Abstract
Toppling failure is one of the most common failure types in the field. It always occurs in rock masses containing a group of dominant discontinuities dipping into the slope. Post-earthquake investigation has shown that many toppling rock slope failures have occurred during earthquakes. In this study, an analytical solution is presented on the basis of limit equilibrium analysis. The acceleration of seismic load as well as joint persistence within the block base, were considered in the analysis. The method was then applied into a shake table test of an anti-dip layered slope model. As predicted from the analytical method, blocks topple or slide from slope crest to toe progressively and the factor of safety decreases as the inputting acceleration increases. The results perfectly duplicate the deformation features and stability condition of the physical model under the shake table test. It is shown that the presented method is more universal than the original one and can be adopted to evaluate the stability of the slope with potential toppling failure under seismic loads.
Highlights
IntroductionToppling failures always occur in rock masses with a dominant discontinuity set (usually bedding or foliation) which strike parallel to the slope and dip inwards
Toppling failures always occur in rock masses with a dominant discontinuity set which strike parallel to the slope and dip inwards
The seismic loads and connectivity of the block base joint are considered in the analytical solution
Summary
Toppling failures always occur in rock masses with a dominant discontinuity set (usually bedding or foliation) which strike parallel to the slope and dip inwards. This failure mode is one of the most common seen in natural or excavated rock slopes, e.g., rock slopes induced by construction including of hydropower stations [1,2,3], open-pit mines [4,5], railway [5] and other engineering works [6]. Xiaojianping landslide and Guantan landslide [7] were both triggered by the Wenchuan earthquake and characterized by an anti-dipping structure (Figure 1) This type of event always occurs abruptly and results in catastrophic loss, e.g., a dammed lake with deposits of about 6,000,000 m3 caused by Xiaojianping landslide.
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