A centrifugal model study of slope instability in Ottawa area Champlain Sea clay

University Engineering Laboratories, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, England

Received April 14, 1983
Accepted October 17, 1984

Problems of serious slope instability in quick Champlain Sea clay, also known as Leda clay, found in eastern Canada, have
been the subject of debate regarding mechanisms of failure and relevant strength characteristics. Eight intact samples of Ottawa
area Champlain Sea clay were retrieved, formed into 19 different slope configurations, and tested as reduced-scale models on
the Cambridge University 4.25 m diameter 150 g geotechnical centrifuge. Of these, 14 showed some manner of slope instability,
ranging from deep intact slope movement, to slope degradation, to flowsliding. Speculation is made on the importance of time-
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dependent horizontal stress release, on the possibility that prototype failure is not circular and rotational, and that uplift may
affect subsequent retrogressions in prototypical landslides but not initial failure. Inconsistencies in the behaviours of models were
attributed in part to certain possible limitations on reduced-scale modelling; these included the effects of the unscaled network of
fissures and the loss of strength as a function of displacement rather than of strain.
Key words: centrifuge, clays, failures, simulation models, slope stability.
--

Les problkmes graves d'instabilite des pentes dans les argiles de la Mer Champlain, connues Cgalement sous le nom
d'argiles Leda, dans l'est du Canada, ont fait l'objet de debats, a propos des mCcanismes de rupture et des caractkristiques de
resistance a utiliser. Huit Cchantillons intacts d'argile Champlain de la region d'Ottawa ont CtC prClevCs, dtcoupCs pour
former 19 configurations de talus diffkrents, et testCs en modbles rkduits dans la centrifiguese geotechnique de 150 g et
4,25 m de diambtre de l'Universit6 de Cambridge. Quatorze des dix neuf modkles ont dCveloppC des formes d'instabilitk, allant
du mouvement profond, la degradation de talus, ?I la 1iquCfaction. Des hypothkses sont avancCes quant a l'importance du
reldchement dans le temps des contraintes horizontales, quant a la possibilitC que la rupture ne soit pas circulaire et
rotationelle dans la rCalitC, et quant i l'effet du soulkvement sur les phases rCtrogressives mais pas sur le glissement initial dans
les glissements reels. Des inconsistances dans les comportements des modbles ont Ctt attribuees en partie a certaines limitations
possibles des modbles reduits; ceci inclu les effets des rCseaux de fissures non a 1'Cchelle et la reduction de risistance fonction
du dkplacement plut6t que de la dCformation.
For personal use only.

Mots clis: centrifugeuse, argile, rupture, modble riduit, stabilitC des pentes.
Can. Geotech. J . 22, 102-109 (1985)

Modelling considerations inherent structural features, such as fibrous intrusions, varves,

