To study the stability characteristics of a rock slope with a weak interlayer, a test of the anchor frame slope was designed in this paper. The analysis model was established with FLAC^3D, and the development law of safety factor, deformation, axial anchor force, soil pressure and maximum shear strain increment of the slope, and the supporting effect of frame anchor cable were obtained by grading loading. The research showed that the supporting effect of frame anchor cable support on the slope was remarkable, and the influence of slope vertical load on the slope safety factor was evident. The lateral deformation mode of the slope surface was large up and down, and minor in the middle. The weak intercalated layer blocked the internal diffusion of the settlement. The failure trend of slope was sliding along the weak interlayer and collapse occurred below the loading zone, and the final failure mode is wedge failure. The peak value of maximum shear strain increment was developed along the weak interlayer, and a shear strain mutation zone was formed inside the slope. It could be considered that the weak interlayer was the potential sliding surface of the slope.

This paper conducts a numerical study exploring the impact of the evolution of a weak structural plane on the overload stability and failure performance of anchored slopes. Both the macroscopic deformation failure characteristics and the internal stress–strain response of an overloaded anchored slope, following the evolution of a weak structural plane, are thoroughly presented and analyzed. As the structural plane evolves under overload conditions, it is demonstrated that the deformation mode of the slope initially evolves from a “circular damage” pattern, progressing to a combination of “circular damage and wedge damage”, ultimately resulting in “wedge damage”. Furthermore, there is a gradual shift of the stress peak and cable axial force from the top to the bottom of the slope. The formation of a stress concentration area in the anchoring zone is observed once the structural plane reaches full-length, leading to subsequent cable debonding. Moreover, it is apparent that the weak structural plane shows distinct stress differentiation, effectively isolating stress and deformation.

As key components in the design of anchored MSE walls with constrained reinforced fill zones, anchors and geosynthetic reinforcement have an important influence on the load bearing behavior and deformation characteristics of the wall system. This paper presents a numerical study on the behavior of three wall configurations, including unanchored MSE wall, anchored MSE wall, and anchored wall without geosynthetic reinforcement, to quantitatively assess the influence of anchors and geosynthetic reinforcement and clarify the load sharing mechanism. In this study, a finite-difference model was developed and validated against instrumented reduced-scale unanchored and anchored MSE wall tests. The simulated results were in reasonable agreement with the measurements, including facing displacements and reinforcement tensile strains. The results indicate that the combined restraint provided by anchors and geosynthetic reinforcement is more effective in reducing facing displacement. Settlement response transitions from an anchor-dominated mode at low stress levels to a coupled anchor-reinforcement mode at higher applied vertical stresses. In addition, the inclusion of anchors restrains outward wall movement and reduces lateral stress release behind facing, resulting in greater lateral soil thrust. The load sharing ratio of the anchors decreases slightly with increasing applied vertical stress, whereas the contribution of geosynthetic reinforcement increases progressively.