Stability and Failure Mechanism Analyses of the Zhenggang Landslide in Southwestern China

The Zhenggang landslide is an ancient complex landslide located at southeastern Tibetan Plateau, China. Due to intensive rainfalls in 2008 and heavy snowfalls in 2009, the Zhenggang landslide exhibited a high probability of reactivation once again. In this study, geological structure, matter features, and macrodeformations of the Zhenggang landslide (including Zone I and Zone II) were investigated for uncovering its formation mechanism and evolution tendency first, and then the stability and failure mechanism analyses of the Zhenggang landslide were conducted in detail by a combined limit equilibrium and finite element analysis method. Results of geological investigations indicate that the Zhenggang landslide has undergone sliding several times and is in a metastable state now. The distribution of the activity of the landslide is a retrogressive landslide in Zone I but an advancing landslide in Zone II. Such conclusions are further proved by the numerical stability and failure analyses.

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