EAG 345

GEOTECHNICAL ANALYSIS AND DESIGN

2018/2019

21st November 2018

Slope Stability

Dr. Mastura Azmi

School of Civil Engineering, USM
cemastura@usm.my
Room No : 3.24
 Slope stability study We l e a d

Stage Zonation
Reconnaissance Planning

Preliminary Survey

Design Detailed Survey Identification of

potential failure
Stability Analysis zones

Design

Construction Embankment or Cut

Field Measurement
Evaluation of
Countermeasure
slope instability
Maintenance Field Measurement for prediction
& warning
Countermeasure
 Common types of slope failure We l e a d

• Landslides
• Natural slope failure
• Cut slope failure
• Rock slope failure
• Debris flow
 Common types of slope failure We l e a d

• Landslides
• Natural slope failure
• Cut slope failure
• Rock slope failure
• Debris flow
 Landslides in Malaysia We l e a d

• Malaysia Public Works Department (PWD) has identified more

than 100 hillslopes around Malaysia as risky areas.
• In Malaysia, most landslides occur on man-made slopes due
to lack of maintenance, construction negligence and design
errors.
• The biggest cause triggering landslides in Malaysia is heavy
rainfall, especially during the monsoon season when Malaysia
receives very high rainfall.
• Shallow landslides are the most common landslide type to
occur and are triggered due to heavy rainfall that lead to head
loss in matrix suction areas in unsaturated areas.
 History of landslides in Malaysia We l e a d

• The first recorded national landslide in Malaysia was in 1961.

• Although it was not the first one officially recorded, it was the official
first after Malaysian independence was achieved in 1957. The tragedy
occurred at Ringlet, Pahang and resulted in 16 deaths.
• After that event, an increasing number of deaths due to landslide
tragedies have occurred. From 1973 to 2000, about 440 landslides have
been recorded with almost 600 lives claimed due to landslide
catastrophes.
History of landslides in Malaysia We l e a d

• It was due to the Highland Towers Tragedy on 11 December 1993,

which claimed 48 lives that the government decided to set up
several related agencies to form the special force to help mitigate
the nation when disaster occurs.
• This was the time when not only the government but also the
public started to notice the importance of landslide catastrophes.
• Another record of the highest fatality for a single landslide event
occurred on 26 December 1996 when debris flow caused by
Tropical Storm Gregg wiped out a few villages in Keningau, Sabah
and claimed 302 lives.
List of some major landslide events in Malaysia
We l e a d

No Date Case Fatalities Losses

1 11 December 1993 Collapse of Highland Towers 48 1 apartment
building collapse

2 30 June 1995 Genting Sempah Debris Flow 20 + Road closure

1 missing
3 6 January 1996 Gunung Tempurung Slope Failure 1 Road closure

4 30 August 1996 Pos Dipang Debris Flow 44 Village

5 28 November 1998 Paya Terubong Rockslide - 17 cars

6 7 February 1999 Sandakan Landslide 17 Houses

7 15 May 1999 Bukit Antarabangsa Landslide - Blocked route for
10,000 residents

8 28 January 2002 Ruan Changkul Landslide 16 Houses

9 20 November 2002 Taman Hillview Landslide 8 Houses

10 26 November 2003 Bukit Lanjan Rockslide - Highway closure

for 6 months
Examples of previous cases of landslides in Malaysia
We l e a d

Highland Towers Gunung Tempurung

Genting Sempah

Orphanage House
Selangor – Kids Died
Pos Dipang

Paya Terubong
 Natural conditions of Malaysia We l e a d

• Climate
• Geological features
• Topography and landform
 Climate We l e a d

§ Malaysia is warm and humid throughout the year

§ Average annual rainfall intensity from 2500 – 3500 mm
§ The highest monthly rainfalls usually in April and October.
§ Intense short duration rainfall
§ Average daily temperatures range from a minimum of 25oC to
a maximum of 33oC. Sometimes can reach until 37oC during
dry season.
§ Relative humidity is high, sometimes exceeding 80%.
Example of expected rainfall in Malaysia
We l e a d
We l e a d
 Geological features We l e a d

