Analysis of the strain process of soil slope model during infiltration using BOTDA

Rainfall infiltration can be a major cause of slope failure. In the present paper, an indoor soil slope model was built; a distributed sensing fiber was designed based on Brillouin optical time-domain analysis (BOTDA). Two soil moisture probes were planted and a rainfall infiltration test was simulated to acquire the data of slope infiltration and deformation progress under rainfall infiltration. Time domain volumetric moisture content of the slope as well as the vertical and horizontal strain changes were monitored. The moisture content results showed the infiltration path and had obvious ascent at the sliding surface of the slope. The fiber results showed that there existed an apparent strain concentration near the shear section of the slope and strain conversion zone; the soil deformation law had a close spatial relationship with the infiltration path in the soil. In addition to the accurate determination of the sliding surface, a secondary shear surface was also detected by the BOTDA system. These results provide valuable information pertaining to the sliding mechanism and prediction of slope failure.