SPH-based analysis of the post-failure flow behavior for soft and hard interbedded earth slope

Abstract

This study proposed a Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) model that could consider two types of soils with different viscosities to reveal the flow mechanism of a soft and hard interbedded earth slope. The flow processes of an actual unstable slope in the Lushan hot spring district and the Saleshan landslide were simulated, and the applicability of proposed SPH model was validated by comparing the flow process and the flow velocity with DEM results and surveyed data. Thereafter, with a conceptual simulating case for the soft and hard interbedded earth slope, materials were divided into two types, and eight groups consisting of 64 cases were analyzed with different viscosities. According to the variation curves of the run-out and the flow velocity with time, the flow behavior is controlled by the properties of both the soft layer and hard layer, and increasing the viscosity of the hard layer can greatly reduce the run-out and the maximum velocity. The result provided a basis for the mitigation of possible layered earth slope disasters in engineering geology.