• Malaysia comprises a broad range of

rock types. ( sands and silts of the
coastal plains, granite and limestone
outcrops of the Main Range)
• Peninsular Malaysia, which forms
part of the Sunda Shield, is the spine
of the Peninsular
• In Peninsular Malaysia, all the
systems ranging from the Cambrian
to the Quarternary, that is from 570
million years to about 10,000 years
ago, are represented
 Landforms and topography We l e a d

• Malaysia is generally formed by - highland, floodplain, and coastal

zones
• In the peninsular, the Titiwangsa Range from north to south divides
the West Coast and East Coast states
• All of these ranges are governed by virgin forest.
• Most cities and large towns in the Peninsular are located on a thin
surface alluvium over limestone and granite.
 We l e a d

• Titiwangsa range –
altitude more than
650m to 2000m
• High dense forest area
in altitude more than
650m
• Intermediate dense
forest in altitude 200m
to 650m

Highland area in Peninsular Malaysia

 Mass wasting - Overview We l e a d

• Mass Wasting
Definitions
• Mass Wasting Effects
• Slope Processes
• Slope Stability
• Types and Examples of
Mass Movements
 Mass wasting We l e a d

Definition Effects
• Mass Wasting = • Shapes of landscapes
comprehensive term for any • Loses of life
type of down slope • Economic losses (property
movement of Earth damages, restoration
materials process and etc.)
– More precisely = down slope
movement of rock or soil as a
coherent mass
• Includes:
– Landslides, earth flows,
mudflows, rock falls, debris
and snow avalanches, and
subsidence
 Slope processes We l e a d

• Slopes are the most common landforms

• Most appear stable but really are dynamic and
evolving process
– Material on slopes is constantly moving
• Slope form depends on :
– Underlying rock type (rock mass characterization)
– Climate (rainfall, temperature)
– Regional tectonics (earthquake prone area…etc)
– Regional drainage pattern (seepage, build up of pore water
pressure)
– Etc
 Equilibrium of forces We l e a d

Driving forces move Resisting forces oppose

material down the slope downward movement
(Most common = weight of (Most common = strength of
slope material, vegetation, and slope material, countermeasure
structures on slope) works)
Driving Forces and Resisting Forces
Friction

Weight of
Material
Upward
force of
supporting
Gravity materials
Image: University of Minnesota
 Fundamental theory We l e a d

• Slope stability is evaluated by computing safety

factor
• Safety Factor = ratio of resisting forces to driving
forces
Resisting Forces
S.F. =
Driving Forces

– If S.F. > 1 the resisting forces are stronger and the

slope is stable
– If S.F. < 1 the driving forces are stronger and the slope
is unstable
 We l e a d

• Slope stability changes over time as conditions

change causing ratio to change
• Driving and resisting forces are determined by
interactions between:
– Type of earth materials
– Slope angle and topography
– Climate
– Vegetation
– Water
– Time
 Role of slope materials We l e a d

• Depends on the material cohesion and friction angle which

will control the shear strength of the material
• Affects type and frequency of slides
• Patterns of movement: transitional, rotational, slip surface
and etc
• For rock – mostly controlled by the properties of the rock as
masses. (discontinuity or plane of weakness as dominantly
controlled factors)
• Engineering properties of the materials – permeability,
porosity, hydraulic conductivity
• Specific characteristics of material – shrinking, swelling
creeping
Role of slope angle and topography We l e a d

• Shear force maximized by gravity (slope inclination and

orientation)
• Angle of repose (maximum angle at which unconsolidated
material on slope is stable ~30-35°)
• Local relief (height of the slope)
• Interaction between angle slope of surface to angle of
discontinuity and to the angle of friction of the slope material
 Role of climate We l e a d

• Climate = characteristic weather at specific place over time

• Includes:
– Average temperature
– Amount and timing of precipitation
• Which then infiltrates slope thus affecting stability
• Affects vegetation which influences slope stability
– Seasonal weather patterns
 Role of water We l e a d

