Progressive evaluation of buckling landslide stability considering strain softening behavior of the slip zone

Abstract Current stability evaluation methods are unable to consider the progressive developing process of the bulking landslide and lack progressive evaluation method. Based on the strain‐softening constitutive model and energy conservation theory, this study proposes a progressive evaluation method for buckling landslide stability considering the shear mechanical characteristics of the slip zone with large displacement, enabling progressive evaluation of landslide stability as the buckling landslide deforms. Proposed method was validated based on the good agreement between evaluation result and observation from the critical displacement of Baiyangou landslide in the Three Gorges Reservoir area in China, as a case study. The results also suggest a displacement distribution along the slip zone presenting a two‐step growth feature from the front edge to rear edge; in contrast, the shear strength distribution presents a two‐step decline feature. In addition, the parameter sensitivity analysis of slip zone and slide mass of buckling landslide shows that buckling landslide stability is directly proportional to the thickness of slip zone and elastic modulus of slide mass and inversely proportional to the length of slide mass.