In engineering research, modelling techniques have been
developed to provide better understanding of macroscopic
prototype events. Full-scale testing is the ideal method, but
from the standpoints of economics, safety, and control of
boundary conditions, it is not usually a feasible research tool.
Numerical methods present a valuable alternative, but depend
on the correct prior knowledge and quantification of the
properties of the materials involved under the whole range of in
situ conditions. In geotechnical engineering, reduced-scale
physical models of soil have been successfully tested on the
centrifuge to gain insight into soil phenomena with unknown
mechanisms, phenomena which have not initially lent them-
selves to solution by either full-scale testing or numerical
methods. The technique was conceived 50 years ago indepen-
dently in the Soviet Union (Davidenkov 1933; Pokrovsky 1933)
and in the United States (Bucky 1931), and it has regained
attention in the West since Avgherinos and Schofield (1969)
published their work in Britain on slope failure under drawdown
conditions.
Centrifugal modelling has now moved past the stage of
observing mechanisms in laboratory-prepared soils under hypo-
thetical loading conditions investigating actual field problems
using in situ soils. Under ideal conditions, prototype soil will
be used in the model to assure that the model soil has identical
friction, cohesion, and density characteristics. The model soil
must also be made to experience the same loading path,
boundary stresses, and pore pressure distribution. However,
problems immediately arise. The prototype soil must have no
'present address: Department of Civil Engineering, University of
Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, U.S .A.
fissures, or grain sizes, that may influence model behaviour in a
manner significantly different from that in the prototype. If this
condition is not satisfied, useful information on the mechanics
of failure peculiar to that prototypical soil, that geometry, and
with that pore pressure can still be determined from the test, but
the extent of that information will depend on the magnitude and
importance of the deviations. The series of models tested on the
geotechnical centrifuge and described in this paper appeared to
have encountered interference from the unscaled pattern of
fissures in the prototype soil used. Nonetheless, useful informa-
tion regarding slope failure in Ottawa Valley Champlain Sea
clay was produced, although the original objective of repro-
ducing a consistent picture of a known prototype failure was not
achieved.
Problem selection and sampling
Quick Champlain Sea clay, also known as Leda clay, covers
large areas of eastern Canada in Quebec and Ontario. The most
immediately apparent unusual feature of this clay is that it exists
in situ at water contents at or above its liquid limit as a result of
the original conditions of deposition, followed in some areas by
the subsequent development of weak cementation bonds. The
problems of slope instability in this clay have been serious (see
Mitchell and Markell 1974), and there has been much debate
regarding both the mechanisms of failure, in which the roles of
uplift, strain-softening, and time effects are disputed (see La
Rochelle et al. 1970; Sangrey and Paul 197 1; Eden and Mitchell
1970), and the question of whether peak or residual strength
characteristics are appropriate in slope analysis (see Mitchell
1975; Lo and Lee 1974). Because the nature of this problem
remained unresolved, even with the application of numerical
 AND SCHOFIELD
methods, an opportunity to use centrifuge modelling to investi-
gate the mechanisms of failure was taken.
In planning the experimental programme, two approaches
were possible, and, in fact, both were used. One involved
modelling of models, which is discussed at length later in the
paper. The other approach is the more ambitious, and entailed
sampling clay from the vicinity of a well-documented landslide,
transporting it to Cambridge University, and forming it into
models to replicate the full-scale slide on the centrifuge. The site
selected for the exercise was that of the 1967 Rockcliffe
landslide, on the Ottawa River, just outside of the city of
Ottawa, and documented in detail by Mitchell (1970a), Eden
Can. Geotech. J. Downloaded from www.nrcresearchpress.com by MCGILL UNIVERSITY on 10/19/15
and Mitchell (1970), and Mitchell (1970b). Before the slide, the
slope was a natural slope varying from 24" to 27" in inclination,
with a top terrace draining toward the river at an angle of 0.5".
The crest of the slope stood at el. 55 m above sea level, with
a height of 12 m. The slide occurred as one major slip, 14 m
at maximum depth, followed by one or two retrogressions
(Fig. 1). This slope and the failure boundaries were of dimen-
sions that could be properly accommodated as a model on the
centrifuge.
This clay was typical of Ottawa area clay, being homoge-
nous with depth but characterized throughout by a network of
fine fissures, occurring both above and below the failure surface
at a frequency of between 1 and 1Omm. Eden and Mitchell
(1970) suggested that the fissures may have been the combined
result of cementing at the microscopic level followed by stress
For personal use only.
relief due to overburden removal. Because the clay was
cemented there was an excellent chance of retrieving and
transporting high quality samples with a minimum of structural
change, provided no strain was permitted (Crawford 1963;
Bjenvm 1973). The cementation had also worked to preserve a
microstructure that was approximately uniform with depth and
independent of overburden stress. This made the soil strength
parameters insensitive to depth below the weathered crust, so
that specimens sampled from all depths were equally useful in
analysis. The presence of the fissures had two further effects
in addition to the cementation. It gave the soil two co-
efficients of permeability: one very low value for flow through
the clay nodules between fissures, and one much higher
value along the fissures, the latter increasing in the event of
dilation. It also gave the soil a curved strength envelope with
three well-defined phases influenced in turn, according to stress
level, by the fissures, the cementation bonds, and the inter-
particle friction (Mitchell 1970a). This meant in terms of the
Mohr-Coulomb strength parameters that different values were
applicable to different stress levels. In back-calculation of the
Rockcliffe slide, Eden and Mitchell (1973) noted that 4' = 33"
and c' = 12 kN/m2 best described the behaviour of the clay.
The 1967 Rockcliffe slide was regraded shortly after it
occurred and when the sampling was done for this research in
1976 and 1977, the site of a smaller slide that had occurred in
1976 some 500m downstream from the original slide was
selected. Eight specimens were retrieved, of varying size, all
below the weathered crust and in the zone of saturation. The first
specimen was large, and was obtained by vertically pressing a
sharpened steel ring of inside diameter 953 mm and depth
508 mm into a freshly dug bench of soil. A second and smaller
sample was taken the same day by pushing horizontally an
open-ended cylinder of diameter 508 mm and length 608 mm
into the side of the now deepened bench. The last group of
specimens was obtained during the summer of the following
year, by pushing six steel cylinders 356 mm in diameter and
103
z1801e
u
Z 160
-1 POSTSLIDE
GROUND
--isuRFi-cE - - - ---
SURFACE
- wl
2 140
E!
>
w 120
A
T----------
FAILURE' SURFACE
W I I I I I I
0 50 100 150 200 250
HORIZONTAL DISTANCE (ft)
FIG.1. Plan and profile of the Rockcliffe landslide (Mitchell 1970a).
760 mm in length horizontally into that same scarp. The samples
were then transported to Britain, the first and last six specimens
by ship and the second by air.
The samples were received in Cambridge and tests of the soil
properties were conducted both as the specimens were opened
for modelling and after centrifuge testing. Despite anticipated
difficulty in acquiring high quality samples of this material, the
seven horizontally retrieved samples arrived in good condition.
Water contents varied by no more than 6% above and below
the average of 64%, which compared well to Mitchell and
Markell's (1974) value of 68% for the Rockcliffe site. The
undrained shear strength measured using the Swedish fall cone,
calibrated for Champlain Sea clay by Garneau and Le Bihan
(1977), ranged from 62 to 109 kN/m2 on undisturbed samples,
