Geology In Engineering

Slope Failure Risk Assessment And Control

Iwan Febrian Susilo

Civil Engineering Study Program, Faculty Of Engineering, Muahmmadiyah Metro University,

Jln Ki Hajar Dewantara,38 Banjar Rejo Lampung Timur
iwanfebriansusilo@gmail.com

Abstract
The stability of the slope is a very important factor in work related to the excavation and stockpiling of
soil, rock and minerals, because it involves issues of human safety (workers), equipment safety and smooth
production. This situation relates to being found in various types of work, for example in road construction,
dams, canal excavation, excavations for construction, mining and others.
From the information above, it can be understood that slope stability analysis is an important part of
preventing disruption to production and fatal disasters. Therefore, in an effort to carry out slope stability
analysis, it must be known with certainty the stress system that works on the soil or rocks and also the original
physical properties. With this knowledge and data an analysis of soil or rock behavior can be carried out if
excavated or "disturbed". After that, you can determine the permissible slope geometry or apply other methods
that can help the slope become stable and stable.

1. Introduction rock type are different from other rocks. Leveling

Slopes are the surface of the earth that forms a
certain angle with a horizontal plane. Slopes can be
formed naturally because of geological processes
or because they are made by humans. Slopes that
are formed naturally such as hillsides and river  Geological structure
cliffs, while man-made slopes, among others, are
excavations and embankments to make roads and
railways, dams, river embankments and canals and
open mines.
In determining the stability or stability of the
slope, the term safety factor is known as a
comparison between the forces that resist the
movement of the forces that move the ground is
considered stable, if formulated as follows:
Safety factor (F) = anchoring force / driving force
Where to circumstances:
• F> 1.0: the slope is steady
• F = 1.0: the slope is balanced, and ready for a
landslide
• F <1.0: unstable slope
2. Factors Affecting Slope Stability
 Spread of rocks
The spread and diversity of rock types is closely
related to the stability of the slope, this is because
the strength, physical and technical properties of a
of rock types will result in error in the results of the
analysis. For example:
the slope consisting of sand will be different from
the slope consisting of clay or a mixture thereof.
Geological structures that affect slope stability and
need to be considered in the analysis are regional
and local structures. These structures include faults,
joints, bedding fields, syncline and anticline,
misalignment, lineage, etc. This structure greatly
affects the strength of the rock because it is
generally a weak field in the rock, and is a place of
water seepage that accelerates the weathering
process.
 Morphology
The morphology of an area will greatly affect the
stability of the slopes in the area. Morphology
which consists of physical conditions,
characteristics and shape of the earth's surface,
determines the rate of erosion and precipitation that
occurs, determines the direction of surface water
flow and ground water and rock weathering
processes.
 Climate
Climate affects the temperature and amount of rain,
so it also affects the weathering process. The hot,
humid tropics with high rainfall will cause the
 weathering of rocks much faster than the sub- • Changes due to weathering and physical chemical
tropical regions. Therefore, the thickness of the soil reactions, which cause clay to soften, disinteggrate
in the tropics is thicker and its strength is lower granular rocks, decrease cohesion, clays in the clay
than fresh rock. layer, dissolve rock cementing material
 Weathering rate • Changes in force between the grains due to the
The level of weathering affects the original influence of water content and pore pressure.
properties of the rock, for example the cohesion • Changes in structure, such as the formation of cracks
rate, the magnitude of the deep shear angle, the on clays on cliffs / slopes.
weight of the contents, etc. The higher the
weathering level, the rock strength will decrease. 3. Types Of Slope
 Human work in the field of civil engineering there are two types of
slopes, namely:
In addition to natural factors, humans also
contribute is not small. For example, a slope that
was initially stable, because humans cut down
protective trees, poor soil management, poor
drainage, excavations / mines, and others caused
the slope to become unstable, making erosion and
landslides easy.

Basically an avalanche will occur for two reasons,

namely the increase in shear stress (she ar stress) and
decreased shear strength (shear strength). The factors
that can increase the shear stress are:
1. Natural Slopes
Natural slopes are formed due to natural processes.
 Reduction of lateral support, partly due to erosion,
Disruption to stability occurs when the ground
previous landslides that produce new slopes and
shear resistance cannot compensate for the forces
human activities.
that cause slides on the landslide. Natural slopes
 Increased stress, partly due to increased load,
that have been stable for years may experience
seepage water pressure, and buildup.
landslides due to the following:
 Dynamic forces, caused by earthquakes and other
 External disturbance due to new cuts or heaps.
vibrations.
 Earthquake.
 Regional uplift or decline, which is caused by
 Increase in pore water pressure (due to rising
movements in mountain formation and changes in
ground water level) due to prolonged rain,
slope angle.
construction and filling of reservoirs,
 Displacement of supports, caused by river slopes,
interference with the drainage system and
weathering and erosion below the surface, mining
others.
activities and tunnels, loss of material at the
 Progressive decrease in soil shear strength due
bottom.
to deformation along areas with potential
 Lateral stress, caused by the presence of water in
landslides.
the fracture and freezing of water, clogging of the
 weathering process.
clay layer and displacement of residual stresses.
 On natural slopes, critical aspects that need to be
studied are geological and topographic
conditions, slope, type of soil layer, shear
While the factors that reduce shear strength are:
strength, underground water flow and
weathering speed.
• The initial condition or hue, is already low from the
beginning due to the composition, texture, structure
and geometry of the slope.
2. Artificial Slopes (Man Made Slopes)
Artificial slopes can be divided into two types,  Translational Slide is the movement of soil and
namely: rock mass in a flat-shaped slip with a slight
 Original soil artificial slope / excavated slope rotation or backward tilt.
(Cut Slope)
This slope is made from native soil by cutting with a
certain slope. For making roads or waterways for
irrigation. Cutting stability is determined by
geological conditions, soil technical properties, water
pressure due to seepage, and how to cut.
 Compacted Artificial Slopes / Embankment
slopes
Land is compacted for road embankments, dams,
railroad bodies. The technical nature of the landfill is
influenced by the way it is deposited and the degree of
soil density.

