Notes On Topic 2 Slope Stability

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Notes on Topic 2 - Slope Stability
Geotechnical Engineering 2 (University of Strathclyde)
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Topic 2 – Slope Stability
2.1 Introduction
Landslides, slips, slumps, mudflows, rockfalls - these are just some of the
terms used to describe movements of soils and rocks under the influence of
gravity. These movements can at best be inconvenient, but in many parts of
the world slope instability is widely recognised as an ever-present danger
and the consequences can often be disastrous in terms of economic cost and
loss of life.
The topic of slope stability is covered in Knappett and Craig (KC), section
12.3. The main emphasis of KC, and also of the course, is to explain how
slope stability is analysed using limit equilibrium methods. Additional
information and case studies will be presented to highlight the main factors
which affect slope stability.
Slope formation and types of slope failure

The figure below shows the processes by which slopes are formed, both
natural slopes and those formed as part of civil engineering works.
Many systems of description and classification for the different types of

slope instability have been proposed, but there is no agreement at present.
However it would be difficult in any case to devise a system which would
cater for the enormous range of slope movements.
CL419 Geotechnical Engineering 2 1 Topic 2 – Slope Stability

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The main classes of slope failure - falls, slides and flows - are shown in the
figure below.
1. Falls are characterised by movement away from existing discontinuities,
such as joints and fissures, often assisted by water or ice pressure. Slides
are where the mass remains intact while sliding along a definite failure
surface. The two basic types of slides are;
2. Translational slides, which involve linear movement of soil blocks or a soil
layer lying near to the sloping surface. These movements are usually
fairly shallow and parallel to the surface.
3. Rotational slides, where the movement occurs along a curved shear
surface in such a way that the slipping mass slumps down near the top of
the slope and bulges up near the toe. These movements are
characteristic of homogeneous soft rocks or cohesive soils.
4. Flows, the slipping mass is internally disrupted and moves partially or
wholly as a fluid. Flows often occur in weak saturated soils when the
pore pressure has increased sufficiently to produce a general loss of
shear strength with no true shear surface developed.

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2.2 Principles of Slope Stability Analysis
The forms taken by landslides are so varied, and therefore difficult to

analyse, that we need to use simple sliding models. Most landslides progress
by sliding along surfaces within the soil and rock. The surfaces along which
this sliding is most likely to occur depends on;
The geometry of the slope (i.e. the slope angle),
The properties of the slope materials,
The presence of any weak zones or discontinuities in the slope and their
orientation relative to the slope face.
When designing a slope which is to be built, you must identify the critical slip
surface i.e. the surface along which sliding is most likely to occur, and
determine the factor of safety against sliding along that surface.
Limit equilibrium analysis

The most common methods of analysis are limit equilibrium methods, where
sliding is considered to occur along an assumed or a known slip surface, as
shown in the figure below. The forces acting on the slip surface are analysed
to determine the factor of safety for that surface.
The destabilising forces are caused by gravity i.e. the weight of the soil
W.
The resisting forces are due to the shear strength of the soil or rock i.e.
shear stress developed (or mobilised) along slip surface τd.
The factor of safety Fs is the ratio of the shear stress developed along the slip
surface to maintain stability τd to the available shear strength of the soil τf.
τf Fs < 1.0, slope is unstable

Fs =
τd Fs ≥ 1.0, slope is stable

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The Ultimate Limit State method adopted in EC7 uses partial factors on
actions and resistances, but the principles are similar.
If the actions and resistances are factored in accordance with EC7:DA1, then
a factor of safety Fs = 1.0 would be acceptable for design. Under EC7, this
number is sometimes called the Stability Ratio, but we will use the
traditional term Factor of Safety, as does Knappett and Craig (KC).
A limit equilibrium method of analysis considers either equilibrium of

moments or equilibrium of forces. For a slope, the destabilising forces (from
the soil weight) are considered by EC7 to be actions and the resisting forces
(from the shear strength) are considered to be resistances. In terms of
moment equilibrium, the factor of safety can then be expressed as follows;
MR
Fs = (see KC, equation 12.15)
MA
For a fuller explanation, see KC Section 2.3 (p.474).
Finding the critical slip surface

In practice, in order to find the critical slip surface, you will need to check the
factor of safety for a number of potential slip surfaces.
For homogeneous soil, check circular slip surfaces.
For non-homogeneous soil, check circular and non-circular slip surfaces.
Non-circular slips include plane or translational slips (infinite slope
analysis) and compound slips (part circular and part planar).
For homogeneous soil conditions, charts have been produced which enable
the factor of safety (i.e. for the critical slip surface) to be found quickly.
For total stresses, cu & φu, use the Taylor and Janbu charts.
For effective stresses, c′ & φ′, use the Bishop and Morgenstern charts.
However, most slope stability analysis is carried out using computer

software, due to its ability to quickly check a large number of potential slip
surfaces. This is essential when the ground conditions are non-
homogeneous. The use of computer software is explained later in the
course.

