Residual strength of slip zone soils

Slip zones of ancient landslides are commonly composed of fine-grained soils with amount of coarse-grained particle. Residual strength of slip zone soil is an important parameter for evaluating reactivation potential and understanding progressive failure mechanism. In this study, the residual strength is examined by in situ direct shear tests, improved laboratory reversal shear box test, precut specimen triaxial shear test and ring shear test. Some residual shear behaviors are recognized. Field residual strength is the average operational resistance along the sliding surface not an ideal drained strength, which is less than peak and greater than residual strength measured in laboratory. Stress–displacement curves obtained from in situ shear and laboratory reversal direct shear demonstrate strain-hardening which have no significant peak, but the shear stress is decreased gradually with increasing displacement. Residual friction coefficient depends on the normal stress, and this dependence is relevant to the interaction of rolling and sliding of particles. Residual friction angle is closely related to coarse fraction and dry density, appearing a linear increase with increasing coarse fraction and a form of polynomial function with increasing dry density. The influence of shearing rate on residual strength can be negligible.