Special Collection Information

Slope failure is threatening many types of infrastructure such as roads, dams, embankments, railways, mining, and pipelines. Although slope failure has been studied for a long time, its reliable prediction is still challenging as many factors come into play from initiation of instability to post-failure. It is particularly true when considering that geomaterials are often strongly anisotropic, heterogeneous, and nonlinear in the coupled physical-chemical processes. In addition, climate change will certainly affect the stability of slopes with more extreme weather-induced incidents and higher erosion rates. The available models and tools need to be further developed to quantify the impact of climate change on slope stability. 

The past decades have witnessed theoretical and engineering advancements in slope stability analysis. New techniques including deformation monitoring using InSAR (Interferometric Satellite Aperture Radar) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been introduced to monitor the stability of slopes and early warning systems have been developed. To predict slopes’ post-failure behaviour for better risk assessment, numerous meshfree/particle numerical methods such as Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method, the Material Point Method (MPM), the Particle Finite Element Method (PFEM) and the Discrete Element Method (DEM) are proposed. Furthermore, the DEM has been combined with continuum approaches resulting in the multiscale modelling of the slope failure process. The rapid development of machine learning and data-driven computing provides new possibilities for predicting slope failure.
  
We will publish a special issue themed “Advances in slope deformation and failure analysis methods” in the Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering to highlight the new advances and future developments in this area. The topics include developments of observational methods, machine learning, and numerical methods for early warning, understanding failure mechanisms and processes, and risk assessment of slope failures. The study of environmental factors such as heavy rainfall, snow melting, erosion, and earthquakes for slope stability analysis is also welcome.  

Instructions for Authors
Manuscripts can be submitted via the journal website, and please do not forget to select the special issue ASDFAM when you select the article type as follows:

Guest Editors
Jingjing Meng
Luleå University of Technology, Sweden

Luca Piciullo
Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, Norway

Clarence Choi
The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

Shui-Hua Jiang
Nanchang University, China

Special Collection Timeline

Deadline for manuscript submission: March 15, 2024

Publication of the Special Collection: October 15, 2024