SOIL MECHANICS IB-EECQ 3271

BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING IN CIVIL

ENGINEERING

Dr. George Okwadha

 Stability of Slopes
• Earth slopes are of two types:
– Natural
– Man made or artificial
• Natural slopes are those that exist in nature and are formed by natural means.
Example is a slope in hilly areas
• Man made slope are structures made to serve a purpose such as sides of
cuttings, slopes of embankments for roads, railway lines, canals and other
earth retaining structures
• Slopes whether natural or artificial may be:
– Infinite
– Finite
• Infinite slopes are constant slopes of infinite extent e.g. the long slope of the
face of a mountain
• Finite slopes are limited in extent e.g. slopes of embankments and earth
dams
• Slope length depends on the height of the dam or embankment
 Stability of slopes
• Earth slopes therefore are required for the construction of highways,
railways, earth dams, river-training works and other earth retaining structures
• Stability of earth slopes is therefore important
• The failure of an earth slope involves
– a slide (cohesionless soils, ϕ-Soil) or
– a slip (c-ϕ and C-soils)
• The failure may be due to
– Gravitational forces
– Seepage forces in the soil mass
– Progressive disintegration of the structure of the soil mass
– Excavation near the base of a structure
• Slip failures may be in the form of
– Circular rotational slip
– Non-circular rotational slip
– Translational slip
– Compound slip
 Stability of Slopes
• In circular rotational slip, the slope of the failure surface in
section may be a circular arc and are associated with
homogeneous isotropic soil conditions
• In non-circular rotational slip, the shape of the failure surface in
section form non-circular curve, and is associated with non-
homogeneous conditions
• Translational and compound slips occur where the form of the
failure surface is influenced by the presence of an adjacent
stratum of significantly different strength, and most of the failure
surface is likely to pass through the stratum of lower shear
strength
• The other factors are
– Presence of discontinuities such as fissures and pre-existing slips
 Stability of Slopes
• Translational slip occur where the adjacent stratum is at a
relatively shallow depth below the surface of the slope, and
the failure surface tends to be plane and roughly parallel to
the slope
• Compound slip occur where the adjacent stratum is at a
greater depth, and the failure surface consists of curved and
plane sections
• The design of slope stability is based on the requirement to
maintain stability rather than to minimize deformation.
 Stability of Slopes
a b

c
d
 Methods of slope stability analysis
• Critical-state strength
– An example for a condition for critical-state analysis is when
the deformation is such that the strain in the element of soil
exceeds the value corresponding to peak strength
– In this case, the strength would fall towards the ultimate value
• Limiting Equilibrium
– Normally used if the failure is on the point of occurring along
an assumed or known failure surface
– The shear strength required to maintain a condition of
limiting equilibrium is compared with the available shear
strength of the soil giving the average (lumped) factor of
safety along the failure surface
 Methods of slope stability analysis
• Limit-state method
– Apply partial factors to shear strength parameters
– If the greatest uncertainty is soil properties, then the ultimate limit state
of overall stability is satisfied if, depending on the method of analysis,
• Either the design disturbing force (Sd) is less than or equal to the design
resisting force (Rd) along the potential failure surface or
• The design disturbing moment is less than or equal to the design
resisting moment
– Characteristic values of shear strength parameters 𝑐 ′ and 𝑡𝑎𝑛ϕ′ should
be divided by factors 1.6 and 1.25 respectively
– If critical-state strength is used, then the value of 𝑐 ′ =0 (cohesionless soil)
– The characteristic value of parameter c (cohesive soil) is divided by 1.4
– A factor of unity is appropriate for the self-weight of the soil and for pore
water pressure
– Variable loads on the soil surface adjacent to the slope should be
multiplied by 1.3
 Methods of investigating slope stability
• The procedure is as follows
– Assure a slip surface and a centre about which it
rotates
– Study the equilibrium of the forces acting on the
surface
– Repeat the process until the worst slip surface is
formed
– The worst slip is that surface which yields the
least factor of safety, F where
𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑠
–𝐹 = or 𝐹 =
𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑏𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑆𝑙𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑠
 Infinite Slopes
• An infinite slope is one which represents the boundary
surface of a semi-infinite soil mass inclined to the
horizontal
• It’s a constant slope of infinite extent
• Its assumed that the soil is homogeneous in its properties
• If different strata are present, the strata boundaries are
assumed to be parallel to the surface
• Failure tends to occur only along a plane parallel to the
surface.
 Infinite slope in cohesionless soil
• Consider an infinite slope in a cohesionless soil inclined at an angle β
to the horizontal as shown,

