Slope Instability

In the history of rock mechanics and rock engineering, more attention

has been paid to slope instability considerations than any other topic,
and this topic remains one of the most important today.
One of our first considerations must be to identify the basic mechanisms
of slope instability. Analysis may then proceed treating the unstable
mass as a continuum or discontinuum.

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 Slope Instability
As a continuum, the failure path passes
through the rock mass. As a discontinuum,
the failure surface is dictated more directly
by the presence of specific pre-existing
discontinuities. It is also possible to have
intermediate cases where the failure occurs
partly along discontinuities and partly through
bridges of intact rock.

Although most soil slope instability is of the

continuous nature, the majority of rock slope
instability is caused by individual
discontinuities. This is because the strength
of the intact rock can be high, with the
result that the pre-existing discontinuities
are the weakest link.

2
 Slope Instability Mechanisms

The following diagram

illustrates what are
traditionally regarded as
the four basic instability
mechanisms for rock slopes.
The geometry of the slip in
(a) is a function of the
slope geometry and the
strength of the slope-
forming material, but those
shown in (b-d) show how the
boundaries of the instability
are governed by
discontinuities.

3
 Curvilinear Slip (Rotational Slides)

The term ‘curvilinear slip’

is used to describe the
group of instabilities
where the slip surface is
curved and usually
terminates at a tension
crack at the upper ground
surface. The shape and
location of the slip
surface depends on the
strength characteristics
of the ground mass,
which in turn depends on
the structure of the
assumed continuum.

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Curvilinear Slip (Rotational Slides)

… development of curvilinear slips as a function of

rock mass structure and characteristics.

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 Curvilinear Slip – Limit Equilibrium Analysis

In analysing the potential for slip, one has

to consider:

(a) the location of the slip surface; and

(b) determination of the factor of safety
for a given slip surface.

In practice the factor of safety is

determined for assumed slip surface
locations. The technique used to analyze
these failures is a limit equilibrium
technique called the ‘method of slices’

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 Method of Slices

The method of slices involves the discretization of the

slip surface into elements, each of which has normal
and shear forces applied to it. Each element has three
unknowns associated with it: the normal (N) and shear
(S) forces, and the location of the line of action of
the normal force relative to the element itself (n).

For the case shown, there is a total of 12 unknown

parameters but only three equations of static
equilibrium available to solve this problem: ΣFx=0,
ΣFy=0 and ΣM=0, where Fx and Fy are the force
components in the x and y directions, and M are
moments in the x-y plane. Thus to solve the problem,
we have to make assumptions which reduce the number
of unknowns.

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 Method of Slices

The reduction of the number of unknowns is usually done

by sub-dividing the mass under consideration into ‘slices’,
and analysing each slice on the basis that it is in limiting
equilibrium, i.e. each N and S is linked through the
strength criterion of the slip surface. Examination of a
typical slice with the various forces applied to it, and
equilibrium analysis leads to:

which enables S to be expressed in terms of the other

slice parameters.

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 Method of Slices

The analysis of the factor of safety, F, of the entire

mass then depend on whether the slip surface is
generally non-circular, or specifically truly circular.

non-circular:

circular:

Where H is the hydrostatic thrust from the tension

crack.

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 Plane Sliding

Planar slides generally

involve a major discontinuity
of lengthy persistence. The
case of planar sliding is
unlike that of curvilinear
slip, in that it is
statistically determinate.

As such, we can calculate

the factor of safety
directly, for kinematically
feasible planes, by making
suitable assumptions to
render the problem two-
dimensional.

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 Plane Sliding – Kinematic Analysis
To consider the kinematic feasibility of plane instability, four necessary
but simple criteria are introduced:

(a) The dip of the slope must exceed the dip of the potential slide
plane;
(b) The potential slip plane must daylight on the slope plane;
(c) The dip of the potential slip plane must be such that the
strength of the plane is reached;
(d) The dip direction of the sliding plane should lie approximately
±20° of the dip direction of the slope.

kinematicly feasible not kinematicly feasible

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 Plane Sliding –
Kinematic Analysis

friction
cone

slope
face

daylight
envelope

… kinematic analysis of planar

stability using stereonet
constructions.

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 Plane Sliding – Limit Equilibrium Analysis

The solution for plane sliding

requires that the strikes of
the failure plane and slope
are parallel and that no end
restraints are present.
Furthermore, the solution
incorporates the assumptions
that the rock mass is
impermeable, the sliding
block is rigid, the strength
of the slide plane is given by
the Mohr-Coulomb criterion
and that all forces pass
through the centroid of the
sliding block.

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 Plane Sliding – Limit Equilibrium Analysis

… calculation of factor of
safety vs. different depths
of water in the tension
crack, indicating a possible
significant effect of heavy
and prolonged rainfall.

… factor of safety vs.

varying effective friction
angles along the plane of
sliding.

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 Wedge Sliding

Wedge sliding can be extended from

plane sliding by considering sliding
along two planes simultaneously.

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 Wedge Sliding – Kinematic Analysis
To consider the kinematic feasibility of wedge instability, we need to
consider three criteria relating to the line of intersection:

(a) The dip of the slope must

exceed the dip of the line of
intersection of the two wedge
forming discontinuity planes;
(b) The same line of intersection
must daylight on the slope
plane;
(c) The dip of the line of
intersection must be such that
the strength of the two
planes are reached.

16
 Wedge Sliding –
Kinematic Analysis

… kinematic analysis of wedge

stability using stereonet
constructions.