4. Landslide Type
 Block Slide is a rock movement that is almost
the same as Translational Slide, but a moving
mass consists of coherent blocks.

 Rotational Slide is the moving of the mass of the

 TOPPLES: this movement is characterized by
soil and rocks in a concave slide upward, and
the collapse of rock units by rotating forward at
the landslide movement generally rotates on one
one axis point (part of the lower rock unit)
axis parallel to the ground surface.
caused by gravity and water content in rock
fractures
 FLOWS: this movement consists of 5 basic 5. Prevention Of Slope / Longsor
categories.
 Debris Flow is a form of rapid mass
movement in which a mixture of loose soil,
rocks, organic matter, air, and water moves
like slurry that flows on a slope. Debris
flow is usually caused by intense surface
water flow, due to heavy rainfall or rapid
melting of snow, which erodes and
mobilizes loose soil or rocks on steep
slopes.
 Debris Avalance is an ice avalanche on a
steep slope. This type is a type of debris
flow whose movements occur very fast.
 Earthflow is shaped like an "hourglass".
Elongated movements of fine material or
rock containing clay minerals on moderate
slopes and in water-saturated conditions,
forming a bowl or a depression at the top.
 Mudflow is a mudflow (almost the same as
Earthflow) consisting of material that is
quite wet, flows fast and consists of at least
50% sand, silt, and clay-sized particles.
 A creep is a slow and stable movement of
soil or rock on a slope. This movement is
caused by shear stress, generally consists of
3 types:
o Seasonal, where the movement is in the
depth of the soil, influenced by changes
in soil moisture and temperature that
occur seasonally.
o Continuous, where shear stress occurs
continuously in excess of the durability Other landslide prevention methods use
of the avalanche material.
o Progressive, where the slope reaches
the failure point to produce a mass
movement. Creeps are characterized by
curved tree trunks, curved fences or
retaining walls, and the presence of
small earth or mountain ripples.
Efforts to prevent landslides have actually been
carried out from traditional or simple methods and
developed to sophisticated technology methods that
are complicated and expensive. The simplest is to
make terracing. However, this effort only focused
on minimizing erosion due to rainwater runoff.
For landslide prevention methods in more
complicated ways, including by building sheet
piles, retaining walls and sheet piles on slopes.
These methods are able to counter forces arising
from changes in slope morphology, most of which
are made steeper and higher. However, the use of
this method has not been able to anticipate the
existence of small avalanches, because the methods
above have not been able to bind each item well.
Only the edge of the slope is protected by a
retaining wall, while the topsoil is left open.
geosynthetic layers which are widely used lately. In
principle, this method is carried out to bind grains
of soil by giving a blanket layer to escape water
(permeable) to cover the entire surface of the soil.
On areas with steep slopes, geosynthetic layers are
usually tied to hard soil layers using anchors.
However, the weakness of this method is that, in
addition to the high cost and complicated process,
covered soil layers become unproductive and may
only be overgrown with grass.
 Efforts to prevent landslides have actually been
carried out from traditional or simple methods and
developed to sophisticated technology methods that
are complicated and expensive. The simplest is to
make terracing. However, this effort only focused
on minimizing erosion due to rainwater runoff.

In agricultural and plantation areas such as

Lembang and its surroundings, geosynthetic
methods certainly cannot be applied on a broad
scale to protect the overall slope. Although above
the geosynthetic layer can be covered with a layer
of soil, but certainly the level of productivity is not
as good as the original soil. Existing plant roots can
damage the geosynthetic layer. This method is only
suitable for civil infrastructure buildings that do
require good slope stability, such as roads, river
linings, etc.

6. Conclusion

The stability (stability) of the slope is a very

important factor in work related to the excavation
and stockpiling of soil, rock and minerals, because
it involves issues of human safety (workers),
equipment safety and smooth production. This
situation relates to being found in various types of
work, for example in road construction, dams,
canal excavation, excavations for construction,
mining and others.
In mining operations the problem of slope stability
will be found in open pit mining, dams for working
water reserves, tailings disposal and ore stockpiles
(stockyards). If the slopes formed as a result of the
mining process (pit slope) or which are supporting
facilities for mining operations (such as dams and
roads) are unstable, they will disrupt production
activities.
Natural slopes are formed due to natural processes.
Disruption to stability occurs when the ground
shear resistance cannot compensate for the forces
that cause slides on the landslide.
Slope artificial slope / excavated slope (Cut Slope),
This slope is made from the original soil by cutting
with a certain slope. For making roads or
waterways for irrigation. Cutting stability is
determined by geological conditions, soil technical
properties, water pressure due to seepage, and how
to cut.