The response characteristics and stability evaluation of vegetated slope under strong wind

Abstract

As one of the major geological disasters in southeastern China, typhoon-induced vegetation slope instability causes significant loss of life and property each year. This research quantitatively investigated the effects of wind and vegetation on slope dynamic field and soil strength through numerical simulation and soil strength degradation tests. Finally, we proposed an optimization method for stability assessment of vegetated slopes in the southeast coastal area. The results show that: 1) From 1999 to 2022, 86.1% of landslides occurred during typhoons with high wind speeds and precipitation. 2) The influence of wind on the dynamic response of vegetated slopes varies obviously with wind speeds. When the wind grade ≥ 13 (typhoon: 37.0 ~ 41.4m/s), vegetation canopy shaking significantly increases slope displacement. 3) When the wind speed is higher than that in working condition 4 (grade 10–11: 24.5 ~ 32.6m/s), the wind load promotes the degradation of soil strength, with the degradation parameter (Kτ) drastically decreasing by nearly 22.2%. 4) Compared with the traditional model, the optimized evaluation model is more sensitive. The calculated anti-sliding force increases by 10.62%~11.64%. The research results can improve the accuracy of slope stability assessment and provide a reasonable reference for the factor selection of typhoon-induced landslide risk assessment.