School 

of Civil and Environmental Engineering 
Term 2, 2021 

CVEN9521 SLOPE STABILITY AND 
STABILISATION 

COURSE DETAILS
Units of Credit 6
Contact hours 6 hours per week for first three weeks and 3 hours per week for rest of six weeks
Classes and Tuesday, 09:00–12:00 (wks 1-3) online
workshops Thursday, 09:00–12:00 (wks 1-5, online
7-10)
No teaching week 6.
Course Coordinator Dr. Rohit Tiwari
and Lecturer email: r.tiwari@unsw.edu.au
office: CE604

INFORMATION ABOUT THE COURSE

Students enrolling in this course are assumed to have knowledge of soil mechanics to Bachelor of Civil
Engineering standard. Students without a civil engineering degree (or equivalent) should have completed (or
be currently enrolled in) CVEN9525 Fundamentals of Geomechanics.

HANDBOOK DESCRIPTION
Landslide classification and recognition; relation to topography and geology. Site investigations for landslides
– the specific issues. Analysis of stability; selection of shear strengths, shear strength of fissured clays; review
of limit equilibrium analysis, back-analysis; slope stabilisation, pre-failure deformations of soil slopes. Slope
stabilisation techniques including geometry change, control of piezometric pressures, anchoring, retaining
walls, reinforced soil. Pre- and post-failure deformations of excavated rock slopes. Stability analysis involving
unsaturated soils. Quantitative Risk Analysis, including assessment of the probability of failure, travel distance,
risk estimation and risk acceptance criteria.

OBJECTIVES
To introduce students to the state of the art of assessment and design of the stability of soil slopes and the
Quantitative Risk Assessment of slopes. To have students understand and be able to apply the techniques of
assessment, design and QRA.

The course is specialised and designed for those who will work in Geotechnical Engineering, Engineering
Geology and Civil Engineering.

TEACHING STRATEGIES
The teaching strategies that will be used and their rationale. Give some suggested approaches to learning in
the course.

CVEN9521 – Term 2 2021 – Course Profile

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22/03/2021
(An example of the approaches to learning are)
Private Study  Review lecture material
 Do set problems and assignments
 Reflect on class problems and assignments
 Download materials from Moodle
 Keep up with notices and find out marks via Moodle
Lectures  Find out what you must learn
 Follow worked examples
 Hear announcements on course changes
Assessments  Demonstrate your knowledge and skills
 Demonstrate higher understanding and problem solving
Computer  Hands-on work, to set studies in context
Laboratory Work

EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES

Student-centred and self-directed learning skills to apply an advanced understanding of soil mechanics to
solve fundamental problems and practical problems involving real data.
After successfully completing this course, you should be able to:
Learning Outcome EA Stage 1 Competencies
1. Understand and be able to apply the techniques of assessment 1.1, 1.3, 2.1. 2.2. 2.3. 3.2. 3.4
2. Understand and be able to apply the techniques of design 1.1, 1.3, 1.4, 2.1, 2.2, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4
3. Understand and be able to apply the techniques of QRA 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.4

For each hour of contact it is expected that you will put in at least 1.5 hours of private study.

COURSE PROGRAM

Date Topic Lecture Content

01/06/2021 and Classification, geology, hydrogeology, Lecture and slide show
03/06/2021 topography
(Week 1)
Site investigations, mapping, pitting, drilling, Lecture and workshop
instrumentation, model development, the
observational method

08/06/2021 and Limit equilibrium methods of stability analyses Lecture and workshop
10/06/2021
(Week 2)
15/06/2021 and Limit equilibrium methods of stability analyses Lecture and workshop
17/06/2021
(Week 3)

CVEN9521 – Term 2 2021 – Course Profile

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22/03/2021
 24/06/2021 Introduction to unsaturated soil mechanics Lecture and workshop and SlopeW
(Week 4) Analysis of slopes involving unsaturated soils software demonstration

01/07/2021 Lecture and workshop

(Week 5) Laboratory testing, selection of parameters
05/07/2021 No teaching Flexibility week for all courses
(Week 6) (non-teaching)
15/07/2021 Stabilisation techniques Lecture and workshop
(Week 7)
22/07/2021 Mechanics of rapid failure and estimation of Lecture and workshop
(Week 8) travel distance

29/07/2021 Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA), principles Lecture and demonstrations

(Week 9) and system framework

05/08/2021 Revision, case studies and example problems Workshop and demonstrations
(Week 10)

ASSESSMENT
 Assignment 1, due beginning of Week 4 (9am 24nd June) value: 10%
 Assignment 2, due beginning of Week 7 (9am 15th July) value: 10%
 Assignment 3, due in Week 10 (5pm 5th August) value: 40%
 Two hour open-book take-home final exam, held in the formal exam period (commencing 16th August)
value: 40%

Details of each assessment component, the marks assigned to it, the criteria by which marks will be assigned,
and the dates of submission are set out below.

