Dynamic response and failure evolution of low-angled interbedding soft and hard stratum rock slope under earthquake

Earthquake-induced landslides caused lots of deaths and economic loss in the active tectonic region, like the South-West of China. Soft and hard rock interbedding slopes are easy to fail and slide under earthquake loadings which result in catastrophic disasters. The seismic response and failure evolution of the slope subjected to the earthquake are key to revealing the mechanism of the earthquake-induced landslide and adopting engineering reinforcement in the future. In this study, a series of shaking table tests were performed to reveal the seismic response and failure mechanism of low-angled bedding rock slopes with interbedding of the soft and hard rock layers. Test results show that the acceleration amplification coefficients in the horizontal direction increase first and then decrease with the increase of the slope elevation. The seismic response of the sandstone sandwiching mudstone slope is stronger than that of the mudstone sandwiching sandstone slope. The thicker the middle rock strata, the greater the difference in seismic response between the uppermost and lowest strata. The failure evolution of the interbedding soft and hard rock layer slope can be summarized into three stages with the increase of the amplitude of the input ground motion. The novel findings can provide a basis for post-earthquake disaster investigation and disaster prevention and mitigation in active seismic areas.