ABSTRACT
Slopes near the reservoirs and rivers usually experience frequent wetting-drying cycles due to water variation and induced new deformation and even failure of the slope. Centrifuge model tests were conducted to investigate the deformation and failure behavior of slopes under wetting-drying cycles. The test procedure contained two wetting-drying cycles with a wetting process and a drying process in each cycle. The results showed that the water variation induced deformation of the slope with a more significant influence on the upper part of the slope. The drying process induced deformation within a limited zone, mainly in the upper part of the slope and close to the slope surface. The wetting-drying cycles caused a significant progressive slope failure that developed downward during the second water drawdown. The failure mechanism was revealed via the deformation localization analysis on the basis of measurement of full-field displacement of the slope. It is the accumulation of deformation localization during the wetting-drying cycles that caused the ultimate slope failure. On the other hand, the local failure led to more significant deformation localization near it.