• Almost always directly or indirectly involved with mass

movements
• Water fills pore spaces or discontinuity (build up water
pressure – reduce the resisting forces by increasing the driving
forces)
• Water & Erosion
– Stream or wave erosion may remove material creating
steeper slope thus reducing safety factor and reactivate
old slope
• Liquefaction
– Some clays behave as liquid and flow when disturbed.
Does not always require earthquake, can occur through
toe erosion
 Role of vegetation We l e a d

• Vegetation is a function of climate, soil type and topography

• Can increase or decrease the chances of mass movement
– Shields soil thus mitigates runoff during heavy
precipitation
– Roots help fix soil in place
– Adds weight to the slope
 Role of time We l e a d

• Forces on slopes often change with time :

– Driving and resisting forces can change seasonally as water
content changes
• Chemical weathering introduces elements into soils which
change properties

A slope that is becoming less stable with time

may exhibit increasing creep until failure
occurs
 Types of mass movements We l e a d

Collapse
• collapsed material – residual soils,
highly weathered rocks or jointed
rock
• prone to occur – on steep slopes
• mostly triggered – rainfall infiltrating
• size – less than 1000 m3

Rock fall
• free fall or rolling on the slope – hard
rocks and boulders
• occur in – steep slope and cliff
• falls occurred to – gravity controlled
by distribution of joints
• size – less than 5 m3 generally
 Types of mass movements We l e a d

Rock Mass Failure

• materials are hard jointed rocks
• failures modes – wedge, planar and
toppling
• size depends on the slope
characteristics

Landslide
• materials are clayey soils and highly
weathered rocks
• marked by topography features that is
gentle and deformed
• chiefly influenced by increased of
pore water pressure, infiltration and
heavy rainfall
• size can be up or more than 5000 m3
 Types of mass movements We l e a d

Debris Flow
• rapid flow of boulder, gravel, sand,
silt and clay mixed with big amount
of water
• occurs in a contributory areas that
contains collapsible slopes

Embankment Failure
• All type of slope failure in
embankment
• Slump or collapse of slope,
settlement of road surface
• Scouring of toe part
 Types of mass movements We l e a d

Creep
• Very slow form of mass movement
• We just can see the effect of the
movement
• Causes the soil or rock to settle farther
than where there just started
• Monitoring by observation of the effect
of the movement and in long term
period
Subsidence
• Sinking of mass of Earth material below
level of surrounding material
• Can occur on slopes or flat ground
• Occurred as a result of groundwater
withdrawal, sinkhole, dissolution and
etc
 Slope stability We l e a d

• Slope characterization
• Factor of safety
• Soil stability analysis
 Table of content We l e a d

• Slope characterization
• Factor of safety
• Soil stability analysis
Soil and rock mass formation We l e a d

Slope cutting – exposed variety of materials

from fresh to completely weathered and
residual soil

Source: Encyclopedia of Malaysia (2002)

Soil and rock mass formation We l e a d

Weathering Profile

Example of Proposed Slope Residual soil (VI)

Cutting
Completely weathered (V)

Highly weathered (IV)

Moderately weathered (III)

Distribution Of Granitic Core
Boulders

Slightly weathered to fresh (II to 1)

 Geometry of a slope We l e a d

Slope Gradient of 1V:1H to 1V:1.5H for the cut areas

and 1:2 for the fill areas

All untreated slopes shall be designed with minimum of 2m

berm width and maximum 6m berm height with a
Factor of Safety >1.3
Groundwater condition in slope We l e a d
 Table of content We l e a d

• Slope characterization
• Factor of safety
• Soil stability analysis
 Factor of safety We l e a d

The factor of safety is generally defined as

tf
FS =
td
Where: FS = factor of safety with respect to strength
τf = average shear strength of soil
τd = average shear stress developed along the potential failure surface

The shear strength of a soil consists of two components,

cohesion and friction and may be written as

t f = c' + s ' tan f '

Where: c' =cohesion; f ' = angle of friction; s ' = normal stress on the potential failure surface
 Factor of safety We l e a d

In a similar manner, we can write:

t d = c 'd + s ' tan f 'd

'
Where c dand f ' dare, respectively, the cohesion and the angle of
friction that develop along the potential failure surface.
Substituting Eq. (1.1) and (1.2) into (1.3) we get:

c ' + s ' tan f '

FS= '
c d + s ' tan f ' d

When FS = 1, the slope is in a state of impending failure.

