Study on the evolutionary process of interbedded anti-inclined slope block-flexure toppling in the upper Yalong River

Block-flexure toppling is the most common toppling mode occurring in interbedded anti-inclined slopes. With the development of hydropower projects in Southwest China, numerous deep-seated large-area toppling failures have become revealed along the Yalong River, seriously threatening the construction and operation of hydropower infrastructure. With the Mari landslide as the research focus, a geological field investigation, base friction physical model test, and numerical simulation test were carried out to study the evolutionary process of slope failure. The results demonstrate that the deep-seated toppling in the study area initiated and developed with the river downcutting process, and the landslide was the final result of the toppling deformation. The interbedded structure of layered rock masses, the steep slate foliations in the slope, and the cross joints in the metamorphic quartz sandstone perpendicular to the rock layer are the controlling factors of the toppling deformation. The landslide induced by toppling mainly developed in the highly deformed zone, where multiple failure surfaces developed, and the location and shape of the failure surfaces were controlled by the cross joints in the metamorphic quartz sandstone. The evolutionary process of the deep-seated large-area toppling in the study area mainly underwent four stages: the initial slope formation stage, the rock column bending and cracking stage, the failure surface penetration stage, and the failure stage.

Automated summary

Block-flexure toppling is a common toppling mode in interbedded anti-inclined slopes. Deep-seated large-area toppling failures along the Yalong River in Southwest China pose significant threats to hydropower infrastructure. The Mari landslide serves as a case study to investigate the evolutionary process of slope failure, revealing that the toppling deformation is controlled by the interbedded structure, steep slate foliations, and cross joints in metamorphic quartz sandstone perpendicular to the rock layer. The failure surfaces in the highly deformed zone controlled the development of the landslide induced by toppling, and the process of toppling mainly involves four stages.