Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk

ISSN: 1947-5705 (Print) 1947-5713 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tgnh20

Static and dynamic analysis of a landslide

T. N. Singh , A. K. Verma & K. Sarkar

To cite this article: T. N. Singh , A. K. Verma & K. Sarkar (2010) Static and dynamic
analysis of a landslide, Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk, 1:4, 323-338, DOI:
10.1080/19475705.2010.521354

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/19475705.2010.521354

Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

Published online: 20 Nov 2010.

Submit your article to this journal

Article views: 1884

Citing articles: 21 View citing articles

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at

http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=tgnh20
Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk
Vol. 1, No. 4, December 2010, 323–338

Static and dynamic analysis of a landslide

T. N. SINGH*{, A. K.VERMA{ and K. SARKAR{

{Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay, Powai,
Mumbai 400076, India
{The Energy and Resources Institute, CeRES, New Delhi 110 003, India

(Received 23 May 2010; in final form 1 September 2010)

Slope failure is a recurrent phenomenon in hilly regions. It is hazardous because

of the accompanying rapid mass movement of soil and rock mass. To alleviate the
damage caused by landslide, slope-stability analyses and stabilization techniques
require in-depth understanding and appraisal of the process that govern the
failure behaviour of slopes. Once the instability behaviour is understood, remedial
measures such as retaining walls, rock bolts, anchoring, etc., can be recommended
to stabilize the slope.
This article deals with a comparative study used for the analysis of the stability
of slopes of Amiyan area, near Kathgodam, Nainital, Uttarakhand assuming that
the rock mass follow the Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion under static and
dynamic loading conditions. The area constantly experiences local as well as
regional slides along the river bank. A field study was carried out in the landslide
area to collect the representative samples to determine the various physio-
mechanical properties of rock as well as debris samples. These properties have
been used as input parameters after converting it into the rockmass properties
using a joint weakening coefficient for the numerical simulation. The computed
deformations and the stress distributions, along the failure surface, have been
compared with the field measurements/observation and found to be in good
agreement. The global factor of safety (FOS) calculated by finite difference, finite
element and dynamic analysis was found to be 1.57, 1.144 and 0.84, respectively.
This indicates that the slope is critically stable in case of any small local/global
disturbance which may further reduce the FOS and cause failure.

1. Introduction
Landslides in hilly regions are complicated in nature. The problem of landslide
increases year by year and is strongly influenced by developmental work, particularly
road widening, hydropower development and many new infrastructural projects.
This infrastructural development work significantly impacts the hill slope stability.
In the Himalayan region, hill slopes are vulnerable due to complex geological setup
and the geo-dynamic nature of the mountain. It is hard to predict the exact extent of
landslide, but at the same time the rockmass usually provides some indication prior
to failure. These indications are sometimes visible on the slope surface, although we
often fail to monitor and understand the process.

