Conceptual Analog for Evaluating Empirically and Explicitly the Evolving Shear Stress Along Active Rockslide Planes Using the Complete Stress–Displacement Surface Model

The stability analysis of rock slopes traditionally involves the evaluation of limit state conditions to determine the potential for rockslides and rockfalls. However, empirical evidence supported by experimental studies has highlighted the complex response of rock interfaces under differential loading. It is characterized by distinct pre-peak and post-peak stress–deformation relationships, which represent the deformation profile of loaded rock interfaces and, thus, capture dynamic and evolving events. The present research introduces an interpretation framework to reconcile these contradicting paradigms by interpreting empirically and explicitly the full stress–displacement relationship along active shear surfaces of rockslide events. The Complete Stress–Displacement Surface (CSDS) model was incorporated into conventional analytical solutions for a rock slope planar failure to describe the evolving stress conditions during an active rockslide event. The Ruinon rockslides (Italy), monitored and studied extensively at the turn of the century, are revisited using the adapted CSDS model to describe the evolving stress–deformation conditions. Empirical and experimental calibrations of the model are implemented and compared using the CSDS model for the description of evolving shear stresses in large rockslide events based on topographical monitoring. This paper contributes a detailed framework for correlating in situ topographical monitoring with relevant geomechanical information to develop a representative model for the evolving stress conditions during a rockslide event.