Abstract
The dynamic failure mechanism of horizontally layered dangerous rock during earthquakes is complex and only few studies have addressed the combination of particle flow code (PFC) meso-level failure mechanism and mechanical analysis. Based on fracture mechanics and material mechanics we establish a calculation method for the interlayer load and stability coefficient of horizontal layered dangerous rock during strong earthquakes. The method was applied for calculating the stability of a horizontally layered dangerous slope along a highway in the Sichuan Province (China) during earthquakes as a case study. Using a 3D particle flow simulation technology, a PFC3D model of horizontal layered dangerous rock was established. Its dynamic stability, failure mode and Hilbert-Huang 3D time-frequency characteristics are analyzed, and the results of the simulation are largely consistent with the time of the dangerous rock failure as estimated by our new calculation method. Our study documents that as the seismic acceleration gradually increases, the stability coefficient of the rock block fluctuates more violently and the stability coefficient gradually decreases. The stability coefficient of the rock block decreases fastest between 5 and 6 s and the reduction in the stability coefficient is between 0.12 and 0.25. Before the seismic acceleration reaches the maximum, the dangerous rock blocks on the two main controlling structures collapse and get destroyed. 25 s after the earthquake, the failure mode of the dangerous rock is collapse-slip-rotation. We show that earthquakes with frequencies of 0–10 and 250 Hz have the strongest destructive effect on the stability of the horizontally layered dangerous rocks.
Highlights
Seismic treatment of stratified dangerous rock slopes is a major geotechnical engineering challenge, frequently encountered in the construction of highways, railways, water conservancy, and other local infrastructure (Chen, 2001)
Based on our conclusion from the stability coefficient calculation, we focus on the effect of longitudinal seismic waves to analyze the stability of horizontally layered dangerous rocks under earthquakes
The results indicate that our refined calculation method for the stability coefficient of dangerous rock under the influence of interlayer load and seismic dynamics can reasonably characterize the failure mechanism and caving time of dangerous rock slopes
Summary
Seismic treatment of stratified dangerous rock slopes is a major geotechnical engineering challenge, frequently encountered in the construction of highways, railways, water conservancy, and other local infrastructure (Chen, 2001). A layered dangerous rock slope refers to a rock mass steep cliff or slope that is formed with multiple sets of weak and structural planes. Mudslides, land subsidence, desertification, karst, and other landscape shaping processes, dangerous rock collapses have become more prominent in recent years as one major type of geological disaster that poses a major threat to human life and property. In China dangerous rock collapses frequently occur at slopes along the Three Gorges Reservoir and along highways in seismic active zones of the Sichuan. The destruction of dangerous rock slopes is a global rock mechanics and geological hazard problem
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