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2.3 Factors Affecting Slope Stability
A slope failure or landslide is usually caused by a combination of a potentially

unstable structure and a trigger event.
Groundwater
Changes in the groundwater conditions is the most important single factor in
triggering a slope failure, which usually occur during periods of heavy
rainfall.
Rising water table increases pore water pressures, reducing effective
stresses.
Seepage forces increase.
The unit weight of the soil increases as the degree of saturation
increases.
Saturation produces softening and swelling of clays.
Therefore, drainage is crucial to slope stability.
Toe removal
Quarrying or mining.
River or coastal erosion.
Surcharge loading
e.g. Fill placed for a new road.
Cyclic loading and vibration

Heavy road traffic
Earthquake vibration, leading to liquefaction of soil and flow slides.
Strength reduction
Produced by weathering.
Slow creep causes restructuring of the soil.
Slow processes eventually reach critical points.

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Changes in slope angle

Uplift produced by tectonic forces, often combined with earthquake
forces.
Another very slow process which eventually reaches a critical point.
2.4 Slope Stability Case Studies
During the course, reference will be made to case studies which illustrate
some of the factors described above (see references in section 2.11).
In KC 12.3 (p.473) you can read about the Holbeck Hall Hotel landslide,
Scarborough, which occurred in 1993, and which is well known in the UK.
Another well publicised series of landslides are those which have
affected the Scottish road network in recent years, particularly the A83
Rest-and-be-Thankful since 2004 (see Figure 2.1 below). Also shown
below are figures from the Scottish Road Landslide Study (2005) which
illustrates this type of debris flow.
Figure 2.1. Scottish debris flows landslides (Scottish Road Landslide Study, 2005)

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2.5 Translational Slips
This is a useful technique for analysing shallow translational slides where the
sliding surface is very long and parallel to the ground surface, as shown in
Figure 2.2.
Figure 2.2. Plane translational slip (KC, Figure 12.13)
This type of analysis is often called an infinite slope. KC (p.483) derives two
separate equations for the factor of safety, for effective stresses (eq. 12.26b)
and total stresses (eq. 12.26c). However, this is a rather complicated
approach. A single equation is often presented which can be used for both
total and effective stresses, and this will be derived in class. The starting
point for the derivation is the figure shown below.

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If the water table is at an elevation hw above the slip surface, the pore water
pressure u can be expressed as;
u = γwhwcos2β
The factor of safety is given by the expression;
c′ + (γH − γ whw ) cos2 β tanφ′

Fs =
γH sin β cosβ
If you compare this equation with the two equations in KC, you can show
that they are identical if you make the correct substitutions for the shear
strength parameters.
For total stresses, set c′ = cu , and φ′ = φu = 0.
For effective stresses, set c′ = 0 , and φ′ = φ′.
It can be seen that for effective stresses, when c′ = 0 (e.g. for sands), the
above expression becomes;
tan φ ′ γ w hw
Fs = (1 − ru ) where; ru =
tan β γH
For slopes with no ground water pressures (ru = 0), the limiting slope
angle will be φ′.
When the water table is at ground level (ru ≅ 0.5), the factor of safety will
be approximately halved (tanβ = 0.5tanφ).
ru is known as the pore pressure ratio, and it is a useful way of
generalising the water table position when you are designing a slope,
because you don’t always know where the water table will be located. It
is also used in the Bishop and Morgenstern charts.

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2.6 Rotational Slips
Rotation slips, either circular or non-circular, are common in clay soils. Recall
our previous discussion on infinite slopes. When the value of Hcr (H for Fs = 1)
approaches the height of the slope, the slope is considered to be finite.
The methods for analysing a finite slope are shown below. Note that when
you are designing a new slope, you need to assume the location and shape
of the potential slip surface.
However, we can use our knowledge of slope stability to help locate the
position of the critical slip surface.
1. Slope or face failure
Occurs where there is a relatively weak layer in the upper part of the
slope.

