11:00 AM - 11:15 AM
[SMP29-07] Assessment of Slope Rock-Layer Strength Using Lateral Force Microscopy
Keywords:Slope stability , Mineral phase, Friction coefficient, Microscopic-scale, Fluid-rock interactions, Lateral force microscopy
Slope stability is crucial for human safety, property protection, transportation efficiency, and infrastructure security. Preventing slope slippage and collapse effectively is of great importance. The mineral (chemical) composition and microstructural properties of slope rock layers play a key role in slope stability, while water serves as a driving force that accelerates slope failure or sliding. When the water content in slope rock layers is high, it reduces the friction coefficient, thereby weakening the mechanical strength of the rock mass. This study focuses on Road 172 in the Guanziling hot spring area of Tainan city in Taiwan. It employs lateral force microscopy (LFM) to analyze quartz, feldspar, chlorite, and calcite within rock samples from slopes subjected to fluid-rock interactions. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) are used to identify and differentiate minerals throughout the experiment. LFM results reveal that the mechanical strength of quartz is comparable to that of feldspar and significantly higher than that of calcite and chlorite. Notably, the friction coefficient of quartz that has undergone transformation into chlorite/clay minerals due to fluid-rock reactions differs significantly from that of the surrounding unaffected quartz. Specifically, the mechanical strength follows this ranking: quartz far from chlorite > quartz adjacent to chlorite > chloritic quartz. The experimental results demonstrate that LFM effectively captures microscopic-scale changes in the mechanical strength of individual mineral phases within rock samples after fluid-rock reactions. These findings can be validated through macroscopic rock mechanics tests and contribute to understanding the stability of slope rock layers. Therefore, LFM is a valuable technique for assessing slope stability and warrants further research and application.