with remoulded strengths between 11 and 3 kN/m2; these
values and the corresponding sensitivity were close to those
noted for the Rockcliffe site by Mitchell (1970a) and Mitchell
and Markell (1974). Similarly, preconsolidation pressures,
measured in the oedometer to be 190 kN/m2, compared well to
Mitchell's ( 1 9 7 0 ~ )value of 200kN/m2.
In contrast with the apparent success of the retrieval and
transport of the horizontally sampled specimens, the first and
largest specimen was damaged in transit, probably by being
frozen, which caused a reduction in average water content to
51% after thawing. The finer, more closely spaced fissures in
the soil were now more obvious, partly from dehydration and
partly from the physical upheaval of the freezing. When the soil
was remoulded, however, it was similar to that of the undis-
turbed clay in its paste-like, low strength consistency, suggest-
ing that the greatest loss in moisture content had occurred along
the exposed fissures, rather than within the solid soil nodules.
 104 CAN. GEOTECH. J. VOL. 22, 1985
The condition of this specimen was disappointing, but the fact
that it was so large and had been so expensive to obtain meant
there could be no question of discarding it. Its inclusion in the
experimental series proved rewarding.
Test logic
The experimental work was conducted on the 4.25 m radius,
150g Cambridge University geotechnical centrifuge, which
was described by Schofield (1980). This facility was capable of
in-flight still photography and closed circuit television observa-
tion, of monitoring pore water pressures and soil displacements,
and of in-flight changes in the model water level. The container
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used in the experiments accommodated a plane strain soil model
152 mm in width, 737 mm in length, and up to 250 mm high. A
"two-dimensional" section of the Rockcliffe slide 18m in
width, 75 m from the original toe to the final scarp, and 15 m in
depth could be comfortably modelled at 120 g.
As explained above, the object of these tests was to observe
and define the mechanisms of slope failure in this clay, using
reduced-scale centrifuge models. One check on the relevance of
the results to natural phenomena was comparison of model
behaviour with the documented full-scale prototype Rockcliffe
landslide. A different check on the relevance of models to
full-scale events was the internal consistencv of the results of
tests of a variety of slopes: the factors influencing both prototype
and model events could be investigated to some extent by testing
a variety of model slopes unrelated to specific prototypes and
observing the patterns that would define the mechanisms of
For personal use only.
failure. This latter approach is referred to as modelling of
models. Both methods of investigation were undertaken, the
first, modelling of the 1967 Rockcliffe slide, being the most
ambitious.
It was apparent that a definition of failure was required for the
tests. In soil mechanics, "failure" implies inadequate perform-
ance of the soil and is therefore subjective, depending on the
required performance of the soil. Beasley (1973) worked with a
strain-softening clay in which progressive failure was observed
at full scale; he deemed failure to have occurred in his centrifuge
models if the strains anywhere in a model exceeded the strain to
failure of triaxial specimens. This strain criterion was important
to establish failure in his tests, since the expected obvious signs
of slope failure were not observed. Mitchell (1970b), however,
found that the Rockcliffe clay exhibits very small strain prior to
yield, in the order of 1%, and large strain subsequent to yield. In
terms of these models, then, soil in which the yield stress was
exceeded would be expected to show large and easily observ-
able strain. Because of this, a more simple definition was used:
failure was arbitrarily determined to have occurred in these
models when a permanent, nonelastic settlement of the crest of
the slope occurred that was greater than or equal to 10% of the
original slope height. In all models in which signs of slope
failure were observed, the measured settlement either met or
exceeded this arbitrarily set minimum criterion.
Bringing the model soil into stress similarity with the
prototype is an important part of model preparation. This
preparation of a clay model normally involves a long consolida-
tion process in which water contents and effective stresses are
made to be similar to that of a prototype, as followed by Lyndon
and Schofield (1978). In Champlain Sea clay of the St.
Lawrence River Valley, Tavenas (1978) considered that the
phenomena of aging or secondary consolidation, and of thixo-
tropic hardening have major importance in soil behaviour. In
terms of a centrifuge model this would mean that long and
unscaled periods of time would be required in order that
similarity be ensured at every part in the model profile; such a
procedure would be unfeasible on the centrifuge. In Mitchell's
(19706) work regarding strength characteristics at the Rock-
cliffe site, however, resistance to slope failure in the low stress
region is dependent upon mean normal stress and confining
pressure, rather than on water content and preconsolidation
characteristics varying with depth. His experience did not lead
him to attribute any significance to time effects in the Champlain
Sea clays of the Ottawa Valley. This meant that the normally
long preparative consolidation process was not necessary here.
The stress path followed in the Rockcliffe prototype was one
typical of excavation until the critical combination of stresses
was reached and failure occurred (see Mitchell 1975). In-flight
excavation was not attainable in these tests. and the closest
approximation was achieved by acceleration of the model, fully
formed at 1 g , to high centrifugal loading until failure occurs.
The speed of that acceleration is considered to dictate whether the
loading is drained or undrained in nature. Although this model
stress path, which is used by many centrifuge researchers (see,
for example, Malushitsky (1975) and Lyndon and Schofield
(1978)), differs from that of the prototype, the information
derived from such tests was still felt to be valuable. In other tests
involving trench collapse, Craig and Yildirim (1976) tested four
models in lightly overconsolidated, postglacial, marine clay
retrieved from the field, to compare the effect of stress path on
model response. In two models, in-flight excavation was
simulated after centrifuge consolidation was complete; in the
other two, the models were fully formed at 1 g , and then
accelerated to failure. In all four models, failure was observed,
and in spite of the different stress paths, the results were similar.
Their results add weight to the usefulness of data from
acceleration-induced slope failure.
Lack of experience in working with this sensitive, natural soil
required evolution of model testing techniques by trial and error
over the programme of testing. In order to see retrogression at as
early a stage as possible in the test series, the initial approach
involved loading the model under the most adverse feasible
conditions: rapid undrained conditions. The response of the
models in such tests did not, however, involve retrogression. In
fast draining soils, the finite time period required for the
increase in centrifugal loading to be implemented, which
simulates excavation, may be greater than the time required to
dissipate the pore pressures, and undrained conditions may not
be effectively imposed. This effect becomes especially impor-
tant in reduced-scale models in which drainage paths are N
times less than their corresponding full-scale prototypes, and
which therefore drain N' times faster. The high coefficient of
permeability for seepage along the fissures in this soil made
undrained loading extremely difficult to achieve. As a result,
the initial approach was modified and the second phase of
testing increasingly explored the soil behaviour under drained
conditions.
The tests and the results
In all, 11 soil models were constructed, 4 from the large
frost-damaged specimen, designated as CSCl through CSC4,
and 1 from each of the 7 horizontally retrieved specimens,
which were labelled CSC 10 for the model made of soil sampled
the same day as the large frost-damaged specimen, and CSC20
through CSC25 for the models made of soil sampled the
following summer. A satisfactory procedure for model prepara-
tion was developed over the course of the programme and is
 GOODINGS AND SCHOFIELD 105