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2. Toe failure
The most common location when the slope is relatively steep or where
soil beneath the toe is strong.
3. Base failure
Occurs in relatively flat slopes or in soft or weak soils, particularly is the

soil is weak below the toe.
The Holbeck Hall Hotel landslide (Scarborough, 1993) is a classic rotational

slip, as shown in Figure 2.3 below.
Figure 2.3. Features of a rotational slip

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2.7 Total Stress Analysis and Taylor’s Chart
This is the simplest type of circular slip analysis, and was the first to be
carried out, and also led to the development of Taylor’s chart. It is relatively
simple because the soil shear strength parameters are cu and φu, and the
stability of the slope is not affected by the water table position.
Furthermore, for the short term (i.e. undrained) stability of slopes in
saturated clays, φu = 0, which simplifies the analysis even further.
A full explanation of undrained analysis is given in KC 12.3 (p.473-4). It is

similar to the one given below, but some of the terminology is slightly
different.
The φu = 0 method
This analysis can be applied to slopes in saturated clays under undrained

conditions i.e. τf = cu.
Undrained conditions occur in clay slopes immediately after
construction.
The analysis is written out on the next page.
You can see that the main difficulty is in determining the value of l. This is
one reason why the method of slices was later developed.
The analysis was later extended to soils with shear strength cu , φu using a
method called the friction-circle method (which will not be explained
here). The equilibrium analysis is more complicated since it also includes
the resultant of the frictional force along the slip surface.
These methods of analysis were used by Taylor (1937) to produce the
first set of slope stability charts for homogeneous soils.

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Taylor’s Stability Coefficients
Note that these coefficients can only be applied to slopes in saturated clay
under undrained conditions i.e. short term stability (cu , φu).
Taylor’s chart is shown in Figure 2.4. See also KC Figure 12.9, which shows an
extended version for soils with cu increasing linearly with depth (the chart
has been extended and improved many times over the years).
Figure 2.4. Taylor’s chart

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For a slope of height H, the stability number Ns for the slip surface along
which the factor of safety is a minimum is;
cu
Ns =
FsγH
You will recall this dimensionless parameter from our discussion on

infinite slopes (when we derived the value of Hcr when Fs = 1).
You can see from the chart that Ns depends on the slope angle β and the
value of φu .
For φu = 0, Ns also depends on the depth factor D, where DH is the depth
to a firm stratum (note that D is not the depth to the firm stratum).
You can also see that the results from the chart are consistent with our
discussion in section 2.6 concerning the position of the critical slip surface.
For β > 53° and φu > 3° , the critical slip circle is always a toe circle i.e. for
soils with a relatively high shear strength.
For β < 53° and φu < 3° , the critical slip circle may be a toe, slope or base
circle depending on the depth to the firm stratum i.e. base circles are
more likely for soils with a relatively low shear strength.

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2.8 The Method of Slices
Recall our previous discussion concerning the difficulty of determining the

centre of gravity of the sliding mass for the φu = 0 method. This can be
overcome by dividing the sliding mass into a series of narrow slices of width
b. The centre of gravity of each slice acts through a line drawn through the
centre. This can be seen on Figure 2.5.
Figure 2.5. The method of slices (KC Figure 12.11)
This allows us to take moments about the slip circle centre o for each
slice and then sum for each slice.
However, you can see that there are additional forces acting on each
slice (E1 and E2, X1 and X2) which are known as the inter-slice forces.
Therefore the problem is statically indeterminate and assumptions must
be made regarding the inter-slice forces to obtain a solution.
The two most commonly used solutions are developed below.

Note that the solutions can be applied to both total and effective stress
conditions and they are first developed for a soil with general shear
strength parameters c, φ.
For an undrained analysis, the shear strength parameters cu, φu are
substituted.

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For a drained analysis, the shear strength parameters c′, φ′ are

substituted. In addition the effective stresses at the base of each slice
must be determined by subtracting the pore water pressure from the
total stress.
General solution
Taking moments about the centre of the slip circle gives the following
solution.

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Fellenius Solution
The solution assumes that the resultant of the inter-slice forces is zero
for each slice, to give the following solution.
See KC p.479 for further discussion.

Due to the assumptions made about the inter-slice forces, this solution
over-estimates the factor of safety by up to 20%. So this solution errs on
the safe side, but is not normally used except for hand calculations since
more accurate solutions are available.
Since it is suitable for hand calculations, it is also suitable for use in exam
questions!

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Bishop Simplified (or Routine) Solution

This solution assumes that the resultant forces on the sides of the slices
are horizontal i.e. X1 – X2 = 0, to give the following solution.