Supplementary Examinations for Term 2 2021 will be held on Monday 6th September – Friday 10th September
(inclusive) should you be required to sit one. You are required to be available during these dates. Please do
not to make any personal or travel arrangements during this period.

PENALTIES
Late work will be penalised at the rate of 10% per day after the due time and date have expired.

CVEN9521 – Term 2 2021 – Course Profile

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ASSESSMENT OVERVIEW

Item Length Weighting Learning Assessment Criteria Due date Deadline for Marks
outcomes absolute fail returned
assessed
1. Assignment 1 ~2 days 10% 1.1, 1.5, 2.1. Detailed on assignment question, 9am 24nd June none 26th June
2.2. 2.3. 2.4. located on Moodle
3.1 3.2, 3.4,
3.5
2. Assignment 2 ~2 days 10% Detailed on assignment question, 9am 15th July 2 weeks after ~2 weeks
1.1, 1.3, 1.4, located on Moodle due date after
2.1. 2.2. 2.3. unless an submission
3.2, 3.3, 3.4 extension is
granted
3. Assignment 3 ~4 weeks 40% Detailed on assignment question, 5pm 5th August 2 weeks after ~3 weeks
1.1, 1.3, 1.4, located on Moodle due date after
2.1. 2.2. 2.3. unless an submission
3.2, 3.3, 3.4 extension is
granted
4. Exam 40%

CVEN9521 – Term 2 2021 – Course Profile

Page 4
RELEVANT RESOURCES
It is not necessary to buy a text book as the notes provided are extensive and sufficient. These will include
references to several books and numerous articles in the technical literature. Completion of the assignments
may require students to refer to these works.

DATES TO NOTE
Refer to MyUNSW for Important Dates available at:
https://student.unsw.edu.au/dates

PLAGIARISM
Beware! An assignment that includes plagiarised material will receive a 0% Fail, and students who plagiarise
may fail the course. Students who plagiarise are also liable to disciplinary action, including exclusion from
enrolment.
Plagiarism is the use of another person’s work or ideas as if they were your own. When it is necessary or
desirable to use other people’s material you should adequately acknowledge whose words or ideas they are
and where you found them (giving the complete reference details, including page number(s)). The Learning
Centre provides further information on what constitutes Plagiarism at:
https://student.unsw.edu.au/plagiarism

ACADEMIC ADVICE
For information about:
 Notes on assessments and plagiarism;
 Special Considerations: student.unsw.edu.au/special-consideration;
 General and Program-specific questions: The Nucleus: Student Hub
 Year Managers and Grievance Officer of Teaching and Learning Committee, and
 CEVSOC/SURVSOC/CEPCA
Refer to Academic Advice on the School website available at:
https://www.engineering.unsw.edu.au/civil-engineering/student-resources/policies-procedures-and-
forms/academic-advice

CVEN9521 – Term 2 2021 – Course Profile

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Appendix A: Engineers Australia (EA) Competencies
Stage 1 Competencies for Professional Engineers

Program Intended Learning Outcomes

PE1.1 Comprehensive, theory-based understanding of underpinning fundamentals

PE1.2 Conceptual understanding of underpinning maths, analysis, statistics, computing

PE1: Knowledge
and Skill Base

PE1.3 In-depth understanding of specialist bodies of knowledge

PE1.4 Discernment of knowledge development and research directions

PE1.5 Knowledge of engineering design practice

PE1.6 Understanding of scope, principles, norms, accountabilities of sustainable engineering

practice

PE2.1 Application of established engineering methods to complex problem solving

Application Ability
PE2: Engineering

PE2.2 Fluent application of engineering techniques, tools and resources

PE2.3 Application of systematic engineering synthesis and design processes

PE2.4 Application of systematic approaches to the conduct and management of engineering

projects

PE3.1 Ethical conduct and professional accountability

PE3.2 Effective oral and written communication (professional and lay domains)
and Personal Attributes
PE3: Professional

