A New Movement Mechanism of Earthquake-Induced Landslides by Considering the Trampoline Effect of Vertical Seismic Loading

Abstract

This paper presents a new explanation for large-scale long run-out earthquake-induced landslides by considering the trampoline effect of earthquake loading. Long run-out is one of the major features of the earthquake-induced landslides, especially for those large-scale landslides. Since the long run-out mechanism of earthquake-induced landslides is still not clear, a new run-out model was presented on the basis of the so-called trampoline effect of vertical earthquake loading, and a practical numerical simulation program based on discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA) was developed to clarify movement behaviours of earthquake-induced landslides by incorporating the trampoline effect. This new mechanism was applied to explain some complicated phenomena appeared in large-scale long run-out landslides induced by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. A typical long run-out landslides induced by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, Donghekou landslide, was analysed in practical numerical simulation. The results show that the presented new long run-out model is reasonable and applicable.