TABLE1. Summary.of experimental data deeper than in the prototype, and the models showed no signs of
producing the one or two retrogressions that were observed at
Model Equivalent Rockcliffe.
Slope slope prototype Because the soil in these models had been damaged by frost
angle height Failure slope and the slope failures observed did not obviously replicate that
Model (Deg.) (mm) (8) height (m) occurring at Rockcliffe, the next two models CSC3 and CSC4
CSC 1 25.6
were devoted to modelling of models. CSC3 was tested three
CSC 2 25.6 times, each time cutting away the debris from the previous slope
CSC 3 70 failure and forming a new slope 104 mm in height, but with a
30" different slope angle. In these tests, failure occurred at
50" equivalent prototype slope heights of 5.9 m (57 g) at 70°, 6.4 m
CSC 4 45 (77 g) at 30°, and 8.0 m (62 g) at 50"; it is likely that the 30"
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45" slope in that series did not conform to the expected pattern of
45" increasing height with decreasing slope angle because it was
CSC 10 25.6 composed of the most disturbed soil. CSC4 was also tested three
25.6" times, successively cutting away debris to form new slopes
CSC 20 25.6
CSC 21 35
each time, always 45" to the horizontal but with different slope
CSC 22 25.6 heights. The three tests showed good correlation, failing at
40" equivalent prototype heights of 10.4, 9.9, and 10.5 m at
40" accelerations of 104,79, and 70 g. As for the models CSCl and
CSC 23 40 CSC2, failure movements in CSC3 and CSC4 were well defined
CSC 24 45 although they were characterized by slope flattening rather than
CSC 25 45 by retrogressive failure as observed in the prototype. When the
data from these models are plotted in Fig. 4, it is apparent that
"Slope altered for retesting.
bNo failure observed in this configuration.
the soil behaviour is self-consistent within the range of model
'Acceleration at initiation of failure. scales used, and interestingly, plots closely to data of failure
dLead surcharge of 0.45 kN/m2 at 1 g equals equivalent stress of 28 mm from the 1967 Rockcliffe slide and the nearby Orleans slide (see
additional soil. Mitchell and Markell 1974). A question may be justifiably
For personal use only.

