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Landslides triggered by rainfall are a major multiple geological hazard on Qin-ba Mountain. Debris landslides in the shallow layer make up a large proportion of all landslides. A flume experiment was conducted to successfully initiate shallow debris landslides using artificial rainfall in Zhouzhi County, Qin-ba Mountain. The results confirmed a strong correlation between the deformation of the slope and pore-water pressure and moisture content. Slope deformation and failure were observed, and a possible mechanism was interpreted based on the experimental results. The primary effects of rainfall on shallow debris landslides on Qin-ba Mountain are the generation of a seepage force and a decrease in the effective stress of the sliding surface as a result of increasing pore-water pressure. The effect of rainfall on the shear strength parameters is inconspicuous, which might be attributed to the relatively high saturation of debris soils under natural conditions. The failure type in Test 1 is considered to be a progressive failure, which is a typical failure mode for homogeneous shallow debris slopes on Qin-ba Mountain, particularly for slopes exposed to artificial excavation. The deformation in Test 2 with higher density, merely taking the form of surface erosion, usually occurs in the regions with the least artificial disturbance. The two deformation types can be primarily attributed to differences in the soil density; the higher density reflected the smaller number and size of inside pores and led to lower soil permeability, which further influenced the distribution of the pore-water pressure, direction of seepage force, and slope deformation. Therefore, higher soil density changed by compaction is beneficial for the stability of shallow debris slopes on Qin-ba Mountain, even with high pore-water pressure. In subsequent work, a series of experiments with various densities should be conducted to explore the dividing point between the two deformation modes, and in addition, tests with larger slope gradients should also be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the typical landslides caused by pipeline construction and the characteristics of landslides during the construction period, and assesses the risk to the long gas and oil pipeline project in China caused by landslides during its construction. Using the semiquantitative risk assessment method and introducing the concept of risk degree, according to the assessment of risk and vulnerability, a landslide disaster risk assessing index system was established after summarizing the causative disaster factors of the landslide disasters induced by the construction of the China-Myanmar pipeline project. Three typical disaster points induced by pipeline construction were chosen to make a risk grade evaluation. The results of site reviews show the evaluation results coincide with the actual situation. Thus, semiquantitative evaluation methods can be used as a reference to guide the landslide disasters developed portion of pipeline construction risk control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, in order to map storm event-induced landslide susceptibility for central Taiwan, remote-sensing data were used to interpret landslides using a geographical information system (GIS). Discriminant analysis was used to establish rules that can successfully classify landslide and nonlandslide slopes. GIS-based slope units were used as the terrain subdivision to determine landslide susceptibility. A set of causative factors and a triggering factor were used to build a landslide prediction model. Data for shallow landslides triggered by three crucial rainfall events in July 2001, July 2004, and June 2006 were selected for developing the model. Among the factors used, the total accumulated rainfall is found to be a key factor in the interpretation of landslides. The landslide susceptibility maps were built for the Guoshin region and validated using predicting samples and data from a subsequent storm event, the 2008 Sinlaku typhoon. Results show that the developed model is capable of predicting the shallow landslide distribution induced by heavy rainfall in the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase of rainfall and rise of groundwater level can cause frequent failures of unsaturated soil slopes that result in catastrophic landslides. This paper proposes a stochastic method for predicting the risk of failure of an infinite soil slope subjected to unsaturated infiltration flow. Stochastic models for shear stress and strength at an arbitrary plane of an infinite slope are developed. The accuracy of the proposed method is verified with the Monte Carlo simulation method. The merit of the proposed method lies in its analytical form, which can easily facilitate practical applications. Furthermore, a risk-based sensitivity analysis is undertaken in this study to identify the factors that are the most random and that affect the slope failure most significantly. It is found in this study that the developed stochastic models can capture the randomness of all factors that contribute to slope failure. It is also found that the slope inclination angle (θ) soil air entry value (ψb) water table rise from matric suction (yb) dry soil unit weight (γd) and soil-specific constant (aϕ) are important random variables in the accurate prediction of slope failure. The paper concludes that the proposed stochastic method can serve as a tool for geotechnical engineers to predict the risk of slope failure with accuracy and ease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]