PE3.3 Creative, innovative and pro-active demeanour

PE3.4 Professional use and management of information

PE3.5 Orderly management of self, and professional conduct

PE3.6 Effective team membership and team leadership

CVEN9521 – Term 2 2021 – Course Profile

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22/03/2021
 THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES
SCHOOL OF CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
CVEN 9521: Slope Instability and Stabilisation
ASSIGNMENT 1 – 2021

This assignment is worth 10%. It must be done by students without collaboration with each other. It
is due no later than Thursday 24th June 2021, 9am, and is to be uploaded on to Moodle through
Turnitin. The submission is to be no longer than 3 pages. It may contain handwritten sections or be
typed. (When uploading a file in Turnitin ensure the first page is a typed page (not handwritten) –
this can be an Assignment cover page and does not count as one of other three pages in the limit).

A 1km long and 10m wide hillside road in a remote area, located on a 100 year old fill, is to be rebuilt
and widened to 20m to accommodate increased traffic usage. It is located above a city water supply
pipeline which can not be relocated. You have been asked by the client to design and execute a
geotechnical site investigation.

Part A (4 marks): List the geotechnical issues that are important for this project. Include brief
explanations of why they are important.

Part B (6 marks): Recommend the site investigations and laboratory testing you would conduct, and
any instrumentation you would use, including the number of explorations/tests/instruments that are
needed and where they would be located. Briefly detail your reasoning.

Hill continues for

a further 100m
10m wide road on old fill. The fill has unknown properties but is
probably poorly compacted. Sections of road have become
damaged and required replacement in the past but there is no
understanding of the causes of damage.

Ground conditions comprise residual City water supply. Can not be

soils and colluvium (of unknown relocated. Not allowed to place new
thickness) over interlayered sandstone permanent infrastructure within 8m.
and shale.

Scale: 10m
 THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES
SCHOOL OF CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
CVEN 9521: Slope Instability and Stabilisation
ASSIGNMENT 2 – 2021

This assignment is worth 10%. It must be done by students without collaboration with each other. It is
due no later than Thursday 15th July 2021, 9am, and is to be uploaded on to Moodle through Turnitin.
The submission is to be no longer than 3 pages, showing the calculations performed, assumptions
made, the SlopeW output and computed Factor of safety. It may contain handwritten sections or be
typed. (When uploading a file in Turnitin ensure the first page is a typed page (not handwritten) –
this can be an Assignment cover page and does not count as one of other three pages in the limit).
The assignment
A slope comprising an unsaturated soil (with γ = 18.5 kN/m3) has failed with parameters known to be ϕ′ =
30°, c′ = 16.8 kPa, χ s = 35-0.5y kPa. The slip surface and face geometries are also known. It has a profile
corresponding to the dimensionless parameters F = 0.90, T = -0.363 (Vo and Russell, 2017). It is also known
that L = 14.6 m. The total slope height is 53 m. It is suspected that tension cracks extend to a depth of 6.93 m
in the soil. At the time of failure an additional 100 kPa surcharge acts on top of the tension cracked soil.
Use SlopeW with a fully specified slip surface to compute a factor of safety at the time of failure. This
involves using the software to account for the χ s contribution, even though it can not be put in directly. To do
this set χ s = 0 then come up with other combinations of q, c′ and γ that give the same F and T. It is necessary
to consider only the 46.1 m high part of the slope below the tension cracked layer and treat the cracked soil
layer as part of a surcharge.
 THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

SCHOOL OF CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

CVEN 9521: Slope Instability and Stabilisation

ASSIGNMENT THREE – 2021

Notes: 1. This assignment is worth 40% of the marks for this subject.

2. The assignment must be done by students without collaboration with each

other. The penalty for plagiarism will be failure in the subject as a
minimum penalty.

3. The assignment is due no later than 15th August 2021, 5pm, and must
be uploaded on to ‘Turnitin’ through Moodle. When uploading a file
in Turnitin ensure the first page is a typed page (not handwritten) – this
can be an Assignment cover page, for example.

THE ASSIGNMENT

The plan, section, and notes describe landsliding which has occurred affecting the railway
line near Coalcliff, north of Wollongong. Also attached are some laboratory test results
from that site, and a nearby site in similar geological conditions. There are two potential
slide surfaces:

ABCDEF, the lower slide surface, of which BC is parallel to the claystone bedding
(along a bedding surface shear); CD is across the claystone bedding; AB and DE are in
talus; and EF is in ash fill.

ABDEF, in which BD is in claystone across the bedding in the claystone and AB, DE, EF
are as for the other surface.

The landslide moves when the piezometric level reaches the peak groundwater level
surface “W”.

