Catastrophic Mechanism of Unstable Rock Masses on Reservoir Banks Considering Spatial Variability of Geotechnical Parameters: Banbiyan Unstable Rock Mass in Wuxia Gorge
1 School of Civil Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China
2 State Key Laboratory of Safety and Resilience of Civil Engineering in Mountain Area, Chongqing 400045, China
3 Chongqing Field Scientific Observation and Research Station for Reservoir Bank Landslides in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area, Chongqing 400045, China
4 Chongqing Bureau of Geology and Minerals Exploration, Chongqing 401121, China
5 Key Laboratory of Hydraulic and Waterway Engineering of the Ministry of Education Chongqing Jiaotong University, Chongqing 400074, China
In order to clarify the nonlinear catastrophic failure mechanisms of unstable rock masses on steep reservoir banks under periodic water-level fluctuations in the Three Gorges Reservoir area, a numerical investigation was conducted considering the heterogeneous mechanical properties of the rock mass. Based on comprehensive field investigations, Gaussian random fields were employed to characterize the spatial variability of the physical and mechanical parameters of the Banbiyan unstable rock mass in Wushan Gorge. The strength reduction method was applied to evaluate the stability of the rock mass under different reservoir water-level conditions. The results show that considering parameter randomness leads to fluctuating stability outcomes, and the distribution of the critical failure surfaces becomes more extensive, indicating the controlling influence of structural planes on overall stability. It is found that the average factor of safety decreases by 2%~5%, with a maximum reduction of 12% at the 175 m water level. Moreover, repeated water-level fluctuations intensify the spatial variability of rock and soil properties, thereby increasing the uncertainty of collapse initiation. It is concluded that the random field-based approach provides a more realistic representation of the dynamic response of unstable rock masses on reservoir banks under complex hydro-mechanical environments, and offers valuable reference significance for risk management and stability evaluation in the Three Gorges Reservoir and similar engineering settings.
FANG Xiang-wei, WANG Yi-long, WANG Lu-qi, ZHANG Wen-gang, ZHANG Zhi-hua, QIU Zhen-feng.
Catastrophic Mechanism of Unstable Rock Masses on Reservoir Banks Considering Spatial Variability of Geotechnical Parameters: Banbiyan Unstable Rock Mass in Wuxia Gorge[J].
Science Technology and Engineering, 2026, 26(24): 10556-10568 DOI:10.12404/j.issn.1671-1815.2506624
三峡库区危岩多发育于高陡峡谷区,具有隐蔽性、突发性、破坏力强、危害性大等特点[2]。自三峡库区蓄水运行以来,水位的周期性变化、强降雨与岩体自重作用相互叠加[2-5],加速了库岸消落带岩体的劣化,导致危岩体稳定性大幅降低[6-8]。在多组结构面的切割与组合控制下,陡崖危岩容易发生坠落式和倾倒式失稳破坏,且在多层岩质边坡中,危岩体往往呈阶梯式、链式崩塌,表现出渐进失稳特征[9-10]。已有研究围绕库岸斜坡稳定问题考虑了岩性差异、结构特征、水位波动、岩体劣化与降雨渗透等影响因子,采用极限平衡、强度折减等方法,进一步探讨了这些因子之间的耦合作用对边坡失效机制的影响[11-18]。陈洪凯等[19]通过试验提出“主控结构面贯通率法”,将贯通度与安全等级耦合以评估危岩稳定性。刘新荣等[20]基于巫山现场调查确定了五类致灾岩组及5种库岸再造模式。殷跃平等[21]利用跨孔声波与井下电视优化地理信息系统(geographic information system,GIS)系统,从而实现了对消落带劣化岩体的精细刻画。黄波林等[22]通过野外监测与实验阐明了岩溶岸坡劣化-灾变链。闫国强等[23]以巫峡青石6号斜坡为例,建立概化模型研究了顺层灰岩在消落带劣化下的破坏机制。
LiuXinrong, WangHao, GuoXueyan, et al. Stability analysis of typical dangerous rock bank slopes considering rock mass degradation in the fluctuating zone[J]. Rock and Soil Mechanics, 2024, 45(2): 563-576.
ChenHongkai, DongPing, TangHongmei. Research status and development trend of dangerous rockfall disasters[J]. Journal of Chongqing Normal University (Natural Science Edition), 2015, 32(6): 53-60, 2.
YinYueping, HuangBolin, LiBin, et al. Study on deterioration indices of dissolved rock masses in the fluctuating zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area[J]. Acta Geologica Sinica, 2021, 95(8): 2590-2600.
HuangBolin, YinYueping, ZhangZhihua, et al. Study on rock mass degradation characteristics in karst bank slopes of the fluctuating zone in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area[J]. Chinese Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering, 2019, 38(9): 1786-1796.
YinYueping, ZhangChenyang, YanHui, et al. Study on seepage stability and prevention design of landslides during impoundment operation in the Three Gorges Reservoir[J]. Chinese Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering, 2022, 41(4): 649-659.
HuangBolin, LiuGuangning, WangShichang, et al. Study on disaster-causing mechanism of steep bank slopes in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area[M]. Beijing: Science Press, 2015.
YinYueping, WangLuqi, ZhaoPeng, et al. Study on buckling failure mechanism and prevention of steep bank slopes in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area[J]. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 2022, 53(4): 379-391.
[15]
TangH, WasowskiJ, JuangC H. Geohazards in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area, China: lessons learned from decades of research[J]. Engineering Geology, 2019, 261: 105267.
XiongChao, ZhaoPeng, WuChao, et al. Failure modes and stability of dangerous rock masses in karst scenic areas of the Three Gorges Reservoir—a case study of cliff dangerous rocks at the Shenxiu Cave in Tiansheng Sanqiao, Chongqing[J]. Science Technology and Engineering, 2019, 19(17): 107-113.
