Analysis of the interfacial landslide mechanism based on asperity theory: a case study of Baotou Aviation Industrial Park, Inner Mongolia

Landslides are one of the most common geological natural hazards worldwide. This study considered a landslide that occurred on August 13, 2022 at Baotou General Industrial Park, Inner Mongolia. Through dynamic penetration and laboratory tests, the physical and mechanical properties of the landslide area were obtained. Asperity theory can be applied to this matter as we deal mostly with an interfacial landslide. In the process of analyzing the mechanism of landslide, we focus on the distribution of asperity in the sliding interface. Through the analysis of routine laboratory test data, it was found that the physico-mechanical properties present small variations between the sampling sites on the sliding interface, and the positions of asperities could not be determined. The dynamic penetration test revealed that the penetration times at different sites on the sliding interface were different, indicating that different parts of the asperity had different strengths. The general range of asperities in the sliding interface was determined by this means. According to the test data and field conditions, a three-dimensional landslide was obtained. \({F}_s=\frac{\sum_1^i{\tau}_{pi}{S}_{ai}{K}_{ai}}{\tau_g-{\overline{\tau}}_{\gamma }S}\). The formula considers an asperity with different strengths contained in the landslide interface and explains that the process of progressive sliding of the slope occurs through the sequential destruction of many asperities. In this study, asperity theory and engineering applications were combined through the use of a dynamic penetration test, enabling the key positions where engineering protection and monitoring were required to be preliminarily identified.