Centrifugal model tests on excavation-induced deformation of slopes

The problems induced by slope excavations are quite common in practice. Centrifugal model tests are conducted to investigate behaviors of cohesive slopes under excavation conditions using the excavation simulation devices on the centrifuge of Tsinghua University. The displacement fields are measured during excavation. A method is proposed to identify the excavation influence areas during excavation basing on the displacement measurements, and the deformation of a slope is also analyzed. The results show that the slope can be divided into three areas with different deformation features: excavation-induced relaxation area, excavation-induced compression area and non-influence area, in which the vertical strains are negative, positive and almost zero, respectively. Meanwhile, the potential slip surface moves during the process of deformation, which gradually spreads from the inner to the slope surface after excavation. The excavation causes a significantly progressive failure of the slope.