TianYun, WangLinfeng. Collapse sequence of dangerous rocks in multilayered steep rock slopes based on PFC discrete element method[J]. Science Technology and Engineering, 2019, 19(19): 301-309.
YinYueping. Study on the influence of groundwater seepage pre-ssure on slope stability in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area[J]. The Chinese Journal of Geological Hazards and Prevention, 2003(3): 4-11.
WangYucheng, FangXiangwei, WangLuqi, et al. Transparent soil model test study on the influence of water level fluctuation rate on reservoir bank landslides[J/OL]. (2024-10-29)[2025-08-15]. https://link.cnki.net/urlid/50.1218.TU.20241028.1025.004
LiuXinrong, GuoXueyan, ZhouXiaohan, et al. Shear penetration mechanism and mechanical properties of shear zone-bedrock interface in reservoir bank dangerous rocks[J]. Chinese Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering, 2024, 43(5): 1096-1109.
[28]
SunG H, YangY T, JiangW, et al. Effects of an increase in reservoir drawdown rate on bank slope stability: a case study at the Three Gorges Reservoir, China[J]. Engineering Geology, 2017, 221: 61-69.
HuLei, ZhangPeng, HuangBolin. Failure mode and long-term stability analysis of typical dangerous rock masses in karst bank slopes of the Three Gorges Reservoir[J]. The Chinese Journal of Geological Hazard and Control, 2023, 34(5): 64-73.
[31]
YinY, HuangB, WangW, et al. Reservoir-induced landslides and risk control in Three Gorges Project on Yangtze River, China[J]. Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, 2016, 8(5): 577-595.
ZhengYingren, ShiWeimin, KongWeixue. Calculation of seepage force and groundwater phreatic line during reservoir drawdown[J]. Chinese Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering, 2004(18): 3203-3210.
ChenHongkai, XianXuefu, TangHongmei, et al. Methods for stability analysis of dangerous rock masses[J]. Chinese Journal of Applied Mechanics, 2009, 26(2): 278-282, 406-407.
LiuXinrong, JingRui, MiaoLuli, et al. Bank reconstruction model and typical case analysis of fluctuating zone slopes in the Wushan section of the Three Gorges Reservoir[J]. Chinese Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering, 2020, 39(7): 1321-1332.
YinYueping, YanGuoqiang, HuangBolin, et al. Study on geological strength index of rock mass degradation process in the fluctuating zone slopes of the Three Gorges Reservoir[J]. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 2020, 51(8): 883-896.
HuangBolin, YinYueping, LiBin, et al. Degradation and catastrophic effects of karst bank rock masses in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area[J]. Hydrogeology and Engineering Geology, 2020, 47(4): 51-61.
YanGuoqiang, YinYueping, HuangBolin, et al. Degradation-buckling catastrophic mechanism of bedding limestone slopes in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area[J]. Rock and Soil Mechanics, 2022, 43(9): 2568-2580.
XiaoTe, LiDianqing, ZhouChuangbing, et al. Non-intrusive reliability analysis of multilayered slopes based on finite element strength reduction method[J]. Journal of Basic Science and Engineering, 2014, 22(4): 718-732.
WangWeiming, GaoXu, ChenNuo, et al. Variability of shear strength characterized by random field of structural surface roughness[J]. Science Technology and Engineering, 2024, 24(7): 2657-2664.
[48]
PhoonKK, KulhawyF H. Characterization of geotechnical variability[J]. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 1999, 36(4): 612-624.
[49]
VanmarckeE H. Probabilistic modeling of soil profiles[J]. Journal of the Geotechnical Engineering Division, 1977, 103(11): 1227-1246.
[50]
VanmarckeE H. Random fields: analysis and synthesis[M]. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2010.
ZhangWengang, WangQi, ChenFuyong, et al. Reliability analysis of slopes and random response of anti-slide piles considering spatial variability of rock mass[J]. Rock and Soil Mechanics, 2021, 42(11): 3157-3168.
[53]
YinY P, WangL Q, HuangB L, et al. Evolution analysis of the Banbiyan dangerous rock mass in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area, China[J]. Georisk: Assessment and Management of Risk for Engineered Systems and Geohazards, 2023, 17(2): 376-386.
[54]
WangN, LiuL, ShiT, et al. Study of the impact of reservoir water level decline on the stability treated landslide on reservoir bank[J]. Alexandria Engineering Journal, 2023, 65: 481-492.
LanHengxing, BaoHan, SunWeifeng, et al. Multiscale heterogeneity of rock masses and their mechanical behavior[J]. Journal of Engineering Geology, 2022, 30(1): 37-52.
[57]
陈福勇. 基于随机场理论的岩体破坏机理及隧道工程可靠度分析[D]. 重庆: 重庆大学, 2021.
[58]
ChenFuyong. Failure mechanism of rock masses and reliability analysis of tunnel engineering based on random field theory[D]. Chongqing: Chongqing University, 2021.
[59]
GuX, ChenF Y, ZhangW G, et al. Numerical investigation of pile responses induced by adjacent tunnel excavation in spatially variable clays[J]. Underground Space, 2022, 7(5): 911-927.
[60]
陈东方. 基于随机有限差分的层状岩体洞室失稳风险分析[D]. 沈阳: 东北大学, 2016.
[61]
ChenDongfang. Instability risk analysis of layered rock mass caverns based on random finite difference method[D]. Shenyang: Northeastern University, 2016.
ChenYunfei, ZhangPeng, HuangBolin, et al. Failure process and long-term stability analysis of typical dangerous rock masses in reservoir banks considering rock mass degradation[J]. Journal of Geomechanics, 2022, 28(6): 938-947.