Yuhuangge (玉皇阁) landslide in Wushan (巫山), Chongqing (重庆), is one of the focal monitoring geological hazards in the Three Gorges Reservoir. Time domain reflectometry (TDR) and in-place inclinometers were arranged to monitor the deep deformation. Time domain reflectometry is based on transmitting an electromagnetic pulse into a coaxial cable grouted in rock or soil mass and watching for reflections of this transmission due to cable deformity induced by the ground deformation. Comparing the monitoring data of No. 5 Station, in the middle profile of the landslide, from June to December of 2008, the depth of slip surface determined by TDR is -33.58 m, which is consistent with the geological condition of the borehole nearby. The deformation curve trend of the TDR and inclinometer is similar, and it is uniform with the deformation caused by the Three Gorges Reservoir 175 m experimental impoundment. Further, TDR can monitor the tiny deformation accurately. Therefore, TDR is applicable to monitor the Yuhuangge landslide deep deformation and reflect the deformation characteristics well. It is significant to promote the application of TDR in landslide monitoring.
The trial impoundment was carried on in Three Gorges Reservoir from September 27, 2008. There were strong deformation and failure in Hefeng (鹤峰) landslide when the reservoir water level descended from the altitude of 173 m. It indicates that the deformation is closely related to reservoir water fluctuation. For this reason, the effect of reservoir water in the deformation was studied, taking Hefeng landslide as an example in this article. First, the geological characteristics and deformation situation of strong deformation region are analyzed to disclose the intrinsic factors and the pattern of the deformation under the condition of water level fluctuation. Second, the stabilities of the landslide are calculated during the rising and descending processes, and the corresponding relationship between reservoir water level fluctuation and landslide deformation is further identified. At last, the seepage fields and the force condition of landslide body below the phreatie line are analyzed to reveal the effect of reservoir water. Moreover, it can be concluded that for better permeable reservoir landslide, during reservoir water rising, the favorable effect of seepage force weakens the unfavorable effect of uplift force, so the rising of reservoir water has little effect on the stability, and no deformation is caused; but during the descending of reservoir water, the unfavorable effect of seepage force is superimposed on the unfavorable effect of the uplift force, which causes the stability to dramatically decrease and leads to the failure of the accumulation body in front of the landslide.