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A typical Earth fissure resulting from loess collapse on the loess plateau in the Weihe Basin, China
Abstract Earth fissures are major geological hazards that frequently occur in the Weihe Basin in northwestern China and can cause severe damage to infrastructure. This paper reports a case study of earth fissures resulting from loess collapse in the village of Xibai, in the Weihe Basin. A series of geological investigations, consisting of a site investigation, trench excavation, geological drilling, exploratory well drilling, and geotechnical testing, were conducted to determine and analyze the characteristics of the Xibai Village earth fissures, as well as the physical characteristics of the loess in the earth fissure development area. The earth fissures were parallel to the village sewage pit and had a total length of 800 m. With a maximum depth of 8.5 m, the Xibai Village earth fissures were nearly vertical. Comparing the results of self-weight collapsibility coefficient and three parameters (void ratio, dry density, and water content) of loess at different distances from the sewage pit, the collapsibility of Malan loess in this area and the effects of leakage from the sewage pit were determined. The results revealed that a tilted seepage line was generated, and the loess below this seepage line underwent varying degrees of self-weight collapse deformation. The nonuniform collapse settlement and rotation deformation of loess above the seepage line were thus generated, while tensile stress was created in the upper part of the loess. This rotation of loess, similar to the deformation of the cantilever beam, caused the formation of the earth fissures at the site with higher tensile stress. Based on the rotation mechanism, this study explained the development process of collapse earth fissures and predicted that the Xibai Village earth fissures would continue to develop outward in the future.
Highlights Leakage of sewage pit produces an inclined seepage line in loess. Nonuniform collapse deformation of loess causes earth fissure. Rotation of cantilever beam of loess is mechanics mechanism of collapse earth fissure.
A typical Earth fissure resulting from loess collapse on the loess plateau in the Weihe Basin, China
Abstract Earth fissures are major geological hazards that frequently occur in the Weihe Basin in northwestern China and can cause severe damage to infrastructure. This paper reports a case study of earth fissures resulting from loess collapse in the village of Xibai, in the Weihe Basin. A series of geological investigations, consisting of a site investigation, trench excavation, geological drilling, exploratory well drilling, and geotechnical testing, were conducted to determine and analyze the characteristics of the Xibai Village earth fissures, as well as the physical characteristics of the loess in the earth fissure development area. The earth fissures were parallel to the village sewage pit and had a total length of 800 m. With a maximum depth of 8.5 m, the Xibai Village earth fissures were nearly vertical. Comparing the results of self-weight collapsibility coefficient and three parameters (void ratio, dry density, and water content) of loess at different distances from the sewage pit, the collapsibility of Malan loess in this area and the effects of leakage from the sewage pit were determined. The results revealed that a tilted seepage line was generated, and the loess below this seepage line underwent varying degrees of self-weight collapse deformation. The nonuniform collapse settlement and rotation deformation of loess above the seepage line were thus generated, while tensile stress was created in the upper part of the loess. This rotation of loess, similar to the deformation of the cantilever beam, caused the formation of the earth fissures at the site with higher tensile stress. Based on the rotation mechanism, this study explained the development process of collapse earth fissures and predicted that the Xibai Village earth fissures would continue to develop outward in the future.
Highlights Leakage of sewage pit produces an inclined seepage line in loess. Nonuniform collapse deformation of loess causes earth fissure. Rotation of cantilever beam of loess is mechanics mechanism of collapse earth fissure.
A typical Earth fissure resulting from loess collapse on the loess plateau in the Weihe Basin, China
Lu, Quanzhong (author) / Qiao, Jianwei (author) / Peng, Jianbing (author) / Liu, Zhenghong (author) / Liu, Cong (author) / Tian, Leiyu (author) / Zhao, Junyan (author)
Engineering Geology ; 259
2019-06-07
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
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