Erosion Failure of a Soil Slope by Heavy Rain: Laboratory Investigation and Modified GA Model of Soil Slope Failure

Xiaofei Jing,Tianwei Yin,Wensong Wang,Xiaohua Fan,Changshu Pan,Yulong Chen

doi:10.3390/ijerph16061075

Abstract

Rainfall has been identified as one of the main causes for slope failures in areas where high annual rainfall is experienced. The slope angle is important for its stability during rainfall. This paper aimed to determine the impact of the angle of soil slope on the migration of wetting front in rainfall. The results proved that under the same rainfall condition, more runoff was generated with the increase of slope angle, which resulted in more serious erosion of the soil and the ascent of wetting front. A modified Green-Ampt (GA) model of wetting front was also proposed considering the seepage in the saturated zone and the slope angle. These findings will provide insights into the rainfall-induced failure of soil slopes in terms of angle.

Highlights

Rainfall is recognized as the major cause of slope instability [1]
This paper presents the results of a series of model tests on the behavior of a slope subjected to an obvious influence on the infiltration process of rainwater
The research discussed theonfailure modes ofofthe slope subjected caused seepage water that was transformed by rainwater, the smaller the soil was subjected to a softening rainfallfocusing with theon change of slope research discussed failure modes of the slope bytorainfall, the change of angles

Summary

Introduction

Rainfall is recognized as the major cause of slope instability [1]. A large number of rainfall-induced landslides have happened in recent years [2,3,4]. On December 15, 2014, landslides in Indonesia caused by continuous rainstorms resulted in 56 deaths and 52 missing persons; landslides in northeastern Nepal on June 10, 2015, resulted in 36 deaths and dozens of missing persons; landslides in northwestern Colombia on May 18, 2015, resulted in 83 deaths, dozens of injuries, and more than 700 homeless people. These landslide accidents are all caused by rainfall. Rahardjo et al [15] performed a series of parametric studies to understand the significance of hydrological and geotechnical parameters of a slope on its rainfall-induced instability

Objectives

Results

Conclusion