Abstract: In recent years, surface tilt deformation of soil landslides has become an important indicator of landslide monitoring and early warning, but few studies have been done on the relationship between the slope surface tilt deformation and development characteristics of landslides. In this paper, a series of rainfall model tests combined with field tests was carried out to explore the relationship between the displacement and tilt deformation of slope surface in the process of landslide disaster evolution. A landslide warning method based on the curve of slope surface tilt deformation with time was established. The test results showed that the surface tilt deformation of soil landslides accelerates in the failure stage. There is a linear relationship between the reciprocal of tilt rate and the residual time of landslide before the failure, which can be used to predict the final failure time of landslides. In addition, in the process of landslide sliding, the surface tilt deformation and displacement of the landslide also show a linear correlation, and the corresponding slope is consistent with the sliding radius. The findings reveal, for the first time, the relationship between the slope surface tilt deformation and the geometric characteristics of the sliding zone, also provide the experimental basis for the prediction method of landslide sliding zone based on slope tilt surface deformation.

Key words: development characteristics of landslides, slope surface tilt deformation, slope surface displacement, sliding zone