*Corresponding author. Email: tnsingh@iitb.ac.in

Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk
ISSN 1947-5705 Print/ISSN 1947-5713 Online ª 2010 Taylor & Francis
http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
DOI: 10.1080/19475705.2010.521354
324 T.N. Singh et al.
There are several approaches for monitoring the slope mass movement. One of the
conventional methods is surveying the slope with a certain baseline and subsequently
monitoring the change in its position using total stations. Photogrammetric has also
been used by a few researchers to analyse the slope movement. Field monitoring is a
time-consuming and costly method and sometimes it is difficult to access the area due
to the lack of safe and proper methodology.
Civil and mining engineering researchers have long since used various tools and
techniques to understand the behaviour of slopes under static and dynamic
conditions (Bishop 1955, Janbu 1957, Sarma 1975, Spencer 1967). They have used
simple slice-like techniques based on the limit equilibrium method, but these
methods have limitations and are not very useful for complex rockmass modelling.
In the limit equilibrium method, the mode of failure is presumed and then the factor
of safety (FOS) gets calculated. Failure occurs when the driving forces such as
gravity, water pressure. etc.. become greater than the resisting forces. i.e. friction,
cohesion, etc.
Another approach is kinematic analysis based on stereographic projections, where
a design chart was developed by Londe et al. (1970). This method was used by a
number of researchers (Bieniawski 1976, Frizzell and Watts 1988), but in this method
the deformation of an intact rock block is not considered and the incorporation of
sequential failure is very difficult.
The magnitude and orientation of the principal stresses are determined using stress
strain analysis for rock slopes (Brady and Brown 1993). The failure path can be
predicted at the points where stress concentration is more than rockmass strength.
Unlike the limit equilibrium method, the state of stress in the rockmass can be
determined both before and after the formation of the slope. The demerits of this
method are that continues loading cannot be simulated easily and step loading and
deloading is not incorporated (Verma and Singh 2010a).
Numerical methods such as the finite element method (FEM), the finite difference
method (FDM), the boundary element method (BEM), and the distinct element
method (DEM) are becoming increasingly popular for slope stability analysis in
situations where the failure mechanism is not controlled completely by discrete
geological structures (Monjezi and Singh 2000, Sarkar et al. 2010, Singh and Verma
2007, Verma and Singh 2010a,b).
In the present study, different partial differential equation solvers such as finite
element and finite difference have been used for determining the stability of slope in
the Amiyan area, near Kathgodam, Nainital, Uttarakhand. A comparative analysis
has been carried out on the basis of factor of safety of the slope.

2. The study area

The frequency of landslides and rockfalls in the outer Kumaun Himalaya has
spatial variation, depending on underlying rock structure and neotectonic activity
along various geological structures. As a consequence, large landslides and rock
falls occur, particularly in the zones of neotectonically active faults and boundary
thrusts (Valdiya 1988, 1995, Bartarya and Valdiya 1989, Pant and Luirei 1999,
Singh et al. 2004). The study area is bounded between Amritpur to Jamrani
(latitudes 298160 –298190 N and longitudes 798330 –798380 E) in the lower ridges of
Gaula catchment. It is about 10 km from Kathgodam, which is the nearest
railhead connected with Delhi.
 Static and dynamic analysis of a landslide 325

2.1 Geology of the area

The area under study is nearest to the Amiyan village and 30 km from
Kathgodam, which is the nearest the railway station as shown in figure 1. Soils
and rock types within the landslide zone are highly weathered and erosion
continues on both sides of the river bank. A nalla is flowing through the landslide
zone from nearest hillock and converges within the Gaula River (Valdiya 1988).
Due to the landslide, in 1997 a huge artificial lake was formed due to blockage of
the river flow which flooded the upstream area, causing damage to properties and
human life too.

2.1.1 Stratigraphy and structure. The geological map of the area indicates that the
study area is situated on the south on the predominantly sedimentary rocks of the
Lower Siwalik comprising carbonaceous shales, clays and indurated pebbly
sandstone with thin shaley coal seams and partly in granitic porphyry. This is
equivalent to local Amritpur Granite, metabasics equivalent to Bhimtal Volcanics
and quartzites which is known as Bhawali Quartzite of the Lesser Himalaya, the
latter being thrusted over Siwalik along the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) (figure
2(a)). Repeated deformation has resulted in multiple faulting, thrusting and
enlargement of the joint space. This makes the slope vulnerable to failure (Valdiya
1988, Bartarya and Valdiya 1989). Figure 2(b) shows the location of landslide debris.
Many large tension cracks have been observed in the field (figure 2(c)).The
stratigraphic and structural succession of Nainital Hills, Kumayun Lesser Himalaya
is given in figure 2(a).

3. Results and discussion

3.1 Laboratory investigations
The experimental work consists of preparation and testing of rock samples in
different modes. The physico-mechancial properties generated in the laboratory have
been used as input parameters for slope stability analysis. Both non-destructive and
destructive tests were performed as per the specification of International Society of
Rock Mechanics (ISRM 1980).
The samples were collected from the landslide prone area all along the slope.
Samples were also taken from weathered zone where erosion continues. The samples
were mainly of sandstone with different variety. Sandstones were divided into
three categories, such as A, B, C, depending on uniaxial compressive strength
(UCS), obtained from Universal Testing Machine (UTM), in the field as shown in
table 1.