Based on this information:

PART 1 (24 marks)

(a) From the laboratory test data, determine the effective stress shear strength
parameters you feel are appropriate for:
(i) the failure surfaces AB, DE (Talus) and EF (ashfill)
(ii) the failure surfaces BC
 (iii) the failure surfaces BD and CD.

(b) Analyse the factor of safety of ABCDEF and ABDEF using your parameters and
the peak groundwater level.

(c) Use back-analysis methods to refine your estimates of the shear strengths for the
surface (ABCDEF or ABDEF) you consider to be the critical one. To do this
assume the laboratory strengths are reliable for the Talus, Ash, and along BC
(parallel to bedding). In other words, use the back-analysis to determine the
strengths on either BD or CD, depending on which surface you deem to be critical.

PART 2 (16 marks)

Design, including carrying out stability analysis, a stabilization method for the landslide
sufficient to give a factor of safety of at least 1.4 for each surface. Your design should
incorporate sub-surface drainage AND cutting and filling. The railway cannot be moved,
and must stay open for all the time remedial works are under construction. Include a plan
and section (marked up on the plan and section provided) of your remedial design, along
with details of the construction of the remedial works and difficulties you expect to
encounter. In planning your design, consider stability during construction of the remedial
works.

PARTS 1 and 2. Stability analysis should be done using slopeW or similar or a program
you use at work. You must include the results of the analysis with properties assumed
shown on the diagrams showing the result. Include the results of the various trials used
in the back-analysis.

BONUS MARKS (the maximum available is 5 marks)

Conduct an alternate analysis of the critical slip surface, either before or after stabilisation
measures have been implemented, by hand using the two wedge method. Compare and
contrast your hand-calculated FOS with that obtained by computer analysis. Upload your
analysis working with Assignment 3 or email it directly to Dr. Rohit Tiwari
(r.tiwari@unsw.edu.au).
 CVEN9521: Slope Instability and Stabilisation

Workshop 1

Planning site investigations and instrumentation

A new owner of a wharf area used to park cars unloaded from container ships has found signs
of ground movement. The subsurface conditions revealed by a site investigation in 1964
revealed loosely dumped ballast of unknown origin supported by an old seawall (see sections
on Figure 1). Since that time a new seawall has been constructed parallel to the old wall. The
material between the two walls is thought to comprise loosely dumped ballast overlying soft
marine deposits, which in turn overlie residual soils and bedrock.

(a) List and describe the important geotechnical issues for this site.

(b) Indicate the type of ground investigation you would instruct. Justify your
recommendations for the profiling, sampling, in-situ testing and laboratory testing
that you would require to assess the mechanisms causing the instability.

(c) Describe the instrumentation you would install and the observations you would make
to help your assessment in (b) and to determine whether or not the ground movements
are still active.

Paved car parking area

showing tension cracks
Old seawall and localised slumping New (post 1964) reinforced
concrete seawall

Loosely dumped 4m tidal range

ballast
? Seabed (possibly
ballast)

Soft marine deposits

?
?
Residual soils
? ?
Bedrock ?
?
?

0 10m
Figure 2 Approximate scale
 CVEN9521: Slope Instability and Stabilisation

Workshop 2

Stability charts, infinite slope and method of slices

1. A 20m deep railway cutting has been excavated in a uniform deposit of stiff saturated
clay with side slopes at 20o to the horizontal. The unit weight of the clay is 19.5kN/m3
and the average undrained shear strength is 100kPa. Use Taylor’s stability charts to
assess the short-term factor of safety of the cutting slope in a range of different
situations. For each one, consider both base circle failures (case A) and toe circle
failures (case B). Which ones are more critical?

(i) The clay stratum is very deep.

(ii) The clay stratum is 50m thick.
(iii) The clay stratum is 30m thick.

Answer: (i) 1.42; 1.73; (ii) 1.53; 1.73; (iii) 1.78; 1.78.

2. (a) Immediately after forming a wide cutting 7.5m deep with shallow side slopes
of 2½:1, a slope failure took place. Subsequent ground investigations revealed
a soil profile comprising 13.5m of soft saturated clay overlying hard shale.
The average unit weight of the clay was found to be 17kN/m3.

Use Taylor’s stability charts to calculate the average undrained shear strength
of the clay by carrying out a back-analysis of the slope failure.

(b) In order for the contractor to continue to construct the works at the same depth
through similar ground, a cutting with shallower side slopes will have to be
formed. What new side slopes should be adopted to provide a factor of safety
of 1.25?

