A Simulation Analysis of the Slumping Failure of Unstable Rocks With a Weak Base.

Toppling and slumping are two common failure modes for unstable rocks with a weak base (WBURs). The toppling failure of a WBUR is controlled by the degree of inclination of the base. In contrast, the slumping failure of a WBUR is controlled by parameters such as the gradient of the base slope, the gradient of the base surface, the strength of the base, and the geometric dimensions of unstable rocks, leading to complex failure mechanisms. To investigate the effects of these parameters on the failure modes of a WBUR, this study built a two‐dimensional simulation model of a WBUR, which used the equivalent load to replace an unstable rock model and used the inclination value to distinguish between toppling and slumping failures. Moreover, this study proposed a simulation method that determined slumping failures based on the presence of a penetrating area in the contour maps of the maximum shear strain rate of the base slope. The failures of the base slope of a WBUR subjected to slumping failures can be divided into shallow, arc‐shaped and broken line‐shaped types. The slumping failures of a WBUR are influenced by parameters such as the gradient of the base slope, the gradient of the base surface, the base strength, and the geometric dimensions of the unstable rock. The inclination value of the unstable rock obtained through numerical simulations can be used to distinguish between topping failures (forward and backward toppling) and slumping failures of a WBUR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]