Correlation between incompetent beds and slope deformation at Badong town in the Three Gorges reservoir, China

Badong town is a new immigration area in the Three Gorges reservoir, China, which is built on many giant deep-seated landslides. In this region, the slope deformation is very severe and it is strongly correlated with the incompetent beds, which are distributed widely in the rock mass. In this paper, two giant deep-seated translational rock landslides used as study cases are Huangtupo landslide and Zhaoshuling landslide. Firstly, the composition materials, structures and deformation characteristics of the two landslides are analyzed. Then, the position, structure, mineral composition and the formation mechanism of the incompetent beds are studied in detail. Finally, based on the comparison of the position, mineral and structure between incompetent beds and sliding zones of the landslides, the correlations between incompetent beds and giant landslide are discussed. The results indicate that 13 large incompetent beds exist in the middle Triassic Badong Formation strata, which can be divided into three types as weak interlayers, crushed beds and groundwater corrosion zones. The dominant minerals in the incompetent beds are illite, chlorite, quartz and calcite. The contents of the clay minerals in different positions are quite distinct, and the maximum difference of clay content exceeds 70 %. In addition, it is found that the contents of minerals in incompetent beds are similar to the slide zones of the landslides. The initial deformation of slopes normally developed along the incompetent beds, which induced subsequent shear displacement easily. Under the effect of gravity, the deep slip zones were generated mainly along the incompetent beds and the failure mode evolved from creep to integral slide gradually. The results can provide an important reference for the mechanism analysis and prevention of landslides in Badong town.