Dynamic stability and failure modes of slopes in discontinuous rock mass

The stability of rock slopes during earthquakes are of great concern in rock engineering works such as highway, dam, and nuclear power station constructions. As rock mass in nature is usually discontinuous, the stability of rock slopes will be governed by the spatial distribution of discontinuities in relation with the geometry of slope and their mechanical properties rather than the rock element. The authors have carried out some model tests on discontinuous rock slopes using three different model tests techniques in order to investigate the dynamic behavior and failure modes of the slopes in discontinuous rock mass. This paper describes the findings and observations made on model rock slopes with various discontinuity patterns and slope geometry. In addition some stability criterions are developed and the calculated results are compared with those of experiments.