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You can see that the factor of safety Fs appears on both sides of the
equation. However, it can be solved using a trial and error procedure.
The method is laborious to solve by hand, but it is ideal for computer
programs.
The pore water pressure can be related to the total vertical pressure by
the dimensionless pore pressure ratio, ru.
u
ru =
γh
Therefore in Bishop’s equation, (W – ub) becomes W(1 – ru)
As mentioned previously, using ru is a good way of generalising the water
table position, and was used by Bishop to develop a series of charts for
effective stress slope stability analysis (these are not covered in the
course).
Bishop and Morgenstern’s charts (1960) are discussed further in KC
p.481.
Method of slices – discussion

Bishop’s solution can be rewritten in the slightly different form shown in
KC Equation 12.22. By dividing the numerator and denominator in the square
bracket by cosα , the denominator becomes;
tan α tan φ
1+
Fs
If you were doing a hand calculation, you could use a starting value of
Fs (Fellenius) x 1.2. Since the “1” tends to predominate, a high degree of
accuracy will be obtained within a few iterations. However, since the
calculations are repetitive and you need to check an acceptable number of
potential slip surfaces, it is better and more usual to use a computer.
Later, Bishop outlined a method of re-including the inter-slice forces. Despite

the equations being much more complicated, the improvements in the Fs
obtained were only about 1%.

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Why is Bishop’s Simplified method so accurate? Spencer (1967) resolved all

inter-slice forces into a single force Z acting at angle θ to the horizontal.
For θ = 0, the solution is identical to Bishop’s Simplified.
As θ increases, the Fs hardly changes. The reason is that the Z force has
very little effect on moment equilibrium (but has a greater effect on
force equilibrium).
However, the accuracy of Bishop’s method has not prevented many other
solutions being proposed, as you will see when you use the slope stability
software later in the course.
Non-circular slips
Notwithstanding the comment made above, there is also a need to be able
to analyse non-circular slip surfaces. This is due to the complexity of ground
conditions in many cases producing a non-homogeneous ground profile,
particularly when you excavate to form a cutting. Again, many solutions have
been proposed. These are based on the solutions by Morgenstern and Price
(1967) and Janbu (1973), which are method of slices capable of analysing slip
surfaces of any shape. For example, the shape shown below.
Janbu’s analysis is written in a form similar to Bishop’s as follows;
When using slope stability software, the position of a non-circular slip

surface has to be inputted by hand as a set of coordinates. However,
recent developments have allowed the generation of non-circular slip
surfaces to be automated, in a similar way to circular slip surfaces.

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Fellenius method – discussion

Given that the Fellenius method has been largely superseded by more
accurate computer-based solutions, you may be wondering why tutorial
problems have been set using this method. In the author’s view, in order to
learn how to analyse slope stability problems and understand the factors
which affect slope stability e.g. the position of the water table, it is important
to do slope stability calculations to obtain the Fs. The Fellenius method is the
only practical way of solving slope stability problems by hand calculation.
Some of the effects which need to be taken into account when carrying out
hand calculations are outlined below. Remember that the computer will
carry out these procedures automatically.

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Submerged slopes (φu = 0)

If the water and groundwater levels are equal, the net water pressure
moment is zero (if the soil is fully saturated), as shown in Figure 2.6.
Figure 2.6. Submerged slopes

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For hand calculation, calculate the soil weight (of each slice) using the
effective unit weight γ′ below groundwater level and the bulk unit weight
γ above groundwater level.
In this situation, the factor of safety increases as the water level rises,
and decreases as the water level falls.
2.9 End of Construction and Long Term Stability
It is important to understand that the factor of safety of a slope will change

over time. It is essential to choose the correct shear strength parameters,
drained or undrained, and consider how the pore water pressures vary over
time. This topic is discussed in KC 12.3, p.485.
When designing a slope, you need to consider the following questions;

Is the slope a cutting or an embankment?
What is the effect of construction on pore water pressures, effective
stresses and volume changes, in the short and long term?
How may conditions change in the future?
High permeability soils – drained conditions

For high permeability soils such as sands, changes in effective stresses
produced by forming a slope will occur very quickly, so only drained
conditions are applicable and slope stability analysis should be carried
out using effective shear strength parameters c′, φ′.
Low permeability soils – drained and undrained conditions

For slopes formed in low permeability soils such as clays, changes in pore
water pressure and hence effective stresses will occur very slowly.
Therefore drained and undrained conditions will prevail at different
stages in the construction of the slope.
Whether the slope is an embankment or a cutting, undrained conditions
will be applicable in the short term at the end of construction (tc in the
figure below) and drained conditions will be applicable in the long term
after construction.
However, whether the lowest factor of safety is obtained in the short
term or the long term depends on whether the slope is a cutting or an
embankment, as explained below.

