Experimental study of burial depth effect on embedded pipe deformations in sandy slopes under dynamic landsliding

This paper studies the influence of burial depth on slope response and pipe performance under earthquake induced landslide. Three physical models are constructed and tested using 1 g shaking table device. The slope is divided into four sections as toe, lower and upper sections of the slope face and crest. The pips which perpendicularly cross the slope are embedded at these positions in three burial depths to demonstrate burial depth effect in each section. According to the experiments, dynamic slope response which moderately develops at deeper depths at toe and lower section, displays a clear downtrend at upper section and crest. Also, the pipe response depends on pipe route and slope displacement pattern. The pipe deformations have positive correlation with depth at upper section and crest, but show opposite behavior at toe and lower section. Moreover, the horizontal strains impact on total strains in buried pipes reduces at greater depths.