Slope Instability Analysis in Permafrost Regions by Shear Strength Parameters and Numerical Simulation

Abstract

With the onset of global warming, the environment has profoundly changed. The melting of ice and slope instability were widely observed in the permafrost regions of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, which has destroyed infrastructure and threatened people’s safety. For this study, we conducted a direct shear test, monitored field temperature, and performed a numerical simulation to explore the mechanism of slope instability in the permafrost regions of the Qinghai. The results show that the shear strength of the permafrost soil decreased with the increases in water content and thawing condition. Moreover, the thawing depth of the slopes increased with the rising temperature. From the temperature monitoring data and field observations, cracks and slope instability phenomena were observed in the Qinghai and occurred with the thawing of the permafrost soil. The safety of slopes in the permafrost regions decreased with increases in the temperature, slope gradient, and pore water pressure and with decreases in the shear strength parameters. In addition, the sliding interface had a direct correlation with the freeze–thaw interface, which is a migrated interface of water in liquid form. Therefore, the thawing of the permafrost soil causes the shear strength to decrease and pore water pressure to increase, which leads to slope instability in the permafrost regions of the Qinghai.