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The changes in pore water pressure and factor of safety over time for slopes
in clay soils are shown in Figure 2.7 for a cutting (excavation) and an
embankment.
Figure 2.7. Pore pressure and factor of safety changes over time for (a) a cutting, (b) an
embankment (KC Figure 12.14).
Cuttings (excavations)
During excavation of the cutting, the pore water pressure change ∆u at
any point P is negative.
After the end of construction tc, pore water will flow towards the slope
and the water table will draw down, and the pore water pressure will
gradually increase to a steady value, uf.
The time taken for the change in pore water pressures to dissipate
depends on the permeability of the soil.
Only when the uf condition is reached will conditions be fully drained and
an effective stress analysis will be appropriate.
Since the porewater pressure increases over time from the end of
construction, there will be a reduction in the effective stresses and hence
the shear strength over time.
Therefore the factor of safety will be lower in the long term and an
effective stress analysis should be used with shear strength parameters
c′, φ′.

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Embankments
During construction, the pore water pressure change ∆u at any point P is
positive.
As the embankment is built, the pore water pressure in the soil will
increase. If the construction period is relatively short, no significant
dissipation will occur during the construction phase.
After the end of construction tc, pore water will flow away from the
embankment and the pore water pressure will gradually decrease to a
steady value, uf.
Therefore the factor of safety will be lower at the end of construction
and a total stress analysis should be used with shear strength parameters
cu, φu.
It is not uncommon to find that when building an embankment on soft

ground, the factor of safety at the end of construction is below 1.0 (unstable)
while in the long term is it above 1.0 (stable), so that the instability is only a
short term problem. The solutions to this problem include a staged
construction where the pore water pressure is monitored and construction
only proceeds when a specified amount of dissipation has occurred. This is
often combined with vertical drainage systems to speed up pore water
pressure dissipation and ground improvement methods to increase the
strength of the soft ground.
Choice of shear strength parameters – discussion

Choosing the most appropriate shear strength parameters (undrained or
drained parameters) for design is one of the most difficult problems in
geotechnics. Carrying out an undrained analysis is the simplest approach but
it will not always give you the worst case, as is clear from the above
discussion. In an undrained analysis, the pore water pressures are implied to
be those at failure (as in an undrained triaxial test). In a drained analysis, not
only does the location of the water table need to be predicted, so also do the
pore water pressures changes which may occur during construction (which is
much more difficult to do).
Embankment Dams
An embankment dam is an earth structure which usually consists of a clay
core of low permeability which is supported by shoulders composed of other
suitable materials such as rockfill. It is often used in preference to a concrete

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dam. A full discussion is given in KC 12.4, p. 487. Note that an embankment

dam is a complex and safety critical structure, and there have been a number
of previous failures, both during construction (e.g. Carsington dam, UK) and
during operation (e.g. Teton dam, USA). The stability of embankment dams is
not covered in the course, but in general the stability needs to be checked
under the following conditions:
1. End of construction, before filling – both upstream and downstream
faces.
2. After filling and development of steady seepage – downstream face.
3. After rapid drawdown – upstream face.
The pore water pressure distribution has a dominant influence on the factor
of safety of the slopes. It is usual to install a system of piezometers to
monitor the actual pore water pressure distribution in the dam at all stages.
2.10 Searching for the Critical Slip Surface
The critical slip surface is the slip surface which gives the lowest factor of
safety. This is the slip surface along which the slope is most likely to fail and
therefore it needs to be found. You may need to analyse hundreds of
potential slip surfaces, so it is best and more usual to use computer
software.
The computer software packages available all work along similar principles:
1. The slope geometry is drawn, or inputted as a set of coordinates.
2. A set of soil properties are ascribed to each soil layer or zone.
3. The water table or pore water pressure distribution is inputted.
4. A solution method is chosen (e.g. Bishop Simplified, Morgenstern and
Price).
5. An optimisation procedure, or routine, is chosen to search for the critical
slip surface.
6. The routine is implemented and the lowest factor of safety is reported,
plus other information if requested.

