Safety monitoring and stability analysis of left abutment slope of Jinping I hydropower station

Safety monitoring and stability analysis of high slopes are important for high dam construction in high mountainous regions or precipitous gorges. In this paper, deformation characteristics of toppling block at upper abutment, deforming tensile rip wedge in the middle part and deep fractures are comprehensively analyzed based on the geological conditions, construction methods and monitoring results of left abutment slope in Jinping I hydropower station. Safety analyses of surface and shallow-buried rock masses and the corresponding anchorage system are presented. The monitoring results indicate that the global stability of the large wedge block in the left abutment is effectively under control, and the abutment slope is stable in a global sense. After the completion of excavation, the deformations of toppling block at the top of the slope and deep fracture zone continue at a very low rate, which can be explained as “rock mass creep”. Further monitoring and analysis are needed.