'Lead surcharge of 0.36kN/m2 at 1 g equals equivalent stress of 23 mm
additional soil.
discussed at length in Goodings (1979). As a result of the
different nature of the soil when received, and the widely
varying experimental responses observed, the object of indivi-
dual tests evolved over the course of the programme and the test
results are related in the order in which they were conducted;
these tests are summarized in Table 1.
Models CSCl and CSC2 were constructed to be geometri-
cally similar to the Rockcliffe prototype profile, but with dimen-
sions approximately 120 times smaller, with slope heights
of 104mm (Fig. 2). Each model was subjected to rapid
acceleration to simulate undrained conditions. During that rapid
acceleration, both models underwent uniform compaction
amounting to 10% vertical strain, which was attributed to the
damage suffered by the soil in transit being observed in all
models constructed in that damaged soil and not observed in any
of the other samples. Both models then "failed" according to the
criterion that crest settlement must exceed 10%of the prefailure
slope height. Model CSCl failed at 120 g at a stress-equivalent
height of 12.5 m slumping 17% of the compacted slope height,
from the original inclination of 25.6" to 18" to the horizontal
(Fig. 3), and CSC2 slumped 10% in height to 17" at 115 g, a
stress-equivalent height of 12.0m.
According to Eden and Mitchell's (1973) back-calculations
of the 1967 Rockcliffe slide, the Rockcliffe slope was saturated
at failure (r, = 0.62). This was not the case in these models:
the openness of the fissures due to the frost damage made the
permeability of the soil so great that the phreatic surface could
not be maintained at the soil surface, and it seems unlikely that
undrained conditions prevailed at failure in the models. None-
theless, the slope failures in this frost-damaged soil were
encouraging: they did exhibit clear evidence of slope movement
and instability. Failure movement in the models, however, was
raised, however, about the similarity of this damaged soil and
the in situ soil in the prototype failures.
The next set of models was constructed of undamaged soil
from horizontally retrieved tubes. Of these, CSC10, sampled
the same day as the frost-damaged soil, was formed in similarity
with the Rockcliffe slide, and was tested under rapid accelera-
tion intended to simulate undrained failure. This was the first
model that could reasonably be expected to replicate the
prototype failure, but no failure was observed even when the toe
of the model slope was cut away to increase slope height by 15%
to 12 mm, with the same inclination.
CSC20 through CSC25 were constructed of the soil sampled
the following summer and received in good condition. At the
very least, these models were expected to be self-consistent.
The first model of this group, CSC20, was formed in similarity
with the Rockcliffe slide profile, at a scale of 11120. The results
were gratifying: the model slope failed at 116 g during a rapid
speed increase, with the obvious and deep-seated mass move-
ment accompanied by smaller strains in the soil of the back-
scarp, which suggested onset of a retrogressive failure (Fig. 5).
However, the failure mass defined was larger than that measured
at Rockcliffe and it seemed likely that the position of the model
in the model container had prevented movement of the initial
failure debris away from the backscarp and thus had hindered
full development of a retrogressive landslide. CSC21 was de-
signed to explore that possibility.
Model CSC21 was constructed with a slope 102mm high,
and at 35' was steeper than CSC20. This slope was positioned
with more room at the toe to allow for development of retro-
gressions. No failure was observed, despite centrifuge accelera-
tions of 150 g, giving the slope a stress-equivalent height of
15.3 m. As there was every indication that the strength and pore
pressure conditions in this model were the same as those in
CSC20, the difference in behaviour seemed inexplicable.
In this regard, F. A. Tavenas (personal communication,
 CAN. GEOTECH. J. VOL. 22, 1985