Would you expect the long-term factor of safety to be bigger or smaller than
1.25? Why?

Answer: (a) 20.4 kPa; (b) 4½:1.

3. Show that, if c' = 0, the factor of safety of a long slope at an angle β to the horizontal,
with the water table at the ground surface and seepage occurring parallel to the slope,
is given by

F=
(γ s − γ w ) ⋅ tan φ′
γs tan β
 For a particular clay, where γs = 19kN/m3 and φ' = 20o, what is the steepest angle at
which you would expect to find long slopes remaining stable in the long term?

Answer: 9.8o

4. After a period of heavy rain a landslide occurred in a slope of heavily

overconsolidated clay, the landslip being extensive in area. Subsequent site
exploration revealed the slip plane to be parallel to the ground surface at a depth of
5.2m. Sampling of the soil in both sides of the failure plane, followed by slow drained
triaxial testing, indicated critical state strength parameters c' = 0 and φ' = 26o. The
average saturated unit weight of the samples was 22kN/m3.

If the natural slope had an inclination of 10½o, and assuming a steady state of seepage
with the water table at the ground surface, calculate the effective normal stress and the
shear stress across the failure plane. Hence determine the angle of friction operational
in the landslide. What are your conclusions regarding this failure?

Answer: 60.3kPa; 20.5kPa; 18.8o.

5. While constructing a road embankment on an area of soft normally consolidated soil, a

slip occurred when the bank had reached a height of 10m. Subsequent investigation
revealed that the slip surface corresponded to that shown in the figure, and that at the
time of failure the average pore pressure ratio along the slip surface, including the fill,
was 0.3. All the relevant soil parameters are given in the figure.

Using the ordinary method of slices, estimate the mean value of φ' for the natural soil
involved in the slip. Adopt the five slices indicated, and use an effective stress
analysis. For the purpose of this question, calculate the required angles using
trigonometry. Values of h on the centre line of each slice have been found by
calculation to be: 2.33m; 6.36m; 9.69; 10.66m; 6.44m.

Answer: 25.5o.
 CVEN9521: Slope Instability and Stabilisation

Workshop 3

SlopeW

SlopeW has tutorials you can work through. A video showing how to set up a basis analysis in
on Moodle.

Analyse the stability of the slope below. You may assume that the unit weight of all materials
is 20 kN/m^3.

Important: Slope/W will only consider failure surfaces that daylight as the surface of the slop
(i.e. it ignores all others even if they have the minimum FoS). You must therefore make sure
that your model extends sufficiently laterally to encompass (completyely) all possible failure
surfaces.
 CVEN9521: Slope Instability and Stabilisation

Workshop 4

Two-wedge analysis of St Catherine’s Point slide

A comprehensive investigation was undertaken in 1991 to identify the mechanisms and

ground conditions that lead to the landslide at St Cartherine’s Point, Isle of Wight, off the
south coast of England. The slide is still moving slowly today. The two figures below are of a
section through the landslide which show the pertinent features.

a) Perform a two-wedge back-analysis to determine the mobilised angle of friction along the
basal slip surface. To do this you may assume that there is zero cohesion along the base,
and that the cohesion and angle of friction along the part of the slip surface below Ridge L
are 5kPa and 25°, respectively. Ignore the passive resistance provided by the section of the
slip surface near the toe and assume a bulk unit weight of 22kN/m3 for all geomaterials.
You may also assume that the reaction forces between the two wedges are normal to the
surface of contact. (Answer: about 11°)

b) What would be the factor of safety if the piezometric line could be lowered to beneath the
slip surface? How would you recommend the piezometric line be lowered?

Reference:
Hutchinson, J. N., Bromhead, E. N and Chandler, M. P. (1991) Investigations of Landslides at
St Catherines Point, Isle of Wight. Slope stability engineering. Thomas Telford, London.
 CVEN9521: Slope Instability and Stabilisation

Workshop 5

Unsaturated soil slope

Back calculate at the time of failure in an unsaturated soil slope.

Figure 1 shows the slope geometry prior to failure and the location of the slip surface (from
Oh and Lu, 2015). Figure 1 also presents simulated pore water pressure contours on the day of
failure (16 July 2009) and three months prior to failure (15 April 2009). A contour with a
positive value represents positive pore water pressure and a saturated condition in the soil. A
contour with a negative value represents negative pore water pressure (positive suction) and
an unsaturated condition in the soil. The suction differences are due to the 1029 mm of rain
which fell the three months leading to the 16 July failure. Clearly the rain reduced suction and
thus the effective stress and strength of the soil.

