The rockburst phenomenon occurs in dry red sandstone under high in situ stress, and the rockburst effect is weaker for a water-bearing rock. The rockburst effect on red sandstone with different water contents is analyzed in this paper. A true triaxial testing machine is used to conduct the loading, and acoustic emission recording equipment and a high-speed camera are used to monitor the acoustic signal inside the rock and the rock-caving situation throughout the entire process in order to analyze the characteristics of the acoustic emissions and the ejection form of the rockburst. The results show that rockburst occurs in dry red sandstone and 50% saturated red sandstone but not in saturated red sandstone. The phrase characteristics of the stress–strain curve of the dry rock vary more significantly than those of the water-bearing rock, and the elastic strain energy inside the rock decreases gradually as the water content increases. The double peak of the acoustic emissions curve occurs during the failure process of the dry rock and gradually transitions to a stepped pattern as the water content increases. The ejected fragments of dry red sandstone during the rockburst are abundant and large. The true triaxial test results illustrate the characteristic effect of the rockburst on red sandstone with different water contents, reveal the failure mode and ejection characteristics of red sandstone with different water contents, and demonstrate the influence of the water content on the rockburst characteristics of red sandstone. The results of this study provide a theoretical reference for the study of the rockburst mechanisms of similar hard rocks.

Slope cutting is becoming more common in engineering construction to obtain a large floor area. Slope cutting disrupts a slope’s inherent stability, causing instability and sliding. To solve the problem of geological disasters caused by artificial slope cutting, Cangxi County is used as an example to analyze the cutting slope and the height of different slope structures in the county, to study the disaster mode and disaster factors caused by slope cutting, and to analyze the influence of slope cutting height and slope cutting gradient on the disaster process. This study demonstrates that the stability of cutting on different types of slopes is weakened to different degrees, with mixed rocky-soil slopes having the strongest resistance to weakening, thick-soil slopes the second strongest, and thin-soil slopes the weakest. Slope cutting is the main factor of disaster, and rainwater infiltration promotes landslide formation. Numerical simulation is employed to determine the proximities of the slope cutting height and slope cutting gradient, and 75% of the critical value is taken as the proposed threshold value of slope cutting. The recommended cut slope threshold value corresponds to the real stable cut slope gradient on site, and the research findings can be used to guide engineering cut slope decisions in Cangxi County and other red-layer areas.

Several engineering practices have shown that the excavation of shallow-buried tunnels beneath major roads, as well as the selection of appropriate engineering measures and construction methods, has a significant impact on road surface settlement. Therefore, field monitoring and numerical simulation are adopted in this study to analyze the effect of the cross diaphragm (CRD) excavation method on surface settlement for the under-construction Yüan 1 railroad tunnel. The findings show that during the excavation of the four divisions of the CRD excavation method for shallow-buried tunnels, the amount of surface settlement caused by the excavation of part 1 accounts for 40% of the total surface settlement, followed by the excavation of part 3, accounting for 30% of the total surface settlement, and the difference between the excavation of parts 2 and 4 is insignificant, with part 2 slightly larger than part 4. The main influence of the CRD method on surface settlement for shallow-buried tunnels is 0.64–0.86 times the cavity diameter from the tunnel median, within which the final surface settlement caused by excavation is within the same horizontal range, and beyond which the surface settlement is prone to dramatically decline. By applying advanced grouting and adjusting the construction method of CRD based on the monitoring data, the effect of the CRD excavation method on surface settlement can be controlled.