Ottawa River
_______--------
-------------------'--

_ _ _ _ C _ _ _ C - - - - - - -

model scale: --- Prototype profile of Rockcliffe

w -
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0 125mm (Mitchell 1 0 7 0 a )
prototype scale: model profile of Rockcliffe
I - -

0 12.5mm
...........water
level
- -Prototype failure surface
----- Prototype ground surface
postfallure

FIG. 2. Profile of Rockcliffe prototype and model before failure.

-- . .: . - - . -
/--L>H>
i > / J //
T7r/,4~:5/;.. e r r .
For personal use only.

FIG. 3. CSC2 model soil displacement. FIG.5. CSC20 model soil displacement.
equivalent prototype
slope height= hmxg Model CSC22 conformed to the Rockcliffe profile at 11120
scale, with room for development of a retrogressive slide, and
with the facility for applying uplift. The model was accelerated
slowly to simulate drained loading, and then at full scale (120 g)
an uplift force was applied, equal in total head to the elevation
of the crest of the slope. This was repeated several times but
without either clear failure response or notable strain, and when
the test was interrupted and the slope steepened to 32', still no
failure response was observed at 120 g with uplift applied.
Finally, when the test was interrupted once more, the slope
steepened to 40" (still 104 mm high), and the test recommenced,
the response was much different than in any other previous test.
During a gradual increase in centrifuge acceleration, a shallow
slip was observed at 38 g (a stress equivalent height of 4 m) in
which the slide mass crumbled into a nodular form of debris,
similar to that of the prototype. The model was allowed to come
into equilibrium at 95 g , a stress-equivalent height of 9.9 m ,
which placed it just below the failure envelope in Fig. 4 for a
I I I I I I I I I bpo(degree) slope of 40". At that point, uplift was applied, and immediately
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 initial slope two successive, distinctly flowsliding retrogressions occurred,
to horizontal each lasting 3 s, involving shallow layers of soil and leaving the
FIG. 4. Equivalent slope height at failure vs. slope angle (CSCl nontransported soil apparently undisturbed. The slide debris
through CSC4). was characterized by small nodules or blocks of soil, which
were progressively smaller the further the soil had been
1977) suggested, based on La Rochelle et al. (1970), that the transported, a feature which has been observed in prototype
essential factor missing in these models was the application of failure in this soil. The test was interrupted to cut away the soil
artesian conditions at the toe of the slope; the overdeep nature of debris to form another 40" slope 104 mm high in an attempt to
the slip circles observed thus far, as compared with that duplicate those results in the same soil. An initial slump
measured at the Rockcliffe prototype landslide, and the appar- occurred at 20 g but no further response was observed at
ent inconsistency of the soil response were possibly both stress-equivalent slope heights as high as 15.4 m (148 g), even
attributable to the absence of uplift pressures. CSC22 was with uplift applied.
intended to examine this suggestion. The appearance of failure in this model resembled prototype
 GOODINGS AND SCHOFlELD
observations, but in nature differed markedly from previous
models. Because it had undergone an unusual stress path of
repeated acceleration and deceleration on the centrifuge, a
confirming model was constructed, CSC23, to attempt to
replicate the CSC22 behaviour without the complex stress path.
In spite of steep slopes, high acceleration, and uplift, the slope
failure observed in this model involved only minor crumbling
of very steep sections.
It became clear that even though the soil used in models
CSC20 through CSC23 had been retrieved at the same time and
place, the behaviour was inconsistent. Uplift affected failure
mode but had not provided the essential condition for uniform
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model response, and it seemed that the behaviour of the models
was dependent upon a factor unknown to and perhaps beyond
the control of the researcher. The last two soil specimens were
therefore devoted strictly to modelling of models in an attempt
to establish similarities in the model behaviour.
The last two models, CSC24 and CSC25, were designed to
model a single prototype. Both were constructed with slopes at
45" to the horizontal, with the toe of the slope founded directly
on the model container. CSC24 was cut to a height of 216 mm,
and a surcharge of lead shot equal in weight to an additional
soil overburden of 28 mm was imbedded across the top surface.
CSC2.5 was constructed similarly, 170 mm high with a lead shot
overburden equivalent to 23 mm of soil. Failure occurred at 40 g
in both models and stress-equivalent heights of 9.8 m for CSC24
and 7.7 m for CSC2.5 when the lead shot is interpreted as
additional soil height. This difference in prototype height is
For personal use only.
large, but the modes of failure observed in the models were
strikingly similar: an inclined plane of failure rapidly propa-
gated through the slope to form an initial failure mass that
slumped away from the remaining intact slope; when uplift was
applied the failure debris moved further away and subsequent
retrogression occurred in the scarp, involving a combination of
intact sliding and degradation at a nodular level.
Discussion
In the 11 soil models shaped into 19 different slope
configurations, 14 slope failures were recorded. These failures
took on one or more of three forms: deep intact slope failure in
which the failure mass stayed largely intact withoutdegradation
to the nodular level and the backscarp remained essentially
unstrained; slope degradation in which soil crumbled into
nodules and feli from the face of the slope to form a talus across
the original toe of the slope; and flowsliding. A dominant
feature of this test series was that models made of frost-damaged
soil behaved in a self-consistent manner and correlated well
with two known prototypes (see Fig. 4), although certain
important features of the model failure differed from the
prototype. In contrast, the undamaged soil neither demonstrated
self-consistent behaviour nor correlated well overall with the
prototype failure that occurred at the Rockcliffe sampling site
(see Fig. 6). On first examination this diversity in model
behaviour appeared to be confusing, but because these were real
soil events under prototypical stress conditions, they allowed
speculation on certain aspects of prototype behaviour. They also
caused important questions to be raised regarding inherent
limitations in reduced-scale modelling in this soil.
