Simulation of the sliding process of Donghekou landslide triggered by the Wenchuan earthquake using a distinct element method

Abstract

In the village of Donghekou (in Qingchuan County, Sichuan Province, China), a major landslide was triggered by the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008 with more than 10 × 106 m3 of rock displaced. The kinematic behavior of this landslide is simulated using a 2D discrete element model. The numerical model used in this work is composed of discs bonded together. The initial boundary conditions are applied along the ball–wall contacts by using an initial velocity estimated from the strong motion data. The constraints are mainly issued from the final geometry of the landslide including its capacity to dam the river. The modeling thus indicates that a low friction coefficient (about 0.1) is required to account for the actual landslide characteristics. The runout behaviors are analyzed and some useful conclusions are drawn.