Three-dimensional material point analysis of the Guanghua landslide influenced by topographic constraints
Journal
Landslides
ISSN
1612-510X
1612-5118
Date Issued
2025-06-19
Author(s)
Abstract
This paper presents a case study and numerical investigation of the Guanghua landslide in Taiwan, which developed a significant slope displacement and then was restabilized due to topographic constraints. Due to the steep topography and high slope activity in the landslide area, people and machines cannot access the lower part of the slope, leading to an inability to collect adequate subsurface information and monitoring data. To compensate for this limitation, three-dimensional (3D) material point method (MPM) analyses were conducted in this study. The MPM analyses were first validated by comparing measured and predicted surface and subsurface displacement data of the slope. After validation, the MPM results were used to investigate the post-failure process and kinematic behavior of the landslide. The numerical results indicated that the Guanghua landslide featured two distinct shear bands. The first shear band developed at the soil–rock interface at a depth of 25–30 m. Subsequently, the second/deep shear band formed within the fractured argillite layer at approximately 40–50 m, extending from the lower to the upper slope. This deep-seated sliding resulted in subsidence at the upper section of the slope and uplift at the lower section. When the sliding mass reached a downhill valley, it decelerated and then fully ceased because of the topographic constraints. The numerical results are consistent with the current state of the landslide. Moreover, the stress and strain in the soils at the front edge of the sliding mass that was directly affected by the topographic constraints were examined. The 3D effects of topographic constraints on landslide kinematics are also highlighted and discussed in this paper.
Subjects
Kinematic feature
Large deformation
Material point method (MPM)
Shear band
Topographic constraint
SDGs
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Type
journal article