Abstract
During the dry-wet cycle, the soil cracks and matrix suction change a lot, at this same time, the overall slope stability should be paid attention to. Therefore, in this paper, physical model tests in two different scales were conducted to study the crack development of the dam slope and the change of the matrix suction, and then the stability of the dam slope was analyzed. The results showed that for the whole dam slope, cracks were most likely to occur at the middle part of the upstream dam slope, and cracks were most developed at this area. The matrix suction at the middle part of the dam slope was the largest. In addition, although the cracks were repaired by the rainfall, the integrity of the soil with cracks was not as good as that before the drought. The pressure of the dam slope was no longer continuous and the upper pressure could not pass to the bottom of the slope. Therefore, local landslides may occur when the upper earth pressure was increasing.
Highlights
The change and variability of the global climate have increased the frequency and intensity of extreme hydrological events[1,2]
As the soil underwent a drying process, the original cracks which healed in the rainfall formed relatively quickly on the second drying process, which caused the dehydration in the upstream dam slope to be faster and the matric suction grew faster than the first time
The results showed that: (a) For a clay dam slope, the middle part of the upstream dam slope was the most developed area for cracks, followed by the dam toe area
Summary
The change and variability of the global climate have increased the frequency and intensity of extreme hydrological events[1,2]. The formation of the cracks originates from the dry-wet cycle, and the change of the matrix suction is the most important performance in this cycle. The change of matrix suction affects the shear strength of the soil, and has an important influence on the stability of the dam slope. Researches on the influence of dry-wet cycle on the stability of dam slope were mainly based on the direct calculation of the safety factor of slope stability, or the influence of suction on the shear strength. Few studies have taken the effect of cracks in the dry-wet cycle on the matrix suction and the earth pressure into consideration. Through small-scale model test, the relationship between dam slope cracking and matric suction was accurately reflected, and through large-scale model test, the influence of cracks on the earth pressure was studied. A comprehensive analysis of the influence of dry-wet cycle on the stability of the dam slope was conducted
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