The failure of geological discontinuities often plays a significant role in controlling the failure of a rockslide. The second order work criterion can be used to analyse physical instabilities

except flutter instabilities. Hence

this study was to investigate the instabilities of geological discontinuities using the second order work criterion. First

regarding the instability of the major geological discontinuity

the advantage of this failure criterion was explained in mathematical approach; Second

the criterion was implemented into the FLAC finite-difference calculation software

and a two-dimensional numerical analysis was carried out to predict the occurrence of the rockslide in Nanfen Iron Mine

according to the corresponding monitoring data. Rockslides can be considered as a quasi-static to the dynamic transition

in which the sudden burst of kinetic energy indicates the occurrence of quasi-static-dynamic transition. Moreover

there is a direct relationship between the second order work and the second order kinetic energy. Therefore

the kinetic energy evolution curve can be estimated

which can prove the validity of the second-order work on identifying the failure of the rockslide.