Study on deformation and failure of slopes under coupled application of water level change and vertical load

As a large number of reservoirs are completed and put into use, slope failure under water level change and external load has caused serious loss of life and property in recent years. The equivalence of deformation and failure processes under different loading combinations is important for establishing an efficient and convenient evaluation method for reservoir slopes. A simulator and a hydraulic loading device were developed to simulate the different loading combinations of the water level change and vertical loading in centrifuge model tests. A series of centrifuge model tests were conducted for this purpose. Based on the results, the coupling mechanism of deformation localization and the failure process were analyzed, and the equivalent damage feature was discussed. The soil slope exhibited a gradual failure process with the loading combination of the water level change and vertical pressure. The coupling effect of deformation localization and the failure process induced the final slope failure. The settlement at the top of the slope was used as a characteristic index because it could comprehensively reflect the effect of different loads and correspond with the process of slope failure. The different loading combinations of the water level differ, but the vertical loading that induced the same settlement at the top of the slope was considered equivalent. As different loading sequences and magnitudes could both be measured, the equivalent impacts are important when studying the coupling effect of loading combinations.