Limit equilibrium theory-based investigation on the critical tension crack depth in loess slope

Zhu, Linxuan; Zhou, Zhijun; Chen, Lei; Xu, Tianyu; Zhang, Zhipeng; Chen, Chaoran; Xu, Fu

doi:10.1007/s12665-021-09641-3

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…In general, when a crack is introduced, the crack should not extend beyond the depth of tension. If the crack depth is overestimated, compressive forces will be eliminated, and the safety factor will be overestimated [32][33][34][35][36]. Michalowski proposed that using the static theorem of limit analysis, one can easily prove that the depth calculated from Equation ( 2) is a rigorous lower bound on the maximum depth of a thin crack in a half-space built of the material with strength governed by the classical Mohr-Coulomb yield condition [16].…”

Section: Maximum Value Of Tensile Crackmentioning

confidence: 99%

Research on Fracture Mechanism and Stability of Slope with Tensile Cracks

Chen

Wang

2022

Applied Sciences

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Tensile cracks at the crest of slope will attenuate the stability of slope. The aim of this paper is to investigate the computation of safety factors acting on a clay slope when the slip surface consists of tensile crack and shear surface. Based on the theory of limit equilibrium, an analytical solution for safety factors containing three types of failure mechanisms is presented. The optimal crack depth was obtained by using the principle of minimum safety factor. In the solution, effects of parameters such as crack depth, slope angle, height, cohesion, and internal friction angle on slope stability were discussed. By comparing with the results of previous studies, the rationality of the proposed approach was verified. Results show that consideration of tensile cracks lead to a significant reduction in slope stability, and the safety factor decreases by about 10% compared with the slope without cracks. The law of safety factor varying with crack depth indicates that it first decreases as the crack depth is increased and then increases as the crack depth is further increased. Through the parametric analysis, it is found that the safety factor increases with an increase in cohesion and internal friction angle but decreases with the slope angle and height increase. It is important to note that the optimal crack depth does not exceed one-third of the slope height. Moreover, a highway landslide that occurred in the road running across the Yunnan and Tibet Province was investigated to verify the practicality of the present method.

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