It is possible to speculate that the inconsistencies in model
behaviour may be reflecting some time-dependent, horizontal
stress relief which occurs in the prototype prior to failure, but
which was simulated in only some of the models. In the
prototype, the process of natural slope cutting would lead to
equivalent prototype
(flowside)
line A (from Fig 4)
*CSC22 (initial failure)
I I I I t t I I I (degree)
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 ?&I slope
inclination to
horizontal
FIG. 6. Equivalent slope height at failure vs. slope angle (CSC10,
CSC20 through CSC25).
horizontal stress relief in soil above the toe; the failure surface,
then, would not extend deeper than the toe. The time-dependent
nature of the process would explain why large rapid retrogres-
sions are not, in general, recorded in this geographical region.
It is feasible that freezing of the soil in models CSCl through
CSC4 simulated in some way that process of stress release. This
disturbance to the soil occurred in all four models, which may
explain the consistency in model responses, but, unlike the
prototype, the disturbance occurred throughout the model
depth, so that slope failure would be expected to extend below
the depth recorded at Rockcliffe, as was observed. This
hypothesis is reinforced by the fact that vane strengths measured
after the test in the unstrained portions of the soil of these models
are within the range of undrained shear strengths measured in
the prototype landslide debris.
In the models of undamaged soil, failure response was more
varied. Model CSC20 showed a failure surface extending below
the Rockcliffe surface, indicating that it may have experienced,
either in situ or during sampling, the necessary horizontal stress
relief, but again throughout the model depth. In contrast, the
slope in CSC22 did not become unstable until it had been
subjected to repeated cycles of stressing in the centrifuge: at that
point, a toe failure occurred similar to the Rockcliffe slide. In
CSC23, identical in configuration to CSC22 but not subjected
to the same repeated stressing that may have simulated the
necessary horizontal stress release in CSC22, failure was not
observed.
The shape of the model failure surfaces was also noteworthy.
In many cases it differed from the circular rotational failure
assumed in prototype analysis (Eden and Mitchell 1973), but
was most apparent in models CSC24 and CSC25, in which
failure was characterized by an inclined plane. In centrifuge
models of fissured soil retrieved from the field to simulate
prototype trench collapse, Craig and Yildirim (1976) observed
failure characterized by toppling and buckling of soil columns.
They felt that this behaviour was closer to the prototype
mechanism of failure than the classical assumption of rotational
slip, which had been completely unsuccessful in predicting
prototype trench depth at failure. Similarly, these models of
 108 CAN. GEOTECH.
J. VOL. 22,
slope instability indicate that slope failure in Ottawa area
Champlain Sea clay may not conform to the conventionally
assumed circular shape, perhaps because of the presence of the
fissures, and that, rather, it may be composed of interacting
wedges.
Retrogressions were a prototype feature that was felt to be
important in these models. Prototype failure is characterized by
evacuation of the failure spoil from the landslide crater, which
leaves the steep unsupported backscarp susceptible to retrogres-
sion. This movement of soil away from the backscarp is a result
of the loss of strength that occurs after yield in sensitive soils:
at the new lower strength, the failure mass would be stable only
Can. Geotech. J. Downloaded from www.nrcresearchpress.com by MCGILL UNIVERSITY on 10/19/15
at a much flatter slope, but the momentum of the mass carries it
out of the landslide crater before it can restabilize. High pore
pressure resulting from the existence of uplift may further
reduce the frictional resistance to movement.
Retrogression was clearly observed in three of the centrifuge
models and always in the presence of uplift pressures. In CSC24
and CSC25 the intact failure mass did not move away from the
backscarp until the application of uplift caused the necessary
reduction in normal stress that permitted it to slide away,
whereupon retrogression occurred in the steep remaining
backscarp. In CSC22, the initial shallow failure mass broke into
a mass of small nodules with low permeability. When uplift was
applied, the model responded immediately with two successive
retrogressive movements, both distinctly flowsliding in nature.
The remaining soil was essentially unstrained. In contrast, uplift
was not applied in CSC20, and while strains suggesting
For personal use only.
retrogression in the backscarp were identified, the initial failure
massdid not move away to leave it unsupported and unstable. In
CSC23, identical in configuration to CSC22 but without the
same stress history, uplift was not observed to be an essential
factor in the initiation of failure. Uplift, then, may be important
to retrogressive prototype slope failure, although not to its
initiation.
It was anticipated that flowsliding might be observed in these
models; only in CSC22 was this the case. A complex stress
history involving several cycles of slope steepening and
stressing in the presence of uplift preceded the eventual initial
failure. The failure finally occurred in the absence of uplift at a
much smaller prototype stress-equivalent height than expected.
The soil from the shallow initial toe failure broke into small
nodules with markedly lower permeability. When uplift was
applied, the debris could now retain the high pore pressures, and
the soil moved away as a flowslide. Uplift did not influence the
initial failure because the highly fissured, highly permeable
intact soil was incapable of retaining the high pore pressures of
uplift; however, it was important to the postfailure behaviour.
It is also possible to speculate that the inconsistencies in
model behaviour and discrepancies with the prototype may be
the result of scale effects inherent in reduced-scale models of
this clay. These may arise from the unscaled spacing of the
fissures or from the unscaled particle size of the clay.
It is conjectured that the densely fissured structure of the
Ottawa area Champlain Sea clay distinguishes it from other
cemented, sensitive clays and imparts to it a special mode of
dilative slope instability. Sangrey and Paul (1971) investigated
landsliding in the Ottawa area, known to have two different
deposits of sensitive, fissured clay. They observed that land-
slides occurred almost exclusively in the densely fissured
freshwater clay, rather than in the underlying less fissured,