(a) (b)
• Let the weight of the element of the soil at the surface be W
• Force parallel to the slope , T = Wsinβ
• Force perpendicular to the slope, N = Wcosβ
• The maximum force restraining the sliding action of T is the shear
resistance that could be mobilized by the normal component N
• For a cohesionless soil, this is given by: shear resistance, τ = Ntanϕ
 Infinite slope in cohesionless soil
• In the figure on the RHS, if τ is the
shear resistance, then T
• τ = Ntanϕ
W
• For stability, β
Restraining Forces N
Sliding Forces =
Factor of Safety, F
• This means that the maximum slope
Restraining Forces will be limited to ϕ
F= • This means that for stability, the
Sliding Forces
Ntanϕ WCosβtanϕ
maximum inclination of an infinite
F= = slope in a cohesionless soil is equal
WSinβ WSinβ
tanϕ to the angle of internal friction
F= , where
tanβ • The stability of a cohesionless soil
ϕ is angle of shearing resistance is not affected by the unit wt. of the
β is the angle of slope soil nor by the water content
• For limiting equilibrium, F = 1, provided seepage forces are ignored
• tanϕ = tanβ ⇒ ϕ = β
 Seepage forces in a granular (cohesionless)
slope subjected to rapid drawdown
• In the figure below, the level of the river dropped suddenly due to
tidal effects
• The permeability of the soil in the slope is such that the water retained
in the soil cannot follow the water level changes as rapidly as the river
resulting in seepage occurring from the high water level in the slope to
the lower water level of the river.
• A flow net can be drawn for this condition and the excess hydrostatic
head for any point within the slope can be determined.
 Seepage forces in a granular (cohesionless)
slope subjected to rapid drawdown
• Assume a potential failure plane
parallel to the slope’s surface,
occurring at a depth Z.
β
• Consider an element within the slope
of wt. W
• Let the excess pore water pressure
induced by seepage be u at the mid
point of the base of the element β
• Normal reaction, N = Wcosβ
• Normal stress, σ =
Wcosβ γzbcos2β
𝜎=
Ix1
β W b
b
• But b = Icosβ ⇒ I= N
Cosβ γ𝑧𝑏𝑐𝑜𝑠2β
Wcosβcosβ Wcos2β Normal effective stress, σ′ = -u
• σ= = 𝑏
bx1 b σ′ = γ𝑧𝑐𝑜𝑠2β – u where γ is average unit
• But W = γ x area, Area = z x b wt of the whole slice
 Seepage forces in a granular (cohesionless)
slope subjected to rapid drawdown
• Tangential Force, T = Wsinβ
Wsinβ γ𝑧𝑏𝑐𝑜𝑠βsinβ
• Tangential shear stress, τ = =
Ix1 bx1
• τ = γ𝑧𝑠𝑖𝑛βcosβ
• Ultimate shear strength of the soil, τu = 𝜎 ′ tanϕ (From shear envelope τ = c+𝜎 ′ tanϕ)
𝑆ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ
• Factor of safety against slippage, F=
𝑆ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠
𝜎 ′ tanϕ (γ𝑧𝑐𝑜𝑠2β – u)tanϕ
• F= =
τ γ𝑧𝑠𝑖𝑛βcosβ
γ𝑧𝑐𝑜𝑠2β 𝑢
• 𝐹= ( − )tanϕ
γ𝑧𝑠𝑖𝑛βcosβ γ𝑧𝑠𝑖𝑛βcosβ
𝑠𝑖𝑛β 𝑐𝑜𝑠β 𝑢 𝑠𝑖𝑛β
• Fx =( − )tanϕ x
𝑐𝑜𝑠β 𝑠𝑖𝑛β γ𝑧𝑠𝑖𝑛βcosβ 𝑐𝑜𝑠β
𝑢 𝑡𝑎𝑛ϕ
• F = (1 − )
γzcos2β 𝑡𝑎𝑛β
ru 𝑡𝑎𝑛ϕ 𝑢
• F = (1 − ) , where ru = referred to as the pore pressure ratio which is
cos2β 𝑡𝑎𝑛β γ𝑧
the ratio of the pore water pressure to the wt. of the material acting on unit area
above
 Flow parallel to the surface and at the surface
• The flow net below illustrates
flow parallel and at the surface
• Consider an element of soil
with excess pore water head at
the centre of the base of the
element, hw.
• Let AB = zcosβ, hw = ABcosβ
• Therefore, hw = zcos2β 𝛾𝑤 𝑡𝑎𝑛ϕ γ−𝛾𝑤 𝑡𝑎𝑛ϕ
• F = (1 − ) =( )
• Therefore, excess pore water γ 𝑡𝑎𝑛β γ 𝑡𝑎𝑛β

