The presence of desiccation cracks can affect rainfall-induced slope stability through both hydraulic and mechanical ways. Despite the valuable insights gained from physical tests in literature, there still lacks understanding how crack characteristics impact water flow dynamics and slope stability, especially considering the coexistence of vegetation. In this study, new analytical solutions were derived for calculating pore-water pressure and slope stability for an infinite unsaturated slope with cracks and vegetation. Both enhanced infiltration from water-filled cracks and water uptake by plant roots are considered. Using the newly developed solutions, two series of parametric analyses were carried out to improve understanding of the factors affecting crack water infiltration and hence the stability of vegetated slope. The calculated results show that slope failure at shallow depths is governed by the surface crack ratio, whereas deeper failures typically occur with greater crack depths. The surface crack ratio primarily influences the hydraulic response at shallow depths not exceeding 1.5 m, hence affecting the factor of safety for slip surfaces within the crack zone. Moreover, increasing the crack-to-root depth ratio from 0.5 to 1.5 results in a 25% reduction in suction at 1.5 m, threatening slope safety in deeper depth after 10-year rainfall.

This paper employed PFC3D and FLAC3D to conduct a three-dimensional discrete-continuous dual-scale coupled simulation and stability analysis of cohesive soil slope through discrete-continuous coupled algorithm and the gravity increase method. In the discrete element model zone, the progressive failure process of cohesive soil slope was studied by setting particles with different displacements to different colours, the evolutions of porosity and coordination number in the shear, sliding and stability zones of slope were analysed by arranging measurement spheres, and the variation law of particle position was obtained by the vertical layering of the soil. In the continuous model zone of coupled slope model, the horizontal and vertical stresses were verified with those of a pure FLAC3D model of slope. Furthermore, a comparative instability analysis of cohesive soil slope and gravelly soil slope was also performed. The safety factor for the cohesive soil slope in this work was determined to be 1.7 according to the mesoscopic fabric evolution of slope particles and the gravity increase method. The work in this paper broadens the application scope of the dual-scale coupled algorithm, highlights the differences in the mesoscopic instability mechanism between cohesive soil slop and gravelly soil slop, and provides new theoretical support for slope design and risk assessment in engineering practice.

Expansive soil due to wet expansion and dry contraction of engineering properties, resulting in the stability of the riffle slope, has been one of the key issues in the expansion of soil area earthworks; this paper, through the three representative riffle slope site field visits and indoor tests, respectively, from the dry bulk weight, unconfined compressive strength, three-way expansion force and expansion with the change rule of the depth of the law to be explored. The three-way expansion force test shows that the extension and proximity direction of the horizontal expansion force are the same. The vertical direction is greater than the horizontal direction, and its ratio is about 0.5. Further analysis of the relationship between the characteristics of the parameters with the depth can be seen: the surface soil indicators are more varied, between 0.5 and 1.0 m, the soil layer dry density is small, the expansion of the soil wet expansion and drying shrinkage is significant, and the unconfined compressive strength is close to or has reached the lowest value; expansion force and expansion volume test indicators along the depth of the graben slope, the expansion force and expansion volume test indicators are more varied. Expansion force and expansion amount test indexes change along the depth of the riffle slope but remain unchanged after 2.0 m. Therefore, the damage of the expansion soil riffle slope mainly occurs in the soil layer near the depth of 1.0 m, which is manifested explicitly as a failure to adapt to the change of stress in the soil and the inability to adjust to the atmospheric natural camping force.

This article presents a micro-structure tensor enhanced elasto-plastic finite element (FE) method to address strength anisotropy in three-dimensional (3D) soil slope stability analysis. The gravity increase method (GIM) is employed to analyze the stability of 3D anisotropic soil slopes. The accuracy of the proposed method is first verified against the data in the literature. We then simulate the 3D soil slope with a straight slope surface and the convex and concave slope surfaces with a 90 degrees turning corner to study the 3D effect on slope stability and the failure mechanism under anisotropy conditions. Based on our numerical results, the end effect significantly impacts the failure mechanism and safety factor. Anisotropy degree notably affects the safety factor, with higher degrees leading to deeper landslides. For concave slopes, they can be approximated by straight slopes with suitable boundary conditions to assess their stability. Furthermore, a case study of the Saint-Alban test embankment A in Quebec, Canada, is provided to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed FE model. (c) 2025 Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/ 4.0/).

Bedrock fault dislocation is a crucial structural factor influencing landslide movement. Accurately predicting the location and scale of rupture zones within a slope body is essential for effective slope construction design and risk mitigation. Based on an analysis of seismic damage in slope cross-bedrock faults, this article creatively realizes the physical model test of the slope and its covering layer site with soil rupture zones at the top and toe of the slope caused by the dislocation of the bedrock normal fault. Through the model test, macroscopic phenomena were observed, and microscopic analysis was obtained by deploying sensors. The main results were as follows: (i) The evolutionary process of the instability mechanism could be divided into three stages: crack damage stage (Stage I), crack expansion and penetration stage (Stage II), and slope instability stage (Stage III). (ii) Two rupture modes of the soil body in the slope under bedrock dislocation were identified, with the rupture mode at the slope crest having a greater impact on the soil slope. (iii) Inferring the position of bedrock faults through the location of the main rupture zones on the slope surface represents a feasible supplementary method for identifying seismogenic structures during field surveys. These research results provide a scientific basis for the stability assessment of cross-fault slopes and the reinforcement design of landslide disasters.

