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Rainfall is one of the most significant triggering factors for slope failures in many regions around the world.Numerous research studies have been conducted to investigate infiltration of rainwater into a slope, and the effect of water infiltration on slope stability. In this paper, a review of existing research on infiltration analysis and slope stability analysis under rainfall infiltration is presented. Studies on infiltration analysis with conceptual models, analytical analysis and numerical modelling are first reviewed. The typical pore water pressure profiles in the slope are then discussed. Subsequently, recent developments in analyses of slope instabilities under rainfall conditions using the limit equilibrium method and coupled hydro-mechanical modelling are summarised, and major findings on critical hydrological factors related to rainfall-induced landslides are summarised and discussed. Finally, several research topics are suggested for further study.

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Abstract.A Geographic Information System (GIS)-based quantitative risk assessment methodology was adopted to evaluate the risks of loose deposits formed by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake along a highway near the epicenter. A total of 305 loose deposits with a total volume of 4.0 × 10 7 m 3 has been identified. A physical model was used to determine the failure probability of these loose deposits under six rainfall scenarios, assuming the loose deposits as infinite slopes. The calculated probability of rain-induced slope failures is verified by the recorded landslides at the same site during a storm in 2010. Seventy-nine out of the 112 rain-induced loose deposit failures are predicted by the reliability analysis, with an accuracy of 71 %. The results of reliability analysis and information on the consequence of these rain-induced landslides enable the estimation of the annual societal and individual risks of the loose deposits. Under the rainfall scenarios of 30 mm/12 h and 70 mm/12 h, the estimated annual societal risks reach 8.8 and 7.5, respectively, and the individual risks reach 0.05 and 0.04, respectively, which are very high compared with present risk acceptance criteria. The preliminary assessment provides a benchmark for studying the long-term risks of these loose deposits and engineering decision.

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The excavation of the north square underground shopping center of Shanghai South Railway Station is a complex deep excavation using the top-down construction method. The excavation has a considerable size and is close to the operating Metro Lines. In order to predict the performance of the excavation more accurately, 3D finite-element analyses are conducted to simulate the construction of this complex excavation. The effects of the anisotropic soil stiffness, the adjacent excavation, and zone excavation on the wall deformation are investigated. It is shown that the numerical simulation with anisotropic soil stiffness yields a more reasonable prediction of the wall deflection than the case with isotropic soil stiffness. The deformation of the shared diaphragm wall between two excavations is influenced by the construction sequence of the two excavations. The zoned excavation can greatly reduce the diaphragm wall deformation. However, only the zoned excavation at the first excavation stage affects the deformation of the walls significantly. When the depth of the excavation increases, the zoned excavation has minor effect on the deformation of diaphragm walls.

Stable aerobic granules were successfully developed in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) fed with glucose and sodium acetate as the main carbon sources, and then they were acclimatized to polish the effluent from an up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor. It was found that more than 95% chemical oxygen demand (COD) and 85% suspended solids (SS) in the UASB effluent could be removed by an aerobic granular SBR as a post treatment unit. The performance of the SBR was stable over the whole experimental period. At an organic loading rate (OLR) of 4.5 to 5.4 g l(-1) d(-1), the acclimatized aerobic granules had an average diameter of 3.5 to 6.0 mm and a minimal settling velocity of 72 m h(-1). The biomass concentration in the SBR was as high as 8.4 g (dry weight) l(-1). This study showed for the first time that aerobic granular sludge in SBR would be an effective means to polish the effluent from UASB reactor.