marine clay, in spite of the lower undrained shear strength and
greater sensitivity of the marine clay. At the low stress levels
1985
relevant to slope stability, the failure mechanism is a function of
the strength of the cementation bonds and the frequency of
the fissures. From Mitchell's (1970a) work. it follows that the
dilative mode of failure, which involves the opening of fissures,
occurs more easily in densely fissured clay than a shearing mode
of failure in which there is displacement through the cemented
nodules. In the freshwater clay, the fissure spacing varies from
1 to 10 mm; in the marine clay the spacing is much larger,
varying from 150 to 200 mm. Sangrey and Paul asserted that
spacing of fissures is the basis for the critical difference in
behaviour. This would also mean that, in reduced-scale models
constructed of soil from the field, the effective frequency of the
fissures would be reduced bv the scale of the model. S~ecimen
size, then, may influence model behaviour, but this would also
be a problem in other, conventional laboratory tests.
In examining scaling effects of particles in granular soils,
Holtz and Gibbs (1956) tested 183 triaxial specimens ranging
in diameter from 35 to 229 mm. They concluded that when the
specimen diameter is smaller than eight times the maximum
particle size, the individual grains interfere with the develop-
ment of failure. In the case of the fissured clay at the Rockcliffe
site, Eden and Mitchell (1970) conducted triaxial tests on
specimens 36 and 72 mm in diameter, 3.6 and 7.2 times 10 mm,
the largest fissure spacing. In comparing the results of those
tests, they found no detectable difference in behaviour arising
from specimen size within that lower range.
But, whereas soil in a triaxial test is subjected to one overall
stress condition, soil in a centrifuge model is not, and the
minimum ratio of model dimension to grain size to avoid
particle scaling effects may be larger. 0vesen (1979) found, in
centrifuge models of circular foundations on sand, that no
particle scaling effects were evident when the model footing
diameter was greater than or equal to 30 times the average grain
size. However, when the footing diameter was 15 times the
average grain size, he observed some, although minor, scale
effects. In centrifuge models of fissured clay, Craig and
Yildirim (1976) reported success in their experience using large
unaltered blocks of heavily overconsolidated, fissured clay
retrieved from the field to model prototype trench collapse.
They found that the form and general dimensions of the model
failure were closer to that of the prototype than predictions by
conventional analysis. In those tests, the smallest ratio of trench
depth to fissure spacing was 7, in a model of scale 1/38.
The results of these researchers suggest that modelling slope
failure in the fissured Rockcliffe clay at scales of 11120 and
smaller, in which the minimum model slope height was 100 mm
(10 times the maximum fissure spacing), may have been
influenced to some degree by unscaled fissure spacing. For these
slopes, the range of model scales feasible on the centrifuge
used was too small to permit investigation of scale effects by
modelling of models to confirm or disprove interference of
effectively reduced fissure spacing. Certainly, the fact that the
frost-damaged soil (which experienced upheaval and some
breakdown into smaller although still interlocking soil nodules)
demonstrated behaviour which was more self-consistent than
that of the undamaged soil implies that fissure spacing may have
played a significant role in model behaviour. The fact that the
undamaged soil failed in some models as expected, but not in
all, may have been influenced by the chance positioning of
fissures in the model.
A second possible scale effect, the influence of unscaled
particle size, may be responsible for the absence of prototypical
retrogressions in the model slope failures. Research by Mitchell
 GOODINGS AND SCHOFIELD
(1970b) indicated that yielding of the soil is preceded by very
small strain, in the order of 1%, which is then followed by very
large strain. At strains greater than 1 %, it was expected that the
model failure mass would move away from the steep backscarp,
leaving it unsupported and ready for new failure. This was not
observed. Both Beasley (1973) and Bassett (1973) were of the
opinion that certain behaviour, such as the loss of strength with
deformation, may, in some soils, be dependent on unscaled
displacement rather than on strain, and that this minimum
displacement may be a function of particle size. Of course, the
particle size of clay grains cannot be reduced without unaccept-
able change in geotechnical properties, and a full exercise in
Can. Geotech. J. Downloaded from www.nrcresearchpress.com by MCGILL UNIVERSITY on 10/19/15
modelling of models was not possible to test this hypothesis.
A limitation such as this may prevent closer modelling of
prototype landslides in Ottawa area Champlain Sea clay.
Conclusions
Nineteen different slope configurations were constructed
from four soil models of frost-damaged Champlain Sea clay
and seven models of undamaged Champlain Sea clay. Fourteen
slopes showed some manner of slope instability, ranging from
deep intact soil movement, to slope degradation, to flowsliding.
The pattern of model behaviour observed has allowed specula-
tion that time-dependent horizontal stress release may precede
slope failure, that failure may be characterized by several
interacting wedges rather than by circular rotational movement,
and that while the existence of uplift is not a necessary condi-
tion for slope failure, it is important to the development of
For personal use only.
subsequent retrogressions. The failure of all models to present a
single consistent picture of prototype behaviour has also caused
important questions to be raised regarding limitations on
reduced-scale modelling in this fissured clay. These question
have focussed on the influence of failure of the unscaled
network of fissures, and the possibility that loss of strength may
be a function of unscaled displacement rather than of strain,
which prevents prototypical development of failure in the
models.
Acknowledgements
The support of Dr. R. J. Mitchell in retrieving and sending
to Cambridge the soil samples used in this programme is
appreciated, as is that of the National Research Council of
Canada for funding that aspect of the research. The experi-
mental programme was carried out under research grants from
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The members of the
Cambridge University Geotechnical support staff were instru-
mental in the execution of this programme of experiments.
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