This study investigates the vulnerability of expansive soil slopes to destabilization and damage, particularly under intense rainfall, due to their heightened sensitivity to moisture. Focusing on a project in Yunnan Province, numerical simulation software is employed to address slope stability challenges. Meanwhile, the soil mechanical parameters of this study were acquired through experimentation. The analysis considers six conditions: unsupported, conventional anchor and stabilizing pile reinforcement, and NPR (Negative Poisson's ratio) anchor and stabilizing pile reinforcement, evaluated under both normal and rainstorm conditions. The research outcomes reveal noteworthy insights: (1) The efficacy of NPR anchors in mitigating deformation in expansive soil landslides is investigated, broadening their application potential, particularly in restricting maximum slope displacement compared to conventional anchors. (2) No significant difference in safety factors for slope stability is observed between NPR and conventional anchors. Under rainstorm conditions, safety factors are 1.39 and 1.32 for NPR and conventional anchor and stabilizing pile support, respectively, while under normal conditions, they are 1.42 and 1.39. (3) The NPR anchor, in contrast to the conventional anchor, ensures a more uniform force distribution across the stabilizing pile. (4) While combined support structures contribute to slope stabilization, NPR anchors surpass conventional anchors in limiting slope displacement.

Soils and geosynthetics are terms used interchangeably whenever the physical and mechanical properties of the soil are unlikely to sustain the load coming over it. Several studies have been undertaken to determine the benefits of using geosynthetic products instead of conventional procedures such as stone columns, jet grouting, soil nailing, and so on. As far as geotechnical applications are concerned, geogrid is the most widely utilised polymeric product. This paper provided an overview of geogrid's numerous applications, including pavements, airport runways, railroads, building foundations, MSE walls, bridge embankments, and landfills. Furthermore, this bibliometric analysis has revealed the important laboratory model experiments done on geogrids as well as numerical finite element and finite difference model analysis. An overview of several case studies involving geogrid reinforcement in large projects was also documented; the review also discussed the present trends and opportunities for future development of new geogrid reinforcement technologies within the same of the literature collection to have better clarity for comparison.

For slope instability caused by rainfall, there are some differences between ideal rainfall conditions and actual rainfall conditions. In order to study the stability of slopes under heavy rainfall, this paper therefore takes the 7.20 special rainstorm in Zhengzhou as an example. Four factors, namely average annual rainfall q, soil permeability coefficient anisotropy kr, water table height h(w), and suction friction angle phi(b), were selected as variables. The finite element method was used to analyze the variation rule of initial pore water pressure (IPWP) at the top and bottom of the slope under various factors during the rainfall process, the limit equilibrium method was used to calculate the safety factor (F-s) after the rainfall, and the grey correlation analysis method was used to analyze the sensitivity of factors affecting slope stability under heavy rainfall. The result shows that the pore water pressure at the top of the slope varies more than that at the bottom of the slope during rainfall. The lower the initial pore water pressure, the lower the safety factor of the slope at the end of rainfall. The sensitivity of each factor to the slope safety factor is in the following order: phi(b)>k(r)>h(w)>IPWP.

The stability of rock and soil masses has become increasingly critical due to large-scale expansion and landfilling, resulting in frequent landslides that pose significant threats to safety and property. Consequently, soil slope stability monitoring is essential. To mitigate slope instability risks, this study investigates soil slope stability monitoring using big data technology within the context of the internet of things. The research examines slope monitoring techniques and summarizes various methods for detecting slope deformation. By monitoring displacement and deformation, the operational status of slopes can be assessed, safety evaluated, disasters prevented, and adverse social impacts avoided. Collected geological data support the development of slope models, enabling analysis under different damage conditions. The findings indicate that 50% damage corresponds to a warning threshold, while 80% damage triggers an alarm. Simulation results show that slope stability increases with higher internal friction angle and cohesion but decreases as the slope angle increases.

To explore an effective method for deformation monitoring and behavior prediction of expansive soil slope, field tests are conducted for a flexible slope protection scheme with soilbags that has been implemented in an expansive highway soil slope. A new monitoring system, i.e., the universal Beidou deformation monitoring system, is developed to overcome the limitations of traditional Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) software and hardware, simplify the hardware structure and realize the power sharing mode; furthermore, this system can create and upload a large amount of monitored data to a cloud platform to enable real-time calculation. Compared with traditional GNSS, the volume of equipment required is reduced by approximately 75%, and the cost is reduced by approximately 80%. Secondly, a multilevel safety early-warning evaluation system is constructed by integrating the monitoring results of the universal Beidou deformation monitoring system, bag damage states, rainfall conditions, and slope fissure development; additionally, a deformation early-warning mechanism of flexible support of soilbags was established. Finally, the deformation and collapse of flexible supports of soilbags can be successfully predicted in the field. This research on flexible support of soilbags provides new ideas and methods of deformation monitoring, safety evaluation, and early warning for expansive soil slopes.