MODULE 1:

SLOPE STABILITY
CEGB3014
 
Module 1: STABILITY OF SLOPES (Week 1 – Week
4)
 Introduction
 Stability of Infinite Slopes
 Stability of Finite Slopes
 Total and Effective Stress Analysis of Slopes
 Factors in Slope Design
 Factor of Safety
LANDSLIDES SCENARIO IN MALAYSIA
• WHERE?
• HILLY, NATURAL AND MODIFIED TERRAINS

• WHEN?
• HEAVY RAINS/MONSOON SEASONS

• WHY?
• POOR/LACK OF MAINTENANCE; AGEING SLOPES, WEATHERING, WATER, POOR ENGINEERING
DESIGNS, LACK OF APPRECIATION ON GEOLOGICAL/NATURAL FACTORS, POOR CONSTRUCTION
METHODS, ETC..

• WHAT?
• TYPES OF SLOPE? – MAN-MADE SLOPES (CUTS OR EMBANKMENTS)
• TYPES OF LANDSLIDES? – SLIDES (ROTATIONAL & TRANSLATIONAL), COMPOUND FAILURES,
ROCK FALLS, DEBRIS FLOWS, EARTH FLOWS.
• THE STATISTICS – ALARMING!

• HOW..?
• DOES IS HAPPENED? SUDDEN, WITHOUT WARNING; PROGRESSIVE, SLOW MOVEMENT.
• DO WE DO ABOUT IT? RESPONSIVE, RESCUE & RECOVERY, RISK MANAGEMENT
 SOME MAJOR LANDSLIDE DISASTERS IN
MALAYSIA

Bukit Setiawangsa Landslide, 30th Dec 2012

 Sg. Semungkis Landslide, Hulu Langat Selangor, May
2011

• Failure of unengineered cut slope in granitic

regolith.
• buried 25 occupants of an Orphanage Madrasah Al-
Taqwa, killed 16 and injure 9 others.
 ROCK FALLS

Rawang Perdana, 2001 (Photo

by JMG) Rock Fall Bukit Lanjan, 2003

6
LANDSLIDE AT
KAPIT, SARAWAK
( 26 December 2007 )
- Two killed & destroyed 9 wooden
houses
 LANDSLIDE AT ULU YAM, SELANGOR

• (31 NOV 2008)

Rumah banglo Roslan Mohd. Jali yang tertimbus tanah runtuh

Sumber: Kosmo!

(Two killed and a bungalow was

destroyed)
 FRASER HILL ROAD – LANDSLIDE + CHANNELISED
DEBRIS FLOW

• MAJOR CUT + EMBANKMENT SLOPE FAILURES IN A “HANGING-VALLEY” MORPHOLOGY WHICH THEN TURNED INTO CHANNELISED
DEBRIS FLOW TRAVELLING DOWN THE VALLEY FOR MORE THAN 1.5 KM DISTANCE.
LANDSLIDES & ROCK FALLS IN
NATURAL TERRAIN

10
POS DIPANG – DEBRIS FLOW POS DIPANG

A debris flow due to the breach of temporary dam naturally built by several landslides that
clogged up the course of Sg. Dipang. The debris flow swept away the whole village at Pos
Dipang and had scoured tress, soils, boulders and everything that stood in its way for more than
5km and swept 44 people into its roaring flows.
                                                                                                      
                   
TERMINOLOGY

13
 SLOPE MATERIALS

Typical residual soil profile

(Little, 1969)
Types of geologic soil deposits 14
TYPE OF SLOPE FAILURES
CIRCULAR SLIPS
More common in cohesive soils
centre of
circle
crest of slope

slope

sliding surface
toe of slope
improve slope stability
• WITH FAILING SLOPES, INSTALLATION OF AN INTERCEPTOR ALONG THE
CREST BEYOND THE HEAD OF THE SLIDE AREA WILL REDUCE RUNOFF INTO
THE SLIDE BUT THE INTERCEPTOR IS A TEMPORARY EXPEDIENT SINCE IN
TIME IT MAY BREAK UP AND CEASE TO FUNCTION AS THE SLIDE
DISTURBANCE PROGRESSES UPSLOPE
 SLOPES FLATTENED OR BENCHED

Berm Provided at Toe

Weight Increases the Resistance to Sliding
 PROTECTION AGAINST EROSION PROVIDED AT TOE

Lowering of GWT to Reduce the Pore Pressures

 RETAINING WALL OR SHEETPILING OR CYLINDER PILES
PROVIDED TO INCREASE RESISTANCE TO SLIDING

Plan for Building Design to aid Slope Stability

USE OF DRIVEN OR CAST-IN-PLACE PILES
 SLOPE REINFORCEMENT
Slope reinforcement

Slope reinforcement using Polyfelt geotextiles

 Effective stress failure criterion
If the soil is at failure the effective stress failure criterion will
always be satisfied.

  c'   n tan '

c and 

are known as the effective (or drained) strength parameters.

