Instability of High Liquid Limit Soil Slope for the Expressway Induced by Rainfall
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Reviewer Comments
Paper title: Instability of High Liquid Limit Soil Slope for the Expressway Induced by Rainfall
The present manuscript describes the high liquid limit soil slope under different rainfall times and rainfall intensities through numerical simulation combined with the in-site monitoring. The safety factor of high liquid limit soil slope with different rainfall times was analyzed by the strength reduction method. Moreover, the specific mechanism and typical laws of rainfall-induced landslide instability of high liquid limit soil slopes were summarized. A manuscript has a practical application and also provides important theoretical for the next studies.
The paper can be accepted for publication after providing the corrections mentioned below.
Point 1. The abstract section. Line 22. Dimensionless K is proposed… You should give a meaning of “K”,
Point 2. Keywords need to be modified. Please use words not a long combination of words or phrases. High liquid limit soil – is too long.
Point 3. The references are presented not in MDPI style. You need to reformat existing references with a proper guide. Also in the text, it must be [1] instead of (Lu et al. 2019).
Point 4. In the Introduction section, an enhanced literature review is required. For this study, the authors have used only 17 literature sources. Only 5 modern literature sources were used here (2020-2022). It seems insufficient for such type of research.
Point 5. What about the review of research outside China?
Point 6. It will be great if the authors (in the Introduction section) show some description in context – Why it is important to conduct this study? Can the expected result be used or implemented within other similar conditions? If yes, then how? What limitations?
Point 7. The aim of the research must be highlighted at the end of the Introduction section. Not what is done but what you strive to do in your research.
Point 8. Sharper quality of figures 1 and 2 is required.
Point 9. Figure 2 must have a general title, then you can give (a) and (b).
Point 10. Are lines 104-121 the result of the research? I don’t think that it should be placed in section 2 but in section Results and Discussion.
Point 11. Figure 5 seems to be so huge… Please decrease its size.
Point 12. Are lines 242-248 the result of the research? I don’t think that it should be placed in section 3 but in section Results and Discussion.
Point 13. You should create a new Section Results and Discussion and place in it Subsection 3.3. Analysis of numerical simulation results.
Point 14. Place Figure 10 on one page.
Point 15. Why do not combine Figure 11 (a) and (b)?
Point 16. Figure 12 seems to be so huge… Please decrease its size.
Point 17. Place Figure 13 on one page.
Point 18. The Discussion is too short. Please enhance it with more details.
Point 19. It is required to provide a short description of further research before the Conclusions section.
Point 20. The conclusions section is too long. You should leave here only the most important issues. The rest text should be placed in the Discussion section.
Point 21. Please consider the suggested research in your paper when enhancing the literature review. Enhanced review of non-China authors only is more than welcome.
Lazar, M., Apostu, I., Faur, F., & Rotunjanu, I. (2021). Factors influencing the flooding process of former coal open-pits. Mining of Mineral Deposits, 15(2), 124-133. https://doi.org/10.33271/mining15.02.124
Skrypnyk, O., Shapar, A., & Taranenko, O. (2020). Determining local wetness conditions within the mined lands using GIS. Mining of Mineral Deposits, 14(4), 53-58. https://doi.org/10.33271/mining14.04.053
Point 22. In general, the presented article leaves a positive impression and, after eliminating these comments and considering the recommendations made, it can be recommended for publication in the journal "Applied Sciences".
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
The authors explored and case-studied a slope at section K79+880 of the Guang-Le Expressway in Guangdong Province, China. The different rainfall intensities and rainfall times on the high liquid limit soil slope were cases studied using both in-site monitoring and numerical simulation approach. The study concluded that the influence of rainfall intensity on the safety factor of high liquid limit soil slope is greater than that of rainfall time. A dimensionless K is proposed to quantify the landslide displacement under different rainfall. The work is commendable with possible application in real-life engineering problems. However, the authors should address these comments below to bring out their contribution more clearly.
1. The abstract should state briefly the purpose of the research, the principal results, and major conclusions.
2. The authors should endeavor to put down some numerical values to support their claims in the abstract and conclusion part of the manuscript.
3. Please highlight the necessity of the research, and information on the case study.
4. Highlight the gaps in the introduction section and mention how your study is going to address any/some of the gaps.
5. Aside from the aim stated in the title, the research gap and the goals of the research are not specified which leads to the reader missing the significance of the research.
6. Please make sure your conclusions section underscores the scientific value added to your paper, and/or the applicability of your findings/results, as indicated previously. Please revise your conclusion part, it seems to be lengthy.
7. The conclusion part should enhance your contributions, and limitations, underscore the scientific value added to your paper, and/or the applicability of your findings/results and future study in this session.
Author Response
Please see the attachment
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
Dear authors,
I am more than satisfied with the corrections provided by you.
This study is an important contribution to the research field.
Congratulations to the authors.