pressure at the base of the γ𝑠𝑎𝑡−𝛾𝑤 𝑡𝑎𝑛ϕ

• F= ( )
element is given by γ𝑠𝑎𝑡 𝑡𝑎𝑛β

𝛾′ 𝑡𝑎𝑛ϕ
• 𝐹= ( )
𝛾𝑠𝑎𝑡 𝑡𝑎𝑛β
𝑢 = 𝛾𝑤 𝑧𝑐𝑜𝑠 2 𝛽
• Since the soil is saturated, 𝛾 = 𝛾𝑠𝑎𝑡
𝑢 𝛾𝑤 𝑧𝑐𝑜𝑠 2 𝛽 𝛾𝑤 𝑐𝑜𝑠 2 𝛽
ru = = =
γ𝑧 γ𝑧 γ
Example

𝑡𝑎𝑛30
Since tan β=
𝐹

Assume γw = 10kNm-3
 Finite Slopes
• A finite slope is a slope with a base, a top surface and a limited
height.
• Examples are inclined faces of
– Earthdams
– Embankment
– Excavations
• Investigations of the stability of finite slopes involves
– Assuming a possible slip surface
– Studying the equilibrium of the forces on this surface
– Repeating the process until the worst slip surface, that is, the one
with minimum margin of safety is found
• Failure of finite slopes in cohesive or cohesive-frictional soils
tends to occur by rotation
• The slip surface takes the form of an arc of a circle
 Total stress analysis for a purely cohesive
soil (ϕ=0 analysis)
• This gives the stability of an embankment immediately after its
construction
• Its assumed that the soil had no time to drain and the shear
strength parameters used relate to the undrained strength with
respect to total stresses
• These can be obtained from either unconfined compression test
or an undrained triaxial test without pore water pressure
measurements
• Only moment equilibrium is considered
• In the figure below, let AB be a trial slip surface ( a circular arc
of radius r) as shown
– Let W = the wt. of the soil within the slip surface
– G = position of the centre of gravity of the soil mass
 Total stress analysis for a purely
cohesive soil (ϕ=0 analysis)
• Since ϕ=0, the shear
component = C
• Taking moments about O,
the centre of rotation, for
equilibrium at incipient
failure
• W.e = cl.r = c.r.θ.r = cr2θ
𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡
• 𝐹=
𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑏𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡
𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡
• 𝐹=
𝑆𝑙𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡
• The exact position of G is not required since its
cr2θ
• 𝐹= only required to position the line of action of W
𝑊.𝑒
Note: W.e is dependent on the • This may be got by dividing the sector into a
cohesion mobilized which will set of vertical slices and taking moments of area
be less than the maximum of these slices about any convenient vertical
cohesion of the soil axis
 Effect of tension cracks
• A tension normally forms at the top
surface of the slope when a slip is
B
imminent
• No shearing resistance can develop θ
at a tension crack
B’
• The depth of the tension crack is A
given by W
AB’=L = rθ’
𝟐𝒄
𝒉𝒄 = , where c is the shear
𝜸
strength and γ is the unit wt. of the
soil
• Note: The derivation of the above • When computing the factor of safety F
equation will be done in stability of against slippage, θ’ is used instead of θ
retaining structures and the full wt. W of the soil within
• The effect of the tension crack is to the sliding surface AB is used to
shorten the arc along which shearing compensate for any water pressure
resistance is mobilized from AB to that may be exerted if the crack gets
AB’ and to reduce the angle θ to θ’ filled with rain water
 Stability Number or Coefficients
• Stability number is used for the analysis of homogeneous slopes in
terms of total stress
• Developed by Taylor
• Based on the principle of geometric similarity
• For a slope of height H, the stability coefficient or number, Ns for the
failure surface along which the factor of safety is a minimum is given
by
𝐂
• 𝐍𝐬 =
𝐅𝛄𝐇
• Where
– F = Factor of safety
– γ = Unit wt. of the soil
– H = height of the slope
– D = Depth factor
– C = shear strength (ϕ=0 analysis)
 Stability Number or Coefficients
• For a ϕ=0 analysis, values of Ns can be obtained from the figure below
• The coefficient Ns, depends on the slope angle β and the depth factor
D, where DH is the depth to firm ground.
 Example 1