Generally a value of 1.5 for FOS with respect to strength is
acceptable for the design of a stable slope
 Factor of safety We l e a d

In slope design and in fact in the area of geotechnical

engineering, the factor which is often in doubt is the shear
strength of the soil. The loading is known more accurately
because usually it merely consist of the self weight of the slope.

The FS is therefore chosen as ratio of the available shear

strength to that required to keep the slope stable.

Factor of safety Details of slope

< 1.0 Unsafe
1.0 – 1.25 Questionable safety
1.25 – 1.4 Satisfactory for routine cuts and fills,
Questionable for dams, or where failure
would be catastrophic
> 1.4 Satisfactory to dam
 Factor of safety We l e a d

Determination of FOS:
• Deterministic (one value of FOS based on the shear strength input)

• Probabilistic – Shear strength reduction (SSR) where the strength

parameters of a slope are reduced by a certain factor (SRF) and the
FEM stress analysis is computed. Good for RISK ANALYSIS

• Condition of application (long/short term)

• Reliability of soil parameters and analytical model

• Consequences of the project

 Factor of safety We l e a d

Same borehole
position

Different
idealization and
simplification

Lead to different
FOS with different
RISK level
 Factor of safety We l e a d

References Requirements
BS6031 1.3 – 1.4 for first time slide
1.2 for slide with pre-existing slip surface
JKR SLOPE BRANCH 1.2 for unreinforced slope & embankment on soft ground
1.5 for reinforced slope
HONG KONG 1.0 – 1.4 for new slopes depending on risk categories
GUIDELINES 1.0 – 1.2 for existing slope depending on risk categories
NAVFAC DM 7.1 1.5 for permanent loading condition
1.15 to 1.2 for transient load
BRITAIN NATIONAL 1.5/1.35 (peak/residual strength used) for risky slope
COAL BOARD 1970 1.25/1.15 (peak/residual strength used) for non risky slope
CANADA, MINES 1.5/1.3 (peak/residual strength used) for risky slope
BRANCH 1972 1.3/1.2 (peak/residual strength used) for non-risky slope
 Table of content We l e a d

• Slope characterization
• Factor of safety
• Soil stability analysis
 Stability analysis We l e a d

Classical methods of analyzing soil stability include:

• Analyzing planar failures in infinite slopes.
• Analyzing various blocks of ground interacting with
each other, applicable to polygonal-type failure
surface (multi wedge method)
• Methods for curved failures that analyze the total
equilibrium of a mass sliding on surfaces of circular
or logarithmic slope
• Method of slice

Limit equilibrium method

Planar failure – infinite slope We l e a d
Multi wedge – finite slope We l e a d
Curve failure – finite slope We l e a d
Method of slices (curve failure) – finite slope
We l e a d
Types of failure We l e a d
 Equilibrium of forces We l e a d

Driving forces move Resisting forces oppose

material down the slope downward movement
(Most common = weight of (Most common = strength of
slope material, vegetation, and slope material, countermeasure
structures on slope) works)
Driving Forces and Resisting Forces
Friction

Weight of
Material
Upward
force of
supporting
Gravity materials
Image: University of Minnesota
 Fundamental theory We l e a d

• Slope stability is evaluated by computing safety

factor
• Safety Factor = ratio of resisting forces to driving
forces
Resisting Forces
S.F. =
Driving Forces

– If S.F. > 1 the resisting forces are stronger and the

slope is stable
– If S.F. < 1 the driving forces are stronger and the slope
is unstable
Stability analysis We l e a d

Limit Equilibrium Method

Infinite slope, Culmann’s and Taylor method

 Stability analysis We l e a d

Limit Equilibrium Method

§ Analyze the equilibrium of a potentially unstable mass by

comparing the forces tending towards movement along a
given failure surface with the forces resisting it.

