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Research on the creep mechanism of Huangniba landslide in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area of China considering the seepage–stress coupling effect

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Abstract

The impoundment of China’s Three Gorges Reservoir has led to the revival of many old landslides along the bank, and the annual fluctuation in water level of 30 m is likely to affect the creep deformation of these landslides. Through a field investigation of Huangniba landslide in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area, the local deformation signs and field monitoring data were analyzed. It was preliminarily considered that this landslide was currently at the creep stage and the creep rate was affected by the reservoir level variation. In order to carry out further research on the effect of reservoir level variation on the landslide movement, the finite element method was used to establish the seepage–stress coupling model of Huangniba landslide based on the seepage–stress coupling theory and taking into account the creep behavior of landslide material. The model was used to simulate the variation characteristics of the seepage field, stress field, and displacement field in the landslide during 6 years of cycles of reservoir level variation. Based on the numerical simulation results and field monitoring data, the deformation mechanism of the landslide was discussed. Finally, the sensitivity of the parameters in the creep model to the simulation results was discussed. The results show that creep deformation is the main deformation mechanism of Huangniba landslide, and it is obviously affected by the drawdown of the reservoir water level. During drawdown of the reservoir level, the pore water pressure inside the landslide decreases, resulting in an increase in effective creep stress and creep strain rate, thus accelerating creep deformation. The results of this study will provide a reference for the deformation mechanism of such creeping landslides subjecting to reservoir water level fluctuation.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by Professor Wei Pan and Professor Jianmin Tan from China Geological Survey. We thank them for providing valuable data and discussions about the Huangniba landslide. Also, we would like to thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China for its support (nos. 41672317 and 41672313).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Engineering Faculty, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Nenghao Zhao, Bin Hu & Echuan Yan

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G 2R3, Canada

    Xin Xu

  3. Civil Engineering & Architecture Faculty, China Three Gorges University, Yichang, 443002, China

    Qinglin Yi

Authors
  1. Nenghao Zhao
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  2. Bin Hu
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  3. Echuan Yan
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  4. Xin Xu
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  5. Qinglin Yi
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Correspondence to Echuan Yan.

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Zhao, N., Hu, B., Yan, E. et al. Research on the creep mechanism of Huangniba landslide in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area of China considering the seepage–stress coupling effect. Bull Eng Geol Environ 78, 4107–4121 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-018-1377-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-018-1377-4

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