3.1.1 Determination of uniaxial compressive strength. The UCS of saturated rock

is determined using the UTM. The device consists of two loading platens attached to
a stand in which loading can be simulated. The cored sample with strain gauges is
attached to a recorder to record both the axial and lateral strain. The results are
shown in table 1.

3.1.2 Determination of shear strength parameters. In triaxial testing, specimens

were tested at different confining pressures. The confining pressure was applied using
326 T.N. Singh et al.

Figure 1. Location map of the area.

a machine-operated oil pressure chamber. Three sandstone samples with L/D ratio
varying between 2 and 2.5 were tested using UTM. Figure 3 shows the fracture
pattern developed in the sample due to loading in the triaxial mode.
Representative samples from three different types of sandstones were tested for the
determination of physico-mechanical and shear strength parameters and the results
are shown in tables 2 and 3.

3.1.3 Tensile strength. A Brazilian test was conducted to determine the tensile
strength of sandstone samples using circular discs which were compressed across the
diameter of the sample until failure occurred (Singh and Verma 2009).

3.2 Two-dimensional finite difference analysis

In the present study, the explicit two-dimensional finite difference program
FLAC/SLOPE version 5.0 (Cundall 1976) was used for the analysis. Several
researchers have used this finite difference code for rock science and rock
engineering problems related to slope stability (Singh et al. 2004, Singh and
Verma 2007, 2009).
Figure 4 shows the slope with height H ¼ 430.0 m and slope angle varying from
38 to 588. Since the field condition is quite uncertain because of uncertainty
involved in the measurement of rock properties, so angles varying from 32.898 to
55.818 have been taken after parametric study. An elasto-plastic constitutive law,
 Static and dynamic analysis of a landslide 327

Figure 2(a). Geological map of southern Kumaun showing distribution of thrust and major
faults (Bartarya and Valdiya 1989). (b) Location of landslide debris (Bartarya and Valdiya
1989). (c) Tension cracks in the field.
328 T.N. Singh et al.
Table 1. Values of uniaxial compressive strength.

Sample UCS Sample UCS

No. (type of (sc) No. (types (sc)
sandstone) (MPa) Remarks of sandstone) (MPa) Remarks

A-1 25.87 Vertical splitting (888) B-3 37.91 Nearly vertical (828)
A-2 27.63 Nearly vertical (858) B-4 31.74 Nearly vertical (798)
A-3 25.57 Vertical splitting (898) C-1 31.14 Vertical
splitting (888)
B-1 39.68 Nearly vertical (868) C-2 36.43 Nearly vertical (828)
B-2 28.21 Vertical splitting (888) C-3 35.85 Vertical
splitting (888)

Figure 3. The fracture pattern in the broken sandstone core sample (shear failure).

i.e. the Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion, has been chosen for the analysis. The
effect of rock joints has been taken care of using the equivalent continuum
method. It is pointed out at this stage that tight convergence criteria, suitable
element formulations and a sufficiently fine mesh are required for these analyses.
A 40 6 19 grid has been used. The properties used for the analysis are listed in
table 4.
As indicated by plasticity points, the bottom two benches have more
probability of failure compared to the ones above (figure 5). Tension cracks
have been formed at the toe of the slope. This may be due to development of
tensile stresses and less burden in the detached mass (figure 2 (c)).The failure
mechanism can be seen from the shear strain rate contours (figure 6) shows the
maximum shear strain rate of 1 mm/s classified as ‘very rapid movement’ (Varnes,
1978). Most of the shear strain zone has been developed along the sloping face of
the third bench (figures 5 and 6).
 Static and dynamic analysis of a landslide 329
Table 2. Physico-mechanical parameters for rock samples.

