Displacement evolution of reverse-dip rock slope considering the change of the reservoir level

Abstract

The fluctuation and periodic change of reservoir level are the important incentives that affect the stability of the reverse-dip rock slope. Based on the field monitoring data, this paper investigates the topping deformation evolution characteristics of a typical reverse-dip slope containing different geological partitions considering the fluctuation of reservoir level. A typical reverse-dip rock slope was taken as an engineering case, whose geological factors including elevation, slope angle, and aspect were first obtained by a field survey. Subsequently, the factors were superimposed through ArcGIS to obtain the geological partitions. Afterwards, a spatiotemporal evolution nephogram of the topping displacement was obtained by discrete monitoring data of surface displacement of the slope. Finally, the deformation characteristic of the prone zone was analyzed by superposing the nephogram of the displacement and the geometrical partition, considering the change of the reservoir level. The results show that the largest geological and geometric characteristic zone is at the bottom elevation, medium slope, and north aspect. The zone with significant horizontal displacement is distributed in the front and middle edges of the slope, which increases with the increase of the reservoir level and vice versa. The vertical displacement mainly occurs in the trailing of the slope. The area of superimposed displacement in strong deformation zones increases as either the reservoir level rises or falls. After the superposition, zones with strong deformation increase with the variation of the reservoir level, and the area with the largest displacement is distributed at the medium gradient, low elevation, and north aspect zones.