NEESR-CR: Seismically Induced Rock-Slope Failure: Mechanisms and Prediction

该奖项是NSF 09-524项目招标“小乔治·e·布朗地震工程模拟（NEES）研究网络（NEESR）”竞赛的结果，包括德雷塞尔大学（牵头机构）和蒙大拿大学的蒙大拿理工学院（次级奖项）。该项目将利用伦斯勒理工学院（RPI）的NEES设备基地。在世界范围内，地震引起的岩质边坡破坏在上个世纪最严重的滑坡灾害中约占30%。它们是最常见、最危险的，也是迄今为止最不为人所知的地震灾害之一。岩质边坡破坏在两个关键方面与松散土壤材料中的滑坡有根本区别：(i)岩质边坡的稳定性主要由岩体中的不连续面控制；（ii）由于其潜在的体积大、速度快、传播距离长和冲击力，岩质边坡破坏的后果可能很严重。这些后果通常包括掩埋道路和运河、建筑物倒塌以及形成滑坡碎屑坝。虽然地震引起的土壤滑坡已经得到了很好的研究，但对地震条件下更常见、更重要的岩质边坡稳定性问题的基础研究却非常少。对这一主题的有限理解在很大程度上与解释这些复杂的大位移滑坡的挑战有关，以便更好地了解触发过程。因此，目前评估岩石边坡地震稳定性的实践状况落后于土壤边坡，通常涉及定性评估（即使用描述性参数的相对危害评估）或高度简化的定量分析（即伪静态方法）。这两种方法都没有抓住导致岩质边坡破坏的关键机制，也没有抓住破坏的后果。本研究旨在通过物理和离散元方法数值模拟的完全集成程序，实质性地推进对地震条件下岩质边坡破坏过程的基本理解。由此产生的改进知识将推动改进岩质边坡破坏评估指南、分析程序和预测工具的发展。除了显著提高对地震岩质边坡破坏的基本认识外，这项研究还将推动从目前采用的定性评估程序向基于性能和风险的现代方法的转变。该项目需要一个主要的本科院校、一所研究型大学和国际合作伙伴——西班牙巴塞罗那的加泰罗尼亚政治大学（UPC）之间的合作和学生交流。这项工作的其他影响包括编写旨在提高一般公众对工程和科学的了解的教育材料，编写将物理模型纳入工程课程的模块。该项目的数据将存档，并通过NEES数据储存库向公众提供。

This award is an outcome of the NSF 09-524 program solicitation ''George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) Research (NEESR)'' competition and includes Drexel University (lead institution) and Montana Tech of The University of Montana (subaward). This project will utilize the NEES equipment site at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI).Worldwide, seismically induced rock-slope failures have been responsible for approximately 30% of the most significant landslide catastrophes of the past century. They are among the most common, dangerous, and still today, least understood of all seismic hazards. Rock-slope failures differ fundamentally in two key respects from landslides in unconsolidated, soil materials: (i) rock-slope stability is controlled principally by discontinuities in the rock mass and (ii) owing to their potentially large volumes, high velocities, long travel distances, and impact forces, the consequences of rock-slope failures can be severe. These consequences routinely include burying of roadways and canals, collapse of structures, and formation of landslide debris dams. While earthquake-induced soil landslides have been well studied, there is remarkably little fundamental research on the more common and often more significant problem of rock-slope stability under seismic conditions. The limited understanding of this topic largely relates to the challenges of interpreting these complex, large displacement landslides in order to gain a better understand the triggering processes. As a result, the current state-of-the-practice for assessing the seismic stability of rock-slopes lags behind that of soil slopes and typically involves either qualitative assessments (i.e., relative hazard assessment using descriptive parameters) or highly simplified quantitative analyses (i.e., pseudostatic methods). Neither of these approaches captures the key mechanisms driving rock-slope failure, or the consequences of failure. This research seeks to substantially advance the fundamental understanding of the rock-slope failure process under seismic conditions through a fully integrated program of physical and discrete element method numerical simulations. The resulting improved knowledge will drive the development of improved rock-slope failure assessment guidelines, analysis procedures, and predictive tools. In addition to markedly improving the basic understanding of seismic rock-slope failures, this research will drive the shift from currently employed qualitative assessment procedures to modern performance- and risk-based methodologies. The project entails collaboration and student exchanges between a primarily undergraduate institution, a research university, and an international partner, the Universidad Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) in Barcelona, Spain. Other impacts of this work include development of educational materials aimed at improving the understanding of engineering and science among the general public, preparation of modules for incorporating physical models in the engineering curriculum. Data from this project will be archived and made available to the public through the NEES data repository.