Sample Young’s Modulus

No (types of Modulus (E) Poisson’s of rigidity (G) Bulk modulus (K)
sandstone) (6103 kgf/cm2) ratio (u) (6103 kgf/cm2) (6103 kgf/cm2)

A-1 0.41 0.25 0.164 0.273333

A-2 0.5 0.26 0.198413 0.347222
A-3 0.41 0.23 0.166667 0.253086
B-1 0.47 0.25 0.188 0.313333
B-2 0.49 0.21 0.202479 0.281609
B-3 0.60 0.26 0.238095 0.416667
B-4 0.55 0.21 0.227273 0.316092
C-1 0.44 0.27 0.173228 0.318841
C-2 0.47 0.20 0.195833 0.261111
C-3 0.46 0.23 0.186992 0.283951

The global factor of safety is found to be 1.57; this indicates a stable slope that
may reduce FOS with any small local/global disturbance causing failure. It is
observed that the failure surface and locations estimated by the numerical method
match well with the field observations. The lower two benches were almost
submerged in water and so it has been observed that the upper benches are stable
whereas the lower two benches are continuously under high stress, which leads to
progressive failure. Progressive failure describes the condition when different parts of
a failure surface reach failure at different times. Tension cracks are observed in the
field in almost all the benches but prominent cracks are present only in the lower
benches, which open in a scissor-like manner and widen due to accumulation of
stress (figures 3(c) and 5).

3.3 Two-dimensional finite element analysis

In the present study, the two-dimensional finite element program PLAXIS (2006) has
been used for the analysis. It been used to predict the stability of the tunnel, slope,
dams, etc. (Verma and Singh 2010a,b).
The geometry of the slope is the same as used in the finite difference method and is
shown in figure 7. Two-dimensional plane strain analyses have been performed. Six
hundred and twenty-three 15-noded triangular elements were used to discretize the
slope. Since a triangular element is made up of three sides, the average length of side
of all the elements was 24.58 m in this model. The material properties used for this
analysis are shown in table 4. Complete analysis has been done in two steps:
consolidation and Phi-C reduction for safety calculation.

3.3.1 Consolidation analysis. Consolidation analyses have been selected because it

is necessary to analyse the development and dissipation of excess pore pressures in
water-saturated rock slope during loading and unloading. In this paper, a real-time
elasto-plastic consolidation analysis has been done. Attention has been taken to the
boundary conditions for consolidation analysis. The vertical boundary and the right
sloping boundary have been closed because there has been no free outflow at that
boundary. A consolidation analysis introduces the dimension of time in the
calculations and consolidates until all excess pore pressures in the geometry have
330 T.N. Singh et al.
Table 3. Results of the triaxial test.

Angle of Sample Angle of

Sample No. Cohesive internal Tensile No. Cohesive internal Tensile
(types of strength c friction strength (types of Strength friction strength
sandstone) (MPa) F (8) st (MPa) sandstone) c (MPa) F (8) st (MPa)

A-1 9.3 44 2.37 B-5 5.4 40 3.38

A-2 12.2 42 2.64 B-6 5.8 43 3.2
A-3 9.2 40 3.83 B-7 6.2 40 3.8
A-4 8.6 44 2.88 C-1 5.2 36 0.16
A-5 8.8 45 3.18 C-2 4.8 35 0.14
B-1 5.9 42 3.5 C-3 4.6 37 0.17
B-2 7.5 40 3.56 C-4 6.0 39 0.07
B-3 7.2 41 3.24 C-5 5.5 38 0.08
B-4 6.8 44 3.8

Table 4. Material property for the numerical models.

Bench1
Parameter Name (Upper) Bench 2 Bench 3 Bench 4 Unit
Material Model Model MC MC MC MC –
Rock unit weight gunsat 19.250 19.250 19.300 19.300 KN/m3
Rock unit weight gsat 21.000 21.000 21.000 21.000 KN/m3
Young’s modulus Eref 9.400Eþ04 9.400Eþ04 4.550Eþ04 4.550Eþ04 KN/m2
Poisson’s ratio n 0.240 0.240 0.255 0.255 –
Tensile Strength st 3282 3282 124.0 124.0 KN/m2
Cohesion cref 5400.000 5400.000 120.000 120.000 KN/m2
Friction angle j 41.430 41.430 37.00 37.00 degrees
Dilatancy angle c 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 degrees
Slope angle y 39.94 32.89 52.79 55.81 degrees

been reduced to a predefined minimum value (minimum pore pressure), which is

1.0 kN/m2 in this case.

