# Study of Deformation and Fault Mechanisms in Bedding-Locked Rock Slope
## 1 Introduction  
Slope problems have become one of the three most prevalent major global natural disasters due to population growth and overexploitation of the natural environment [1]. Many countries around the world have experienced devastating landslides in recent decades [2; 3]. Several alpine countries in Europe, such as Italy and Austria, have experienced serious landslide disasters. Also, landslides often occur in South America, North America, and Asia. In these areas, stratified rock slopes are one of the most common types of slopes. One example of a tragic landslide event occurred on 29 th April 1903, in Alberta, Canada, where a slope instability event of 30 million m\({}^{3}\) buried all nearby villages, resulting in the loss of 70 lives [1; 4; 5]. On 31 st May 1970, a rock slide in Peru, triggered by an earthquake, claimed over 18,000 lives. In 1974, one of the largest landslides ever recorded occurred in Peru's Mantaro Valley, with a volume of 1.6 billion cubic meters, resulting in 450 people either missing or dead [4; 6; 7; 8]. A bedding rock slope is a dipping surface composed of a rock mass with an inclination close to or consistent with the inclination of the bedrock's bedding [9; 10]. Several researchers have extensively studied the fault factors and modes of bedding rock slopes due to their impact on engineering construction and human life. [PERSON] et al. (2023) [11] proposed the use of an unloading stress analyzing method (USAM) to determine the sliding surface, safety factor (Fs), and reinforcement force (Fr) of bedding rock slopes. [PERSON] et al. (2020) [12] found that the inclination angle of weak interlayers is a crucial factor that affects the fault mode of rock slopes. [PERSON] et al. (2021) [13] categorized the fault modes of bedding rock slopes into three distinct modes, namely, integral slip mode, collapse fault mode, and slip tensile fracture mode. [PERSON] et al. (2009) [14] summarized the evolution of the fault modes of rock slopes as follows: sliding fault along weak structural planes, collapse, and destruction. [PERSON] et al. (2004) [15; 16; 17] compared the fault of bedding rock slopes with the buckling instability of slabs and beams. They provided a criterion to determine stability displacement. Thanks to years of extensive research and analysis, the procedure used to analyze and study slope stability has matured. The methodology and work flow of our study can be described as follows: recognition and characterization of the actual slope; development of mechanical and mathematical models; application of a calculation method; and elaboration of the concluding remarks. Our slope stability research is focused on the construction of an appropriate mechanical and mathematical model, as well as on the use of reasonable calculation methods for slopes [18; 19; 20; 21; 22; 23; 24]. The stability of rock slopes is often determined by locking sections along potential sliding surfaces, which have a high bearing capacity in order to resist instability. [PERSON] et al. (2018) [25] discovered that the physical model of a multi-locking-section slope is solely dependent on the displacement of the first locking section's volume expansion point and on the number of sections. [PERSON] et al. (2020) [26] proposed that the time series curve of fault deformation in the multi-locking-section slope differs significantly from the typical three-stage fault deformation theory of slopes with creep characteristics. [PERSON] et al. (2020) [18] considered the slope as a system and used the energy method of system stability to calculate the safety factor of rock slopes with locking segments. They also considered the weakening effect of joints and the locking effect of rock bridges. With the rapid development of society, various types of large-scale engineering projects have been constructed. During and after their construction, it is essential to involve a great degree of slope engineering, including engineering many bedding-layer rock slopes.