Investigating the Frost Cracking Mechanisms of Water-Saturated Fissured Rock Slopes Based on a Meshless Model

Guo, Chunhui; Zeng, Feixiang; Shao, Han; Zhang, Wenbing; Zhang, Bufan; Li, Wei; Yu, Shuyang

doi:10.3390/w17192858

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Investigating the Frost Cracking Mechanisms of Water-Saturated Fissured Rock Slopes Based on a Meshless Model

by

Chunhui Guo

¹,

Feixiang Zeng

²,

Han Shao

^2,*,

Wenbing Zhang

^3,*

,

Bufan Zhang

⁴,

Wei Li

⁴ and

Shuyang Yu

⁴

¹

School of Hydraulic Engineering, Zhejiang University of Water Resources and Electric Power, Hangzhou 310018, China

²

PowerChina Guiyang Engineering Corporation Limited, Guiyang 550081, China

³

College of Ocean Science and Engineering, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 201306, China

⁴

School of Transportation and Civil Engineering, Nantong University, Nantong 226019, China

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Water 2025, 17(19), 2858; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17192858

Submission received: 18 August 2025 / Revised: 28 September 2025 / Accepted: 29 September 2025 / Published: 30 September 2025

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Artificial Intelligence in Hydraulic Engineering, 2nd Edition)

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Abstract

In global cold regions and seasonal frozen soil areas, frost heave failure of rock slopes severely endangers infrastructure safety, particularly along China’s Sichuan–Tibet and Qinghai–Tibet Railways. To address this, a meshless numerical model based on the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method was developed to simulate progressive frost heave and fracture of water-saturated fissured rock masses—its novelty lies in avoiding grid distortion and artificial crack path assumptions of FEM as well as complex parameter calibration of DEM by integrating the maximum tensile stress criterion (with a binary fracture marker for particle failure), thermodynamic phase change theory (classifying fissure water into water, ice-water mixed, and ice particles), and the equivalent thermal expansion coefficient method to quantify frost heave force. Systematic simulations of fissure parameters (inclination angle, length, number, and row number) revealed that these factors significantly shape failure modes: longer fissures and more rows shift failure from strip-like to tree-like/network-like, more fissures accelerate crack coalescence, and larger inclination angles converge stress to fissure tips. This study clarifies key mechanisms and provides a theoretical/numerical reference for cold region rock slope stability control.

Keywords: rock slope; frost heave failure; SPH method; fissure parameter; failure mechanisms

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MDPI and ACS Style

Guo, C.; Zeng, F.; Shao, H.; Zhang, W.; Zhang, B.; Li, W.; Yu, S. Investigating the Frost Cracking Mechanisms of Water-Saturated Fissured Rock Slopes Based on a Meshless Model. Water 2025, 17, 2858. https://doi.org/10.3390/w17192858

AMA Style

Guo C, Zeng F, Shao H, Zhang W, Zhang B, Li W, Yu S. Investigating the Frost Cracking Mechanisms of Water-Saturated Fissured Rock Slopes Based on a Meshless Model. Water. 2025; 17(19):2858. https://doi.org/10.3390/w17192858

Chicago/Turabian Style

Guo, Chunhui, Feixiang Zeng, Han Shao, Wenbing Zhang, Bufan Zhang, Wei Li, and Shuyang Yu. 2025. "Investigating the Frost Cracking Mechanisms of Water-Saturated Fissured Rock Slopes Based on a Meshless Model" Water 17, no. 19: 2858. https://doi.org/10.3390/w17192858

APA Style

Guo, C., Zeng, F., Shao, H., Zhang, W., Zhang, B., Li, W., & Yu, S. (2025). Investigating the Frost Cracking Mechanisms of Water-Saturated Fissured Rock Slopes Based on a Meshless Model. Water, 17(19), 2858. https://doi.org/10.3390/w17192858

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Investigating the Frost Cracking Mechanisms of Water-Saturated Fissured Rock Slopes Based on a Meshless Model

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