Water-induced changes in mechanical parameters of soil-rock mixture and their effect on talus slope stability

Soil-rock mixture (S-RM) is an inhomogeneous geomaterial that is widely encountered in nature. The mechanical and physical properties of S-RM are important factors contributing towards different deformation characteristics and unstable modes of the talus slope. In this paper, the equivalent substitution method was employed for the preparation of S-RM test samples, and large-scale triaxial laboratory tests were conducted to investigate their mechanical parameters by varying the water content and confining pressure. Additionally, a simplified geological model based on the finite element method was established to compare the stability of talus slopes with different strength parameters and in different excavation and support processes. The results showed that the S-RM samples exhibit slight strain softening and strain hardening under low and high water content, respectively. The water content of S-RM also had an effect on decreasing strength parameters, with the decrease in magnitude of the cohesive force and internal friction angle being mainly influenced by the low and high water content, respectively. The stability of talus slope decreased with a decrease in the cohesion force and internal friction angle, thereby creating a new shallow slip surface. Since the excavation of toe of the slope for road construction can easily cause a landslide, anti-slide piles can be used to effectively improve the slope stability, especially for shallow excavations. But the efficacy of anti-slide piles gradually decreases with increasing water content. This paper can act as a reference for the selection of strength parameters of S-RM and provide an analysis of the instability of the talus slope.