Predefined Minimum Pore pressure ¼ 1.0 kN/m2

Relaxed PMax (achieved after calculation) ¼ 0.424 kN/m2

3.3.2 Safety analysis (factor of safety calculation). For rock structures, factor of
safety (FOS) is define as:
Smaximum available
Safety Factor =
Sneeded for equilibrium
where S represents shear strength. By introducing the standard Mohr–Coulomb
condition, the safety factor is obtained as:
C sn tan j
Safety Factor ¼
Crsn tan jr
where C and j are input strengths parameters and sn is the actual normal stress
component. The parameters Cr and jr are reduced strength parameters that are
 Static and dynamic analysis of a landslide 331
just large enough to maintain equilibrium. The principal described above is the
basis for the Phi-C reduction method used here to calculate the global safety
factor.
In this approach, the cohesion and the tangent of the friction angle are reduced by
the same proportion:
C tan j X
¼ ¼ Msf
Cr tan jr

The reduction of parameters is controlled by the total multiplier SMsf. This

parameter is increased in a step-by-step procedure until failure occurs. The safety
factor is defined as the value at failure, provided that at failure, a more or less
constant value is obtained for a number of successive load steps.

Global Factor of Safety (FOS) ¼ 1:144

While calculating FOS by the finite element–strength reduction technique, the

critical equilibrium state of the slope is defined as the moment at which there is a
band such that all elements in the band are in the plastic state and the band goes
through the whole slope from the toe to the top. In order to bring the slope into
such a state, the load-controlled method has been used.
Figure 8 depicts the extreme shear strain which is 128%, and clearly shows the
development of a shear band with shear strain localization. It can be concluded that

Figure 4. Grid generation for the slope stability analysis.

332 T.N. Singh et al.

Figure 5. Shows the development of tension cracks and Mohr–Coulomb plastic points.

Figure 6. Shows the magnified view of the failure surface of the slope.
 Static and dynamic analysis of a landslide 333
a plastic band encompassed by the contour lines has gone through the toe to the top
of the bottom benches of the slope. Figure 9 shows the deformed mesh condition. It
clearly indicates that the bottom layer deformed rapidly and flows toward the base of
the slope and plastic points and tension cut off (figure 10). Tension cracks have been
formed at the toe of the bottom two benches. This may be due to the development of
tensile stresses and less burden in the detached mass. Our findings match very well
with the field observations.

3.4 Dynamic analysis

The dynamic calculation is based on the explicit finite difference scheme to solve the
full equations of motion, using lumped gridpoint masses derived from the real density
of the surrounding zones (rather than fictitious masses used for static solution).
The geometry of the slope is the same as shown in figure 7. The slope material is
simulated as a Mohr–Coulomb material with elasto-plastic constitutive law. This
example demonstrates the development of slope failure as a consequence of dynamic
loading.

3.4.1 Input ground motion characteristics (wave transmission). A sinusoidal

velocity was applied at the base of the model in the x-direction as dynamic loading
with wave amplitude of 1 mm and a frequency of 10 Hz.
The compressional and shear wave velocity taken are:

Cp ¼ 822 m=s
Cs ¼ 463 m=s

This model has been run where several iterations were done to solve nonlinear
partial differential equations governing the motion of dynamic wave in rock with no

Figure 7. Geometry of the slope.

334 T.N. Singh et al.

Figure 8. Extreme shear strain of 128% (in red).

