tuff interbedded in siltstone. One rockslide-avalanche occurred on a slope where buckling deformation preceded the earthquake. Gentle valley bottom sediments were mobilized in many locations, probably because they were saturated and partial liquefaction had occurred due to the earthquake shaking.     

Mechanism of the 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake (Mw 9.0) and tsunami: Insight from seismic tomography

To clarify the generating mechanism of the 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake (Mw 9.0) and the induced tsunami, we determined high-resolution tomographic images of the Northeast Japan forearc. Significant lateral variations of seismic velocity are visible in the megathrust zone, and most large interplate thrust earthquakes are found to occur in high-velocity (high-V) areas. These high-V zones may represent high-strength asperities at the plate interface where the subducting Pacific plate and the overriding Okhotsk plate are coupled strongly. A shallow high-V zone with large coseismic slip near the Japan Trench may account for the mainshock asperity of the 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake. Because it is an isolated asperity surrounded by low-velocity patches, most stress on it was released in a short time and the plate interface became decoupled after the Mw 9.0 earthquake. Thus the overriding Okhotsk plate there was shot out toward the Japan Trench and caused the huge tsunami.     

Modeling and risk assessment of landslides using fuzzy logic. Application on the slopes of the Algerian Tell (Algeria)

Natural risk regains the notion of exposure to natural disaster or dangers of any natural hazard. Its management consists in the assessment and the anticipation of risks, as well as to the setting up of an alert system. From natural risk, we mentioned one bound to landslides in natural slopes that are difficult to surround and approach. Nevertheless, the assessment of landslides risk is the object of several works of research and many models, based on the multicriteria analysis, have been established. It should be noted that based on multicriteria approach, we evaluated, in a previous work, the landslide risk using the weighted sum model. The results reveal that the use of qualitative parameters influenced the classification of slope. This led us to adopt fuzzy logic approaches for assessment. This work examines the contribution of fuzzy sets theory to modeling and assessment of landslides risk in natural slopes. It brought to use this approach that permits the survey of these imprecision in adopting a Mamdani model. The method has been applied on slopes, situated in four areas of the Algerian Tell, where each is characterized by the different natural conditions. The result, put in evidence, summarizes modeling and risk assessment of landslides in an optimal classification of slopes according to the degree of instability risk. It allows decision makers to put in strategies for possible work of these slopes.