Use of longitudinal strain in identifying driving and resisting elements of landslides

Research Article| August 01, 1991 Use of longitudinal strain in identifying driving and resisting elements of landslides REX L. BAUM; REX L. BAUM 1U.S. Geological Survey, M.S. 966, Box 25046, Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar ROBERT W. FLEMING ROBERT W. FLEMING 1U.S. Geological Survey, M.S. 966, Box 25046, Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar GSA Bulletin (1991) 103 (8): 1121–1132. https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1991)103<1121:UOLSII>2.3.CO;2 Article history first online: 01 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation REX L. BAUM, ROBERT W. FLEMING; Use of longitudinal strain in identifying driving and resisting elements of landslides. GSA Bulletin 1991;; 103 (8): 1121–1132. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1991)103<1121:UOLSII>2.3.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract Observations of deformation at the surfaces of landslides in Utah and Hawaii indicate that the upslope parts of the land-slides have stretched and the downslope parts have shortened parallel with the direction of movement. The maximum displacement of each landslide occurs in a relatively undeformed zone between the zones of shortening and stretching. The pattern of deformation at the surface of these landslides may be useful in analyzing their mechanics by helping to constrain the longitudinal forces in limit-equilibrium stability analysis. We used earth-pressure calculations to determine the range of possible longitudinal forces (per unit width) for active failure in the zone of stretching and for passive failure in the zone of shortening of one of the Hawaiian landslides. Longitudinal forces computed by stability analysis, assuming homogeneous strength, exceeded the possible forces in much of the upslope half of the landslide. Consequently, we assumed inhomogeneous strength and adjusted shear-strength parameters at each segment of the slip surface until the longitudinal forces computed by stability analysis agreed with those computed by earth-pressure theory, and the factor of safety approached unity. The distribution of longitudinal forces computed for inhomogeneous strength indicated that the boundary between driving and resisting elements of the landslide is near the thickest part of the slide, in agreement with a simple formula for the location of the boundary. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.