Hazard assessment by 3D stability analysis of landslides due to reservoir impounding

Abstract

The Yudonghe landslide is located in a upcoming reservoir region of a 233-m-high Shuibuya rockfill dam, 2,300 m away from the dam site. It consists of a massive landslide with upper and lower segments and two secondary slides, i.e. an eastern secondary slide and a western secondary slide. In this paper, values of factor of safety (FS) for various masses were calculated in a scenario of reservoir impounding-induced increase in groundwater levels, using a method of three-dimensional (3D) limit equilibrium. Results showed that the smallest value of FS for the massive landslide is 1.12 computed on the presupposition of reactivating along a bottom slide zone in case of an earthquake. The smallest FS value of the lower slide mass is 1.12 in a possible direction, given earthquake occurrence and a groundwater level of 225 m above the sea level. This FS value shows that the lower slide mass is stable in case of groundwater increasing. In addition, by the calculation of the 3D limit equilibrium method, the FS value of the east secondary slide is approximately 1.0 in different groundwater levels under consideration of earthquake occurrence, which reflects that this mass is prone to reactivate when external factors are taken into effect.