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Water control structure of loess plateau fill slopes: Composite of low-permeability interbedded strata and anti-erosion surface layer
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Abstract: The extensive fill engineering slopes formed by major projects such as "managing the ditch and creating land" in the Loess Plateau region face severe challenges of rainfall-induced instability. Inspired by the self-stable structure of natural loess-paleosol sequences and the Nature-based Solutions (NbS) concept, the water-control structure for loess fill slopes was propose, which is a composite of erosion-resistant surface layer (modified cellulose-treated) and low-permeability layers (mimicking paleosol properties using lime-improved loess). Indoor soil mechanics tests (liquid/plastic limits, compaction, permeability, shear strength) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis revealed that both modified materials significantly enhance soil strength and reduce permeability (e.g., lime treatment reduced saturated permeability by 95.18%). Artificial rainfall model experiments demonstrated that slopes with water—control structure exhibit delayed infiltration response (up to 1,565 minutes), reduced erosion volume (71.6% less than untreated slopes), and shifted failure modes from fluidized collapse to gradual shear-slip. Numerical simulations (GeoStudio) further optimized the low-permeability layer configuration, identifying a 3 m-thick, 2°-inclined layer as optimal for maximizing stability. This study reveals that the NbS structure effectively regulates rainfall infiltration and erosion processes, significantly reducing erosion volume and altering failure modes. Consequently, the NbS-based water-control structure provides a theoretical basis and key technical support for the prevention and control of instability in loess fill slopes.
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Figure 1. Filling slopes produced by three managed projects on the loess plateau (a. "building a city on leveled mountain" plan, b. the project of "consolidating the ditch and protecting the plateau", c. warp land dam)
Figure 2. “Three sides, two bodies and one water structure” of a loess filling engineering slope
Figure 4. Water-control structure of loess filling slope based on the NbS concept (a. schematic diagram of the overall slope structure, b. detailed view of the slope water control structure)
Figure 7. Microstructure of loess magnified 2000 times (90% compaction degree) (a. the remolded loess, b. lime-amended loess, c. the modified cellulose-improves loess)
Figure 11. Failure mode of slope surface without a water-control structure (a. rainfall beginning on 2024.8.13 at 13:00, b. rainfall duration on 2024.8.16 at 2:12, c. rainfall ending on 2024.8.16 at 17:46, d. three-dimensional deformation model diagram)
Figure 12. Failure mode of slope with a water-control structure (a. rainfall beginning on 2024.8.23 at 10:00, b. rainfall duration on 2024.8.25 at 08:35, c. rainfall ending on 2024.8.29 at 9:00, d. three-dimensional deformation model diagram)
Figure 13. Curve of water content with time at the main measurement points of slopes without water-control structure
Notes: ① Microcrack development at the interface; ② interface cracks continue to expand; ③ local collapse of the slope foot; ④ slope shoulder crack development; ⑤ localized collapse in the middle of the slope and crack developement at the top of the slope; ⑥ slope shoulder began to collapse; ⑦ rainfall stopped
Figure 14. Curve of water content with time at the main measurement points of slopes with water-control structure
Notes: ① Slope toe slid overall; ② the back wall of the landslide saturated by rainfall; ③ the second sliding and slope top tension crack development; ④ the third sliding; ⑤ slope shoulder collapsed; ⑥ rainfall stopped
Figure 15. Matrix suction curves with time at the main measurement points of slopes without water-control structure (①-⑦ are slope destruction stages, consistent with Fig. 13)
Figure 16. Matrix suction curves with time at the main measurement points of slopes with water-control structure (①-⑥ are slope destruction stages, consistent with Fig. 14)
