Creep Characteristics of a Strongly Weathered Argillaceous Sandstone Sliding Zone and the Disaster Evolution Mechanism of the Huaipa Landslide, China

The creep characteristics of sliding zones strongly influence slope deformation and long-term stability, as well as the occurrence of landslide catastrophes. In this paper, large-scale triaxial creep tests were performed on the strongly weathered argillaceous sandstone sliding zone of the Huaipa landslide in the Henan Province, China, to study its creep characteristics and long-term strength in natural and saturated states. Three-dimensional numerical simulations were conducted to analyze the deformation creep law and catastrophic evolution mechanism of the slope after excavation and rainfall. The results show that the sliding zone underwent appreciable creep deformation prior to failure, and that the progression of specimen damage with an increasing stress level followed decay creep → steady creep → accelerated creep. The stress level played a decisive role in the creep deformation, with higher stress levels resulting in higher instantaneous displacement, creep displacement, and longer times required to reach steady creep. The stress level also determined the specimen’s creep stage. When the stress level was low, the adjustment of the specimen’s internal structure was dominated by air space compression and particle movement, whereas particle fragmentation mostly occurred at high stress levels. The long-term rock strength was approximately 62–66% of the instantaneous strength, the internal friction angle decreased by approximately 8° relative to the instantaneous strength, and the cohesion decreased by approximately 30%. The slope foot unloaded and deformed owing to the excavation of a bauxite mine at its front edge, after which the slope deformed via creep. The landslide disaster occurred when the deformation was significantly accelerated and the slope started to slide as a whole once the sliding zone became water saturated owing to continuous rainfall. The simulation results indicate that the landslide can be divided into a front edge bulging zone, central sliding zone, and trailing edge tension zone, which provides valuable insight on the creep deformation evolution process and the disaster mechanism of the landslide under the action of front edge excavation and rainfall.