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Searching using the computer

Circular slip surfaces are often used because it is easier to set up a
systematic procedure.
A commonly used method is known as “grid and radius”, and is described
in general below.
Specify a grid of centres.
Specify the radius in one of three ways;
1. Specify a minimum radius and the increment by which it should be
increased each time [variable radii].
2. Specify a point through which all of the circles must pass [common
point].
3. Specify a surface which all the circles must touch [tangent surface].
An example of the output using grid and radius from the software you
will be using on the course (GeoStudio – Slope/w) is shown in Figure 2.8
below.
Slope/w has an additional useful search method called “entry and exit”,
in which zones are specified on the ground surface within which the slip
surfaces can enter and exit the slope.
The factor of safety

When the analysis is completed, the software will display the minimum
factor of safety it has calculated and the corresponding slip surface.
N.B. this will only be the critical slip surface if you have set up the computer
search correctly.

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Figure 2.8. Slope stability analysis using grid and radius (from GeoStudio – Slope/w).

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The position of the critical slip surface

Some general guidelines are given below.

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2.11 References for Topic 2
Textbook
Knappett, J.A. & Craig, R.F. (2012). Craig’s Soil Mechanics, 8th Edn., Spon
Press, ISBN 0-415-32703-2. [Recommended textbook]
Publications – slope stability analysis

Bishop, A.W. (1955). The use of the slip circle in the stability analysis of
slopes, Geotechnique, 5(1), pp. 7-17.
Bishop, A.W. & Morgenstern, N.R. (1960). Stability coefficients for earth
slopes, Geotechnique, 10(4), pp. 129-147.
Morgenstern, N.R. & Price, V.E. (1965). The analysis of the stability of general
slip surfaces, Geotechnique, 15(1), pp. 79-93.
Taylor, D.W. (1937). Stability of earth slopes, Journal of the Boston Society of
Civil Engineers, 24(3), pp. 337-386.
Case Studies
Balasingam, M., & Sithampara, P. (2008). Teton dam, USA: uncovering the
crucial aspect of its failure, Proceedings of ICE, Civil Engineering, 161, pp.
35-40.
Barnyard, J.K., Coxon, R.E. & Johnston, T.A. (1993). Carsington reservoir –
reconstruction of the dam, Proceedings of ICE, Civil Engineering, 92, pp.
106-115.
Bromhead, E.N. (1997). The treatment of landslides. Proceedings of ICE,
Geotechnical Engineering, 125, pp. 85-96.
Winter, M.G. et al. (2005). Scottish Road Network Landslides Study, Scottish
Executive. [Download at www.scotland.gov.uk]

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Notes on Topic 2 - Slope Stability

Geotechnical Engineering 2 (University of Strathclyde)

StuDocu is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university

Topic 2 – Slope Stability

Slope formation and types of slope failure

Many systems of description and classification for the different types of

CL419 Geotechnical Engineering 2 1 Topic 2 – Slope Stability

Downloaded by Anthony Mulenga (mulenga66@yahoo.co.uk)

CL419 Geotechnical Engineering 2 2 Topic 2 – Slope Stability

Downloaded by Anthony Mulenga (mulenga66@yahoo.co.uk)

2.2 Principles of Slope Stability Analysis

The forms taken by landslides are so varied, and therefore difficult to

Limit equilibrium analysis

τf Fs < 1.0, slope is unstable

CL419 Geotechnical Engineering 2 3 Topic 2 – Slope Stability

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A limit equilibrium method of analysis considers either equilibrium of

For a fuller explanation, see KC Section 2.3 (p.474).

Finding the critical slip surface

However, most slope stability analysis is carried out using computer

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2.3 Factors Affecting Slope Stability

A slope failure or landslide is usually caused by a combination of a potentially

Cyclic loading and vibration

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Changes in slope angle

2.4 Slope Stability Case Studies

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2.5 Translational Slips

Figure 2.2. Plane translational slip (KC, Figure 12.13)

CL419 Geotechnical Engineering 2 7 Topic 2 – Slope Stability

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The factor of safety is given by the expression;

c′ + (γH − γ whw ) cos2 β tanφ′

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2.6 Rotational Slips

1. Slope or face failure

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Occurs in relatively flat slopes or in soft or weak soils, particularly is the

The Holbeck Hall Hotel landslide (Scarborough, 1993) is a classic rotational

Figure 2.3. Features of a rotational slip

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2.7 Total Stress Analysis and Taylor’s Chart

A full explanation of undrained analysis is given in KC 12.3 (p.473-4). It is

This analysis can be applied to slopes in saturated clays under undrained

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Taylor’s Stability Coefficients

Figure 2.4. Taylor’s chart

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You will recall this dimensionless parameter from our discussion on

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