Stability Analysis of a Water‐Rich Slope Under Seismic Disturbance

Studying slope stability under different water contents and stress conditions is very important for the early warning and prevention of slope disasters. In this study, the stability of a side slope in Xingwen County was studied via field investigations, laboratory tests, and numerical simulations. The results show that a dry sample has a greater rockburst proneness than a water-rich sample. Compared with that of the dry sample, the strength of the sample representing the water-rich area of the slope decreased significantly, the peak strength decreases by 28.5% on average under the different confining pressure conditions tested, and the stress-strain curve has more jitter after the peak and shows more obvious plastic characteristics. The peak shear strain in the XZ direction on the lower slope under water-rich conditions is 48.5% greater than that under dry conditions, and the range of the slope plastic zone is also significantly greater than that under dry conditions. This indicates that the stability of the slope under water-rich conditions is much lower than that under dry conditions. The safety factors of the three types of slopes are calculated. The slope safety factors under the "water-rich and deadweight" and "water-rich and earthquake" conditions are 3.1% and 5.4% lower, respectively, than that under the "dry and deadweight" conditions. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the protection of water-rich areas on slopes with frequent microearthquakes.