Phenomenological Model for Evaluation of Slope Stability for Overburden Rock Dumps

The authors developed the phenomenological model of landslide initiation under multiple seismic effects. The model uses the lab-scale testing data on mechanisms of slope failure under dynamic impacts, the analysis of a large bulk of field data, the instrumental measurements of seismic effects induced by large-scale blasting and the numerical calculations of influence exerted by seismic vibrations on slopes. The rules are formulated for the decision-making in evaluation of potential landslide initiation under seismic impact. Evaluation of slope stability is performed for overburden rock dumps at open pit mines in the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly. It is shown that large-scale blasts in the test open pit mine have no effect on the stability of the dumps, but the damaged drainage and the rising of underground water can result in accumulation of irreversible deformations.