Figure 9. Deformed shape after failure.

damping, as it is assumed that plastic flow associated with the present constitutive
model will dissipitate most of the energy. A FISH (programming language for finite
difference code FLAC3D developed by ITASCA, USA) function has been developed
to initiate the effect of a sinusoidal wave of 1 mm amplitude, 10 Hz frequency for
100 s duration. Left and bottom boundaries have been assigned the free-field
boundary condition which absorbs energy and will not allow it to pass through the
boundary.
In the first stage, the slope was allowed to settle under gravity so that it is able to
capture the in-situ stress in the field and simulate the natural field condition of the
slope. During the calculation of mechanical equilibrium, the dynamic mode was kept
off. Once unbalanced forces reach the desired limit of 100, the static slope stability
calculation was stopped. During the second stage calculation, a FISH function has
been used to apply a dynamic sinusoidal wave of 1 mm amplitude, 10 Hz frequency
for 100 s duration at the base of the slope.
The FOS obtained is 0.84 for this case. Figure 11 shows the displacement vector
and deformed shape of the slope. A maximum displacement of 11 m occurs across
the top and lowermost bench. However, the direction of displacement is vertically
downward for the uppermost bench after 100 s, while it is in the horizontal direction
 Static and dynamic analysis of a landslide 335
for the lowermost bench, indicating detachment of mass from the slope and hence
failure. A few monitoring points have been placed at the toe of the slope as 1, 2, 3
and 4. The velocity in the horizontal direction and vertical displacement have been
monitored for 100 s. Figure 12 shows the geometry and location of monitoring
points on the slope, and the variation of x-velocity with time is shown in figure 13. It
can be concluded that top toe of the slope has a smaller velocity in horizontal
direction compared to the toes of the second and third benches. The toe of the third
bench (red line) has a larger x-velocity amplitude compared to the other monitored
points. On the contrary, the vertical downward displacement is higher for the toe of
uppermost bench, indicating subsidence of the slope at the uppermost bench while it
is lowest for the toe of third bench (number 3). The toe of the fourth bench is fixed in
all directions; therefore, the x-velocity and vertical displacement are zero in all

Figure 10. Distribution of plastic points and tension cracks.

Figure 11. Deformed shape and displacement vector plot after failure.
336 T.N. Singh et al.
conditions. This condition will make the third bench and the face of the fourth bench
more prone to failure in the horizontal direction while the uppermost bench will be
prone to subsidence that also indirectly induces failure in the lowest bench (figure
14).

Figure 12. Geometry and monitoring points on the slope.

Figure 13. Horizontal velocity at the toe of the slope. Available in colour online.
 Static and dynamic analysis of a landslide 337

Figure 14. Vertical displacement at the toe of the slope.

4. Conclusion
In this article, a rock slope has been simulated by different numerical models such as
finite difference and finite element considering both static and dynamic modelling.
The results obtained by this method have been analysed and the numerical results
have been found to be in good agreement with the monitored results at the site. The
global factor of safety calculated by finite difference and finite element was found to
be 1.57 and 1.144, respectively. The factor of safety obtained in the case of dynamic
modelling with sinusoidal wave of 1 mm amplitude, 10 Hz frequency was found to
be 0.84, which shows that the slope has failed in this condition. This indicates that
the stability of the slope varies between stable to critically stable. Also, in the case of
the dynamic situation the slope is critically stable and any small local/global
disturbance may further reduce the FOS which causes failure. From the distribution
of plastic points, it has been observed that upper benches are stable whereas the
lower two benches are under high stress and under hydrostatic conditions, which
leads to progressive failure. The tension cracks are observed in the field in almost all
the benches, but prominent cracks are present only in the lower benches which open
in a scissor-like manner and widen due to accumulation of stress as seen from the
distribution of tension points. These cracks migrate deeper and deeper. The failure
surface has been found to be almost circular in nature, which is in exact agreement
with the field findings.

Acknowledgements
The authors are thankful to the Department of Science and Technology,
Government of India for financial help. The authors are especially thankful to the
two reviewers, without whose critical reviews the present form of the paper would
not have been possible.
338 T.N. Singh et al.