§ Based on:
- Selection of potential failure surface through the slope
- The Mohr-coulomb failure criterion
- Definition factor of safety
 Stability analysis We l e a d

Limit Equilibrium Method

§ Problems of stability are statistically intermediate; resolving
them requires a series of initial hypothesis, which differ
depending on the method used: The following conditions are
assumed:
- The geometry of the failure surface allows sliding; i.e.
sliding must be kinematically feasible.
- The distribution of forces acting on the failure surface can
be computed using known data (unit weight of the
material, water pressure and etc.
- Strength is mobilized simultaneously along the whole
failure surface.
Stability analysis We l e a d

Limit Equilibrium Method

Destabilizing forces:
• Weight component acting parallel to the failure plane, W
sin α
• Resultant force of the pore water pressure, U, acting on
the potential failure plane.
• Static and dynamic external loads exerted on the slope
acting against stability.

Resistant forces:
• Ground shear strength resulting from cohesion and
internal friction mobilized along the failure plane.
•Weight component acting normal to the failure plane, W
cos α
•External forces favoring stability.

Resisting shear stress Forces resisting slide

F= F=
Sliding shear stress Forces tending to slide
 Stability analysis We l e a d

Limit Equilibrium Method

Slice discretization and slice forces in a

sliding mass
 Stability analysis We l e a d

Limit Equilibrium Method

Result of Morgenstern-Price analysis

 Stability analysis We l e a d

Finite element method

Finite element slope stability analysis –

strength reduction
 Infinite slope We l e a d

What is an infinite slope failure ?

§ Based on the hypothesis that the length of a planar failure
surface parallel to the slope may be considered infinite with
respect to the thickness of the sliding mass
 Infinite slope We l e a d

Factor of Safety for infinite slope without seepage

c' tan f '

Fs = +
g H cos b tan b tan b
2

If c' = 0
tan f '
Fs =
tan b
This indicates that in infinite slope
in sand, the value of Fs is
independent of the height, H and
the slope is stable as long as:

Analysis of infinite slope without seepage

b < f'
 Infinite slope We l e a d

Factor of Safety for infinite slope without seepage

If a soil possesses cohesion and

friction, the depth of the plane
along which critical equilibrium
occurs may be determined by
substituting Fs =1 and H = Hcr ,
thus
c' 1
H cr =
g cos 2 b ( tan b - tan f ' )

Analysis of infinite slope without seepage

 Infinite slope We l e a d

Factor of Safety for infinite slope with steady state seepage

c' g ' tan f '

Fs = +
g sat H cos b tan b g sat tan b
2

g ' = g sat - g w

g ' = effective unit weight

Infinite slope with steady state seepage

 Infinite slope We l e a d

• Essential points in infinite slope:

1. The maximum stable slope in a coarse grained soil, in the

absence of seepage is equal to the friction angle
2. The maximum stable slope in a coarse-grained soils, in the
presence of seepage parallel to the slope is approximately one
half of the friction angle.
3. The critical slope angles in fine-grained soils is 450 for an
infinite slope failure mechanism.
4. The critical depth is the depth of tension cracks, that is 2su/γ
 Example – infinite slope We l e a d

Dry sand is to be dumped from a truck on the side of a roadway. The

properties of the sand are f ' = 30o , g = 17 kn/m and g sat = 17.5 kn/m . Determine
3 3

the maximum slope angle in (a) dry state, (b) the saturated state, without
seepage, and (c) the saturated state if groundwater is present and seepage
were to occur parallel to the slope. What is the safe slope in the dry state for
a FOS of 1.25 ?
 We l e a d

STEP 1: Sketch a diagram

Sand
b material

STEP 2: Determine the maximum slope under the dry condition

Equation (1.1): b = f ' = 30o

You should note that small disturbance would cause this slope to fail since it is at
limit of equilibrium
 We l e a d

STEP 2: Determine the maximum slope under the dry condition

For FS = 1.25, the safe slope is:

æ tan f ' ö -1 æ tan 30 ö

o
b = tan ç
-1
÷ = tan ç ÷ = 24.8
è FS ø è 1.25 ø

STEP 3: Determine the maximum slope under the saturated condition

We see that f is not significantly affected by whether the soil is dry or wet.
'

Therefore, b = 30
 Example – infinite slope We l e a d

For the infinite slope with a steady state of seepage shown in the Fig. 1
determine:
a) The factor of safety against sliding along the soil-rock interface.
b) The height, H, that will give a factor of safety of 2 against sliding along
the soil rock interface.

