Experimental investigation on progressive deformation of soil slope using acoustic emission monitoring

Abstract The deformation process of soil slopes observed during a landslide can have progressive characteristics, which can be quantified through acoustic emission (AE) monitoring. A model test is designed based on the geological model of a translational landslide, and experiments are conducted to reproduce the three-stage deformation process of a soil slope. The deformation process of progressive landslides is described using equations, and an entire loading process is realized using a programmable logic controller (PLC). The maximum velocity of a sliding body is measured to be approximately 6 mm/s with the final displacement exceeding 210 mm. The AE, deformation, and mechanical measurements of the entire process are compared to comprehensively evaluate the evolution behavior of progressive soil landslides. The experiments demonstrate that AE rates can linearly quantify slope velocity as well as help quantify slope acceleration. A copper tube and an aluminum tube are compared as different waveguides, and the quantitative relationship between the AE and deformation obtained by the active copper waveguide is found to be more distinct. The experiments also show that the acceleration of a slope can be effectively used as a discriminant index of progressive landslides, which has the potential to be applied in field monitoring.