Discrete Element Modeling of Tangjiagou Two-Branch Rock Avalanche Triggered by the 2013 Lushan MW6.6 Earthquake,China

摘要

Two branches of Tangjiagou rock avalanche were triggered by Lushan earthquake in Sichuan Province,China on April 20th,2013.The rock avalanche has transported about 1500000 m3 of sandstone from the source area.Based on discrete element modeling,this study simulates the deformation,failure and movement process of the rock avalanche.Under seismic loading,the mechanism and process of deformation,failure,and runout of the two branches are similar.In detail,the stress concentration occur firstly on the top of the mountain ridge,and accordingly,the tensile deformation appears.With the increase of seismic loading,the strain concentration zone extends in the forward and backward directions along the slipping surface,forming a locking segment.As a result,the slipping surface penetrates and the slide mass begin to slide down with high speed.Finally,the avalanche accumulates in the downstream and forms a small barrier lake.Modeling shows that a number of rocks on the surface exhibit patterns of horizontal throwing and vertical jumping under strong ground shaking.We suggest that the movement of the rock avalanche is a complicated process with multiple stages,including formation of the two branches,high-speed sliding,transformation into debris flows,further movement and collision,accumulation,and the final steady state.Topographic amplification effects are also revealed based on acceleration and velocity of special monitoring points.The horizontal and vertical runout distances of the surface materials are much greater than those of the internal materials.Besides,the sliding duration is also longer than that of the internal rock mass.