Figure 1:
 We l e a d

c' g ' tan f '

Part (a) FS = +
g sat H cos b tan b g sat tan b
2

g sat = 17.8 kN/m3

g ' = g sat - g w = 17.8 - 9.81 = 7.99 kN/m3
10 7.99 tan 20
FS = + = 0.375 + 0.61 = 0.985
(17.8)( 6 )( cos15 ) ( tan15 )
2
17.8 tan15

c' g ' tan f '

Part (b) FS = +
g sat H cos b tan b g sat tan b
2

10 7.99 tan 20 2.247

2= + = + 0.61
(17.8)( H )( cos15) ( tan15)
2
17.8 tan15 H
2.247
H= = 1.62 m
2 - 0.61
 Finite slope We l e a d

- Planar surface failure

• Culmann’s method
- Circular surface failure – Mass procedure
• Taylor’s method
- Method of slices
(i) Ordinary method of slices (Circular slip
surface)
(ii) Bishop’s simplifies method (Circular slip
surface)
(iii) Janbu’s method (Non-circular slip surface)
 Finite slope We l e a d

- Planar surface failure

• Culmann’s method
- Circular surface failure – Mass procedure
• Taylor’s method
- Method of slices
(i) Ordinary method of slices (Circular slip
surface)
(ii) Bishop’s simplifies method (Circular slip
surface)
(iii) Janbu’s method (Non-circular slip surface)
 Culmann’s method We l e a d

Culmann’s method – finite slopes with plane failure surfaces

Assumptions

• Failure occurs along plane when

average shearing stress > shear
strength of the soil
• Critical plane – has the lowest
min ratio of the average shear
stress/shear strength
• Important parameter: weight
of the slope above the failure
surface; cohesion, friction angle,
unit weight, critical slope height,
critical slope angle .

Finite slope analysis – Culmann’s method

 Culmann’s method We l e a d

Culmann’s method – finite slopes with plane failure surfaces

c'
FOS in term of Fc' = '
cohesion cd
FOS in term of tan f '
Ff =
tan fd '
'
friction angle

Cohesion and friction angle develop

along the potential failure surface

g H é1 - cos ( b - fd ) ù
'

cd =
'
ê ú
4 ê sin b cos fd ' ú
ë û

Critical height – critical

equilibrium occurs
Finite slope analysis – Culmann’s method
4c ' é sin b cos f ' ù
*Refer Principles of Geotechnical Engineering for derivation of H cr = ê ú
the equations used g ê1 - cos ( b - f ' ) ú
ë û
 Example – Culmann’s method We l e a d

A cut is to be made in a soil having g = 16.51 kN/m3 , c ' = 28.75 kN/m 2 , and f ' = 150.
The side of the cut slope will make an angle of 450 with the horizontal.
What should be the depth of the cut slope that will have a factor of safety (FoS) of 3?

H, Height of the slope

FoS = 3

450
 We l e a d

Solution:

What should be the depth of the cut slope that will have a factor of safety (FoS) of 3?
Given: f ' = 150 ; c' = 28.75 kN/m2 . If Fs = 3, then Fc' and Ff ' should both be equal to 3

c' c' c' 28.75

Fc' = ' cd =
'
= = = 9.58 kN/m2
cd Fc' Fs 3

Similarly:

tan f ' tan f ' tan f ' tan15 é tan15 ù

Ff ' = tan fd =
'
= = fd ' = tan -1 ê = 5.10

tan fd ' Ff ' Fs 3 ë 3 úû

 We l e a d

Substituting the preceding values of cd ' and fd ' in

4c ' é sin b cos f ' ù

H = ê ú
g ê1 - cos ( b - f ) ú
'
ë û

4 * 9.58 é sin 45 * cos5.1 ù

H= ê ú = 7.02 m
16.51 ë1 - cos ( 45 - 5.1) û

Height of the slope when FoS = 3