References
BARTARYA, S.K. and VALDIYA, K.S., 1989, Landslides and erosion in the catchments of the
Gaula river, Kumaun Lesser Himalaya, India. Mountain Research and Development, 9,
pp. 405–419.
BIENIAWSKI, Z.T., 1976, Rock mass classification in rock engineering. In Proceedings of the
Symposium on Explorer for Rock Engineering, 5, Johannesburg, pp. 97–106.
BISHOP, A.W., 1955, The use of the slip circle in the stability analysis of slopes. Geotechnique, 1, p. 17.
BRADY, B.H.G. and BROWN, E.T., 1993, Rock Mechanics for Underground Mining, 2nd edn,
pp. 20–24 (London: Chapman and Hall).
CUNDALL, P.A., 1976, Explicit finite difference methods in geomechanics. In Proceedings of the
Second International Conference Num. Meth. Geomech., Blacksburg, Virginia, 1, pp.
132–150.
FRIZZELL, E.M. and WATTS, C.F., 1988, Back analysis of plane and wedge rock slope failures
using microcomputer programs. In Proceedings of the Society of Mining Engineers/
American Institute of Mining Engineers Annual Meeting, Phoenix, AZ.
ISRM, 1980, Suggested methods for determination of compressive strength. Int. Soc. Rock
Mech. Comm. Lab. Tests.
JANBU, N., 1957, Earth pressure and bearing capacity by generalized procedure of slices. In
Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Soil Mechanics, London, 2, pp.
207–212.
LONDE, D., VIGIER, G. and VORMERINGER, R., 1970, Stability of rock slopes: a three-
dimensional study. Journal of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Division Proceedings of
the American Society of Civil Engineers, 95(SM1), pp. 235–262.
MONJEZI, M. and SINGH, T.N., 2000, Slope instability in an opencast mine. Coal International,
8, pp. 145–147.
PANT, P.D. and LUIREI, K., 1999, Malpa rockfalls of 18th August 1998 in the northeastern
Kumaun Himalaya. Geological Society of India, 54, pp. 415–420.
PLAXIS, 2006, Available online at: http://www.plaxis.nl.
SARKAR, R.K., SINGH, T.N. and VERMA, A.K., 2010, A numerical simulation of landslide-
prone slope in Himalayan region – a case study. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, DOI
10.1007/s12517-010-0148-8.
SARMA, S.K., 1975, Seismic stability of earth dams and embankments. Geotechnique, 25, pp.
743–761.
SINGH, T.N. and VERMA, A.K., 2007, Evaluating the slope instability of the Amiyan Slide. In
Rock Mechanics Meeting Society’s Challenges and Demands, E. Eberhardt, D. Stead
and T. Morrison (Eds), pp. 993–998 (London: Taylor and Francis).
SINGH, T.N. and VERMA, A.K., 2009, Stress response around fracture surface under uniaxial
loading. e-Journal Earth Science India, 2, pp. 148–159.
SINGH, T.N., VERMA, A.K., SINGH, V. and SAHU, A., 2004, Slake durability study of shaly rock
and its predictions. International Journal of Environmental Geology, 47, pp. 246–252.
SPENCER, E., 1967, A method of analysis of the stability of embankments assuming parallel
interslice forces. Geotechnique, 17, pp. 11–26.
VALDIYA, K.S., 1988, Geology and natural environment of Nainital hills. Gyanodaya
Prakashan, Nainital, 8, pp. 300.
VALDIYA, K.S., 1995, Accelerated erosion and landslides prone zones in the Himalayan region.
Gyanodaya Prakashan, Nainital, 17, pp. 39–53.
VARNES, D.J., 1978, Slope movement types and processes. In Landslides, Analysis and Control,
R.L. Schuster and R.J. Krizek (Eds), Transportation Research Board Sp. Rep. No.
176, National Academy of Sciences, pp. 11–33.
VERMA, A.K. and SINGH, T.N., 2010a, Assessment of tunnel instability – a numerical
approach. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 3, pp. 181–192.
VERMA, A.K. and SINGH, T.N., 2010b, Modeling of a jointed rock mass under triaxial
conditions. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 3, pp. 91–103.