Abstract

Perilous rocks are a potential geological disaster on cliffs and/or steep slopes and can initiate avalanches. They are classified into three types: Sliding perilous rocks, toppling perilous rocks and falling perilous rocks. Moreover, two subtypes of toppling perilous rocks are distinguished, one in which the upsetting point is outside of the center of gravity of the perilous rock, and one in which the upsetting point is inside. Hitherto, stability analysis of perilous rocks is the original aspect in avalanche mitigations. The authors establish the stability analysis method of perilous rocks systematically in this paper. The method includes four aspects: (1) Lading combinations acting on perilous rocks; (2) Shear strength parameters of the dominant fissure; (3) Assessment criterion for perilous rocks, and (4) Calculation formulas of the stability coefficient of perilous rocks, which has been applied effectively in control engineering of about 30000 perilous rocks in western China.

Key words: Perilous rock in source of avalanche, types, loading combinations, shear strength parameters of dominant fissure, stability analysis method.