• Solution
• In the figure below, the cross sectional area ABCD is 70 m2.
Example 1 Cont’
12.1𝑥89.5𝑥𝜋
Since L:= 𝑟𝜃 = 180
= 18.9 m
Example 1 Cont’
 The Swedish Method of Slices Analysis
• This method is also referred to as Fellenius’ method.
• When a soil is partially saturated, the undrained strength
envelope is no longer parallel to the normal stress axis and the
soil has both ϕ and c.
• The total stress analysis can be used to analyze this condition by
assuming a slip circle procedure as follows:
– Develop the slope profile with soil properties i.e. c, ϕ, γ etc
– Sketch the geometry of the failure surface
– Identify or guess a failure surface
– Divide the sector into a suitable number of vertical slices
– Consider the stability of the slices by
• Drawing the mid ordinate of the slice
• Drawing the free body diagram (FBD)
– Compute the factor of safety, F for the slope and repeat the process till a
minimum is obtained
 The Swedish Method of Slices Analysis
𝑆ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝐶+σ𝑡𝑎𝑛ϕ
• 𝐹= =
𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑏𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 τ
𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡
• 𝐹=
𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑏𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡
• Taking moments about the centre of
rotation, O
– Disturbing moment = r 𝑇
– Restraining moment = r(cl+ 𝑁𝑡𝑎𝑛ϕ)
(𝑐𝑟θ+ 𝑁𝑡𝑎𝑛ϕ) Mid ordinate
– 𝐹= α N
𝑇
W
– N = Wcosα T
– T = Wsinα
 Example
• A cut has been made at an angle of 30o to the horizontal. The
radius is 10m passing through the toe of the cut slope and
through a point 4m away on the top ground from the edge of the
cut. If cohesion, c is 15kNm-2, angle of internal friction, ϕ is 30o,
the unit wt. of the soil, γ is 18kNm-3 and depth of cut is 5m,
determine the factor of safety, F using method of slices.
• Solution
• The procedure is as follows:
1. Take a piece of paper
2. Choose a scale i.e. 10cm = 1m
3. Select an appropriate point A for the toe of the slope
4. Mark and draw ϕ=30o using a protractor
5. Using the slope line, measure and mark the depth of cut or height of
slope = 5m and locate point B
 Example Cont’
6. Measure 4m from B to locate C
7. Measure a radius of 10m
8. Place compass at A and draw an arc and place the compass at C and draw an arc. The
point of intersection gives point O (the slip centre)
9. With radius OC or OA and centre O, draw the arc AC
10. Measure the horizontal length of A to C = 12.7m (127cm)
11. Subdivide this length into equal slices i.e. 12.7 6 ≈ 2m. No. of slices = 6 of width
2m + 1 slice of 0.7m
12. Draw the mid ordinate i.e. centre of the slice
13. Measure the length of the mid ordinate (z)
14. Measure the width of the slice (b)
15. Compute the wt. of each slice i.e. W = γzb
16. Measure angle α using a protractor
17. Compute the normal load, N = Wcosα
18. Compute tangential load, T = Wsinα
19. Tabulate your results as shown
20. Obtain N and T and compute factor of safety, F and measure arc angle θ
Example Cont’
 Example Cont’ γ = 18kN/m3

W= γzbx1
Example Cont’
 End

Thank you