Freeze-thaw cycles are recognized as one of the key triggers for some major landslides in cold regions around the world. Though the effects of freeze-thaw cycles on the rock strength degradation have been studied extensively, little effort has been made to qualitatively evaluate how it contributes to the evolution from a stable rock slope to a large-scale mass movement. In this study, we use a discrete element-based numerical model to simulate the entire process of the initiation of landslide under the action of freeze-thaw cycles in a slope with randomly distributed initial cracks. The main goal of this work is to quantitatively describe the landslide evolution process regarding the slope displacement, crack propagation, stress chain and load-bearing structure. Our results show the essence of the displacement evolution of a landslide subjected to freeze-thaw cycles; namely frost heave pressure induces the generation of new cracks, leading to the failure and reconstruction of the load-bearing structure of the slope. Deep-seated landslides can occur when the slope is crossed by a fault; otherwise, the slope is prone to surface erosion or shallow landslides.

中文翻译：

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寒区滑坡的起生机理：冻融循环的作用


冻融循环被认为是世界各地寒冷地区一些重大山体滑坡的关键触发因素之一。尽管冻融循环对岩石强度退化的影响已经被广泛研究，但很少有人努力定性评估它如何促进从稳定的岩石边坡演变为大规模的体力运动。本研究采用基于离散元的数值模型，模拟了初始裂缝随机分布的边坡在冻融循环作用下滑坡起生的全过程。这项工作的主要目标是定量描述滑坡演变过程，包括边坡位移、裂缝扩展、应力链和承重结构。我们的结果表明了遭受冻融循环的滑坡位移演变的本质;即冻胀压力诱发新裂缝的产生，导致边坡承重结构的破坏和重建。当断层穿过斜坡时，可能会发生深部滑坡;否则，斜坡容易发生地表侵蚀或浅层滑坡。