Experimental Investigation on Integrated Subsurface Monitoring of Soil Slope Using Acoustic Emission and Mechanical Measurement

Compared with slope surface measurement, subsurface monitoring has the potential to detect abnormal changes at an earlier stage. Due to the large-scale deformation of landslides and the complex geological environment, the existing subsurface devices generally have limited measuring range or high economic cost. Thus, it is urgent to develop an advanced method to improve the sustainable monitoring of large subsurface deformation. In this study, a novel flexible device is designed for slope subsurface monitoring, which combines an active waveguide of acoustic emission and the distinctive structure of a large-deformation bolt. An experimental system is built and a loading process of three-stage deformation is carried out to test the performance of the flexible device. The kinematic, mechanical and acoustic emission parameters are synchronously obtained in the whole landslide model test. The results indicate that different evolution stages of a landslide can be distinguished by sliding acceleration. The axial tension within the anchor cable changes consistently with sliding thrust. In addition, using acoustic emission to quantify slope deformation has achieved strong correlation. An extra experiment with constant velocity is conducted to explore the precision of deformation quantification by acoustic emission. A schematic diagram is presented for how this novel device would be used for landslide monitoring in the field, with the potential practicability of stabilizing the slope.