ROCK SLOPE: Mode of Instability

MKAJ1073: ENGINEERING ROCK MECHANICS

Ir Dr Rini Asnida Abdullah

School of Civil Engineering
Faculty of Engineering
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
Rock vs Soil Slopes
Mode of Failures in Rock Slope

• Planar / sliding failure

• Wedge failure
• Toppling failure
• Rockfall
Plane failure:

• Associated with sliding of unstable block along a single distinctive

inclined weakness plane.
• Weakness plane can be bedding or fault (seldom joint).
Parallel & inclined bedding planes lead to
plane failure
Wedge failure:

• Associated with sliding of unstable block (wedge) along two intersecting

& inclined weakness planes.
• Plane can be joints or faults (not bedding plane).
• Common in rock exhibiting more than 2 joint sets.
Closely spaced & intersecting joints (> two sets) lead to wedge failure
 Bukit Lanjan: 26th Nov 2003
During the 7.16am incident, a 60m rocky slope adjacent to the northbound side of the
expressway at the 21st kilometre collapsed, causing as much as 20,000 tonnes of
boulders and soil to cover all eight lanes of the expressway between the Kota
Damansara and Bukit Lanjan interchanges.

JOINT PATTERNS IN GRANITE AND ITS

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2003/11/27/rockfall-at-
RELATIONSHIP WITH SLOPE FAILURE new-klang-valley-expressway/#sGADCBRlUFIdah1B.99
Flexural toppling:

• Associated with bending of unstable (slender) rock

blocks, not associated with sliding along weakness
planes.
• Common in rock exhibiting more than 2 joint sets
and folded beddings that are almost vertical in
orientation.
• Investigated a UK slate quarry
slope that experienced instability,
Oct 2008
• A volume of c 100,000m³ rock
• Instability at the South quarry
involved sliding and a block-flexural
toppling type of failures
Flexural toppling and overturning at rear of failure Cracks monitoring point at the rear of instability
Gunung Cheroh, Ipoh -18/10/1973

23,000 ton Rockfall

Close-up view of fallen rock slab showing

secondary solution grooves, parallel to
detachment surface, rock slab is approx. 15
fee high (looking south). The weight of rock fall
was 23,000 ton.
 Natural
Crack

Overhangin
g Block
Rockfall

Sketch of slope after rockfall

Cave

Sketch of slope before rockfall

Rockfall
Sketch of slope after rockfall
Relative stability of slopes as a function of the orientation of weaknesses (in
this case bedding planes) relative to the slope orientations
Rock fall:

• Associated with toppling of unstable

small rock blocks, not sliding along
weakness planes.
• Common in rock mass exhibiting more
than 3 joint sets that are closely spaced.
• Weakness planes are joints only
Runtuhan cerun: Jalan selorong dibuka di
KM140 JRTB Gerik-Jeli (4 October 2017)
Very often rock slopes display more than one
mode of failure, e.g. wedge + rock fall or plane
failure + rock fall
RQD (evaluated during core logging) can indicate mode of failure –
RQD between 25 to 50 may give rise to rock falls + wedge failure
Closely spaced joint in weathered rock
may lead to rock fall
Closely spaced joint in weathered rock may lead to rock fall