Figure 1.

The soil in the slope is a decomposed granite, classified as a silty sand. It contains 4.7% by
mass finer than 75 µm and has a specific gravity of 2.63. Water retention data of a remoulded
sample having a void ratio e of 0.425 undergoing drying, determined in a laboratory, are
shown in the double logarithmic degree of saturation (Sr) versus s plane in Figure 2.
 1
Degree of saturation, Sr

0.1
0.1 1 10 100 1000
s (kPa)
Figure 2.

The linearity of the water retention data in the double log plane implies that this soil has
fractal characteristics. Note that three other decomposed granites, which were also fractal,
were found to have scanning curve slopes of 0.22, 0.18 and 0.06, main wetting/drying
curve slopes of 0.42, 0.51 and 0.65, and particle size distributions with fractal dimensions
of 2.65, 2.60 and 2.55 (Russell, 2014).

In the soil slope the total unit weight and dry unit weight are kN/m3 and
kN/m3, respectively, with e = 0.977 and .

To get started, establish the profile of χs in the unsaturated region at the time of failure.
Determination of χs requires knowledge of s and certain soil properties to determine χ. To
assist with this you will need to re-plot the water retention data in the double logarithmic
degree of saturation (Sr) versus s/sex plane.

References
Oh, S. & Lu, N. 2015. Slope stability analysis under unsaturated conditions: case studies of
rainfall-induced failure of cut slopes. Engineering Geology, 184, 96-103.
Russell, A. R. 2014. How water retention in soils depends on particle and pore sizes, shapes,
volumes and surface areas. Géotechnique, 64, 379-390.
 CVEN9521: Slope Instability and Stabilisation

Workshop 6

Interpreting laboratory test results

Question 1

The effective stress shear strength parameters of a saturated stiff clay are:

Intact clay: c´ = 50kPa and φ´ = 26°

Along fissures: c´ = 0kPa and φ´ = 18°

A sample of the clay was consolidated in a triaxial cell under a cell pressure of 400kPa and
subsequently sheared (undrained) in axial compression. At failure the principle stress
difference was 500kPa, with a pore pressure of -50kPa.

Draw the Mohr’s circle to scale, and decide whether the sample failed along a fissure (or
fissures) or in the intact clay. Use the pole construction to find the inclination of the failure
plane.

Question 2

Three similar specimens of a saturated soil were fully consolidated in a triaxial cell. CU tests
were conducted. The data obtained is presented on the three pages below. Draw the failure
envelope and determine suitable shear strength parameters c´ and φ´ for use in slope design.
Also determine the pore pressure parameter A leading up to failure and at failure.
 CVEN9521: Slope Instability and Stabilisation

Workshop 7

Simple wedge analysis of an anchored soil slope

The figure below shows a vertical cross section through a soil slope whose face dips at an
angle ψ f . An assumed inclined slip surface AB, with a dip of ψ p , strikes parallel to the slope
face, and daylights a vertical distance H below the top of the slope. A vertical tension crack
intersects the slip surface at point B, and contains water to a depth zw. The bottom of the
tension crack is a vertical distance z below the top of the slope. Anchors supply a total force
of T per unit length of slope, and are inclined at an angle theta to the normal of the slip
surface.

a) if the soil has a unit weight γ , and the strength along the slip surface may be
described by parameters c´ and φ ′ , derive an expression for the factor of safety
against sliding of the block ABC. Comment on the definition of factor of safety you
have used. State clearly all the assumptions of your analysis.
b) For the set of values: H = 35 m, γ = 27 kN/m3, θ = 35o , z = 15 m, z w = 10 m,
c' = 10 kPa, φ ' = 40 o , ψ f = 50 o , ψ p = 30 o , calculate the factor of safety of the block
ABC before any anchors are installed.
c) What anchors force per unit length of slope is required to increase the factor of safety
to 1.5?
 CVEN9521: Slope Instability and Stabilisation

Workshop 8

Fibre reinforced embankment

It is proposed to construct a 10m high earth embankment using sand reinforced with discrete
flexible fibres made of polyamide, 0.5% by weight. Interpret the triaxial test results presented
below and establish suitable values of c´ and φ ′ for use in the design of an earth
embankment. Using stability charts calculate the safe batter angles of the embankment,
assuming the factor of safety must by 1.2, for both a reinforced and unreinforced
embankment. You may also assume that γ = 20kN/m3. (Answers: about 35° and 70°)