Figure 17. Pore water pressure curves with time at the main measurement points of slopes without water-control structure (①-⑦ are slope destruction stages, consistent with Fig. 13)
Figure 18. Pore water pressure curves with time at the main measurement points of slopes with water-control structure (①-⑥ are slope destruction stages, consistent with Fig. 14)
Figure 19. Earth pressure curves with time at the main measurement points of slopes without water-control structure (①-⑦ are slope destruction stages, consistent with Fig. 13)
Figure 20. Earth pressure curves with time at the main measurement points of slopes with water-control structure (①-⑥ are slope destruction stages, consistent with Fig. 14)
Figure 22. Transient distribution diagram of volumetric moisture content of the loess filling slope at 10 d rainfall (a. pure loess filling slope without a low-permeability layer, b. the loess filling slope with one low-permeability layer, c. the loess filling slope with two low-permeability layers, d. the loess filling slope with three low-permeability layers)
Figure 23. Variation curve of moisture content of the monitoring line of the loess filling slope with rainfall time (a. pure loess filling slope without a low-permeability layer, b. the loess filling slope with one low-permeability layer, c. the loess filling slope with two low-permeability layers, d. the loess filling slope with three low-permeability layers)
Figure 24. The variation curve of moisture content of the loess filling slope with rainfall time (a. the thickness of the low-permeability layer was 1.5 m, b. the thickness of the low-permeability layer was 3.0 m, c. the thickness of the low-permeability layer was 4.5 m)
Figure 25. Effect of low-permeability layer thickness on the stability of the loess filling slope
Figure 26. Effect of low-permeability dip angle on the stability of loess filling slope (a. the dip angle of the low-permeability layer was 0°, b. the dip angle of the low-permeability layer was 2°, c. the dip angle of the low-permeability layer was 4°)
Figure 27. Effect of low-permeability dip angle on the stability of loess filling slope
Table 1. The basic physical and mechanical parameters of experimental soil samples
Name Natural moisture content/% Specific gravity Sand gravel >0.075 mm/% Powder particle 0.005–0.075 mm/% Clay particle <0.005 mm/% Liquid limit/wI Plastic limit/wp Plasticity limit index/Ip Yan'an loess 10.65 2.71 14.89 69.23 15.88 28.84 16.53 12.31 
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Table 2. Determination of engineering properties of remolded loess and improved loess
Soil sample name Liquid limit/wI Plastic limit/wp Plasticity limit index/Ip Maximum dry density/
g/cm3Optimum moisture content/
%Saturated permeability coefficient Ksat/m·s−1 Cohesive force/
kPaInternal friction angle/° Remodeled loess 28.84 16.53 12.31 1.73 16 8.39×10−6 17.05 25.32 9% lime-amended loess 33.53 20.19 11.49 1.62 20 9.57×10−7 32.03 26.68 0.34% modified cellulose-improved loess 42.17 23.95 18.22 1.73 20 4.04×10−7 57.10 28.87
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Table 3. Main similarity relationships in loess filling slope model
The physical quantity Notation Dimension of
quantityRelationship of
similaritySimilar
constantSlope dimension (the basic quantity) $ l $ $ L $ $ {C}_{l}=n $ $ n $ Soil density (the basic quantity) $ \rho $ $ M{L}^{-3} $ $ {C}_{\rho }=1 $ 1 Gravitation acceleration (the basic quantity) $ g $ $ L{T}^{-2} $ $ {C}_{g}=1 $ 1 Elastic modulus $ E $ $ M{L}^{-1}{T}^{-2} $ $ {C}_{E}=1 $ 1 Poisson's ratio $ \mu $ 1 $ {C}_{\mu }=1 $ 1 Stress $ \sigma $ $ M{L}^{-1}{T}^{-2} $ $ {C}_{\sigma }={C}_{l}{C}_{\rho }{C}_{g} $ $ n $ Deformation $ \varepsilon $ 1 $ {C}_{\varepsilon }=1 $ 1 Pore water pressure $ u $ $ M{L}^{-1}{T}^{-2} $ $ {C}_{u}={C}_{l}{C}_{\rho }{C}_{g} $ $ n $ Soil cohesive force $ c $ $ M{L}^{-1}{T}^{-2} $ $ {C}_{c}=1 $ 1 Internal friction angle $ \varphi $ 1 $ {C}_{\varphi }=1 $ 1 Permeability coefficient $ k $ $ L{T}^{-1} $ $ {C}_{k}=1 $ 1 Moisture content $ w $ 1 $ {C}_{w}=1 $ 1 Displacement $ d $ $ L $ $ {C}_{d}=n $ $ n $ Rainfall intensity $ q $ $ L{T}^{-1} $ $ {C}_{q}=\sqrt{{C}_{l}}\sqrt{{C}_{g}} $ $ \sqrt{n} $ Time $ t $ $ T $ $ {C}_{t}=\dfrac{\sqrt{{C}_{l}}}{\sqrt{{C}_{g}}} $ $ \sqrt{n} $
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