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 Wedge Sliding – Limit Equilibrium Analysis
Assuming that the direction of
sliding is parallel to the line of
intersection of the two sliding
planes, forces parallel to this
line and perpendicular to the
sliding planes can be resolved in
order to determine the factor of
safety.

18 - Il numeratore della 2a eq. è N sulla linea di intersezione.

 Wedge Sliding – Limit Equilibrium Analysis
Consolidating these formulae
results in:

A direct insight into the

fundamental mechanism of wedge
instability is seen in the left-
hand side of this equation which
shows how the safety factor
varies with the sharpness of the
wedge (δ) and the verticality of
the wedge (β).

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 Toppling Instability
To final fundamental mechanical mode of
structurally controlled slope instability, involves
toppling failures. Toppling generally occurs in
two modes:

direct toppling – occurs when the centre of

gravity of a block lies outside the outline
of the base of the block, with the result
that a critical overturning moment
develops.

flexural toppling – occurs under certain

circumstances when a layered rock mass
outcrops at a rock slope, and the principal
stress parallel to the slope face induces
inter-layer slip which causes the intact
rock to fracture and the resulting blocks
to overturn.

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 Direct Toppling – Kinematic Analysis
The kinematic-based question in the case of direct toppling
is whether a block resting on an inclined surface will be
stable, or slide, or topple. The nature of direct toppling is
determined from considerations of the block geometry and
the angle of friction between the block and the surface on
which it is resting.

The resulting four categories of

equilibrium under these conditions are:

21
 Direct Toppling –
Kinematic Analysis

… kinematic analysis of direct

toppling instability using stereonet
constructions.

22; (90°-PSIp) è l'inclinazione del polo del piano

 Direct Toppling –
Limit Equilibrium
Analysis

… limit equilibrium analysis of

direct toppling instability using
factor of safety calculations.

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 Flexural Toppling Instability
Remembering that the creation of a new excavation
surface results in the principal stresses being parallel
and perpendicular to the excavated face, the potential
for inter-layer slip is then dependent on the geometry
of the layers.

An analysis of instability will

include the given geometrical
parameters as well as the angle
of friction. In limit equilibrium,
these parameters can be utilized
to define a ‘geometrical factor
of safety’:

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 Analytical Solutions – Limit Equilibrium
The most widely applied analytical technique used in slope stability
analysis is that of limit equilibrium, whereby force or/and moment
equilibrium conditions are examined on the basis of statics. These
analyses require information about material strength, but not stress-
strain behaviour.

The typical output from a limit equilibrium analysis is the “Factor of

Safety”:
resisting forces shear strength of material
FS = =
driving forces shear stress required for equilibrium

… where FS > 1.0 represents a stable situation and FS < 1.0 denotes
failure.

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 Limit Equilibrium – Factor of Safety
The factor of safety is an overall measure of the amount by which the
strength of the soil would have to fall short of the values described by
c and φ in order for the slope to fail.

resisting forces shear strength of material

FS = =
driving forces shear stress required for equilibrium

c + σ tan φ
FS =
τeq

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 Limit Equilibrium Analysis

The fundamental concepts of the limit equilibrium method for slope

stability analysis are (Morgenstern, 1995):

… slip mechanism results in slope failure;

… resisting forces required to equilibrate disturbing mechanisms
are found from static solution ;
… the shear resistance required for equilibrium is compared with
available shear strength in terms of the Factor of Safety;
… the mechanism corresponding to the lowest FS is found by
iteration.

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 Limit Equilibrium – Circular Analysis
Circular failure surfaces are found to be the most critical in soil slopes
consisting of homogenous materials. There are two analytical, statically
determinate, methods commonly used to calculate the FS for these
slopes: the circular arc (φ=0) and the friction circle method.

cu LR
FS =
Wx

… circular failure surface in φ = 0 soil defined

by its undrained strength, cu.

28 - THETA in radianti
 Limit Equilibrium – Method of Slices
The previous methods discussed do not depend on the distribution of
the effective normal stresses along the failure surface. However, if
the mobilized strength for a c-φ soil is to be calculated, this
distribution must be accounted for.

… this condition is usually analyzed by dividing the failing slope mass

into smaller slices and treating each individual slice as a unique sliding
block.

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 Method of Slices

… forces acting on a typical slice.

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Method of Slices - Equations & Unknowns

… for this system, there are (6n-2) unknowns but only 4 equations
which can be written for the limit equilibrium condition – therefore
the solution is statically indeterminate.

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 Method of Slices - Equations & Unknowns

… forces on a typical
slice resolved into two
known resultant forces
and a moment, with the
unknown force
components shown
separately (Bromhead,
1992).

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 Method of Slices - Assumptions

… however, a solution is possible providing the number of unknowns can be

reduced by making some simplifying assumptions. It is these assumptions that
generally differentiate the many methods of analysis available.

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 Limit Equilibrium – Conditions/Factors
Drained and Undrained:
… slope failures may occur under drained or undrained conditions depending
on the soils that make up the slope and the external loading conditions.

Effective Stress and Total Stress:

… in effective stress analyses, the shear strength is related to the
effective normal stress on the potential slip surface by means of
effective shear stress parameters (cd,φ d). Pore pressures must be known
and are part of the information required for analysis.

… in total stress analyses, the shear strength is related to the total

normal stress on the potential slip surface by means of total shear stress
parameters (cu, φ u~0). Pore pressures need not be known and are not part
of the information required for analysis.

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 Method of Slices - Computation

… example slope: sand embankment over clay foundation – such

problems can be easily solved using spreadsheet calculations.

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Method of Slices - Computation

… example
computation for
ordinary
method of
slices.

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