ABSTRACT
Soil slopes are inclined to fail due to the rainfall application in the rainy season. The failures of theses slopes claim many human lives and cause serious economic loss. An image-correlation analysis algorithm was used to determine the displacement vectors of soil without disturbing the soil itself. The soils used in the centrifuge tests were taken directly from the soil hill of Beijing Olympic Forest Park. A new rainfall generator was developed to realize rainfalls during the centrifugal model tests. Using the equipment, two centrifugal model tests were carried out to investigate the deformation and failure process of slopes subjected to a heavy rain and the influence of the initial water content of fills. The displacements of the slope, both in horizontal and vertical directions, increased with increasing rainfall; the area where significant displacements occurred also enlarged.
