Abstract:
Dispersive slopes represent a prevalent type of geohazard in alpine regions. Investigating their deve-lopment and accumulation characteristics is of considerable importance for ensuring the safety of transportation in mountainous areas. Based on field investigations, modeling tests, and discrete element numerical simulations in the Tianshan Mountain area, physical tests and simulations with different recharge slopes, accumulation slopes, and particle size ranges were designed. The objective was to study the accumulation and damage evolution of bulk slopes under continuous material recharge. The findings indicate that under identical recharge conditions, the top angle of the slope is positively correlated with the recharge slope. Additionally, the growth rates of slope length and accumu-lation area are negatively correlated with the accumulation slope, while the angle is positively correlated with the content of large particles. Following extensive slope failure, slope length decreases, the top angle increases, slope gradient decreases, and the expansion zone shifts downward. The unstable area exceeds 50% when initial failure occurs under varying conditions, with the recharge slope exerting a more pronounced influence on the unstable area. The slope destabilization process can be described as a transition from a critical state to a dynamic state, initiated by the disturbance of a small portion of particles. This causes a limited number of particles to move downward, leading to larger-scale slope instability.