The mechanism of the 1941 Tsaoling landslide, Taiwan: insight from a 2D discrete element simulation

摘要

Tsaoling is located in Southwestern Taiwan, 10 km east of the frontal thrusts of the mountain belt. Five large historical landslide events were recorded from 1862 to 1999. No details of the earliest landslide event (1862) are available, thus this paper deals with the 1941 landslide event. Using the Particle Flow Code in two dimensions (PFC 2D) to simulate the mechanism of the Tsaoling landslide in 1941, this study shows that the landslide block developed cracks and slid down 0.2-1.8 m on the sliding plane. The cracks concentrated in certain zones, which corresponded to future landslide detachment planes. During the vibration simulation, the cracks spread from the shear plane to ground surface. Monitoring the variations of the displacements, velocity, and stress during vibration simulation showed that the peak velocity and stress in the transition zones occurred at 3 s. The displacement of the left part of the block exceeded 1.3 m, and the displacement of the right part was less than 1.3 m during vibration simulation. These results suggest that the left part of the block was pushed down by the right part, ultimately inducing a landslide during an earthquake.