Soil behaviour is controlled by effective stresses, and the

effective strength parameters are the fundamental strength
parameters. But they are not necessarily soil constants.
 Total stress failure criterion
If the soil is taken to failure at constant volume (undrained) then the
failure criterion can be written in terms of total stress as

  c u   n tan  u

cu and fu are known as the undrained strength parameters

These parameters are not soil constants, they depend strongly on the
moisture content of the soil.
The undrained strength is only relevant in practice to clayey soils
that in the short term remain undrained. Note that as the pore
pressures are unknown for undrained loading the effective stress
failure criterion cannot be used.
VARIOUS DEFINITION OF FACTOR OF SAFETY

32
Choice of Shear Strength parameters

4.2 Shear strength parameters for slope design

4.2.1 Slides along pre-existing slip surfaces
Occur only where large displacements have
already occurred. Residuals strength
parameters should be used :
Undrained :  r  cur
Drained :  r'   n' tan r'
 4.2.2 Slides creating new slip surfaces

A new slip will occur either when the critical

strength or the peak strength of the soil is
reached consistently within the soil mass.
Normally consolidated soils :
For undrained conditions, the peak strength will be lower
than the critical strength, so use :

For drained conditions, the critical strength should be used :

 f  cu

 f'   n' tan c'

Translational slide on an infinite slope

4.2.3 Translational slide on an infinite slope

4.2.3.1 Undrained infinite slope
The undrained stability of a prismatic element depends
on the following forces :
Weight of the element :
W  γzb cos  c
Normal reaction on slip plane :
N  W cos  c
Tangential force down the slope :
T  W sin  c
Shear resistance up the slope :

R  b
Forces on an element in an undrained slope
Undrained infinite slope

Where  c = critical angle of the slope

f = undrained shear strength of the soil = cu
The inter-slide forces E1 and E2 may be considered
equal and opposite and so cancel out.
For limiting equilibrium : R – T =0
Therefore, cub  W sin  c  γzb cos  c sin  c
cu 1
giving  sin  c cos  c  sin 2  c
γz 2
or 2cu
sin 2  c 
γz
Undrained infinite slope

Clearly, this stability condition is only valid for

2cu
0 <  c < 45o , i.e.  1
γz
It is more realistic to restate equation in terms of
critical depth, the depth at which the slip surface
may be expected to develop.
Critical depth,
2cu
zc 
 sin 2  c
Worked example 9.1 The soil in a long slope has an undrained shear strength of 50 kPa and a
unit weight of 18 kN/m3 . Using the infinite slope method, estimate the depth at which a shear
slip may develop when the slope angle is 22.

Solution
2cu
zc 
Critical depth,  sin 2  c

For a depth of 8 m to be 'shallow', the

slope would have to be very long. It is
likely here that a deep-seated rotational
failure could be a problem, and this should
be investigated
deep-seated rotational
Worked example 9.2 Calculate the factor of safety relating to the undrained stability
of a long slope of 1.0 vertical: 1.5 horizontal if at a depth of 1.8 m a weak layer of
cohesive soil occurs for which: Cu == 24 kPa and for the overburden g== 18.5 kN/m3

2c u
Solution
sin 2  c 
γz
 Drained infinite slope
4.2.3.2 Drained infinite slope
Under drained conditions the shear strength
of the soil is given by:
 f   n tan   or  f  c   n tan  

Consider a prismatic
element in a drained
infinite slope

Forces in an element in a drained slope

 Drained infinite slope

Weight of the element : W  γzb cos  c

Normal reaction on slip plane : N  W cos  c

Tangential force down the slope : T  W sin  c

Pore pressure force on the slip plane: U  γ w hb cos 2 Bc

Shear resistance up the slope : R  b

Where  c = critical angle of the slope

 f = drained shear strength of the soil
General expression when c  0

For limiting equilibrium R  T

In which R  N  tan    (W cos  c  γ w hb cos 2  c ) tan  

 (γz  γ w h)b cos 2  c tan  

and T  W sin  c  γzb cos  c sin  c

Then (γz  γ w h)b cos 2  c tan    γzb cos  c sin  c

 γz  γ w h tan  c
Therefore 
γz tan  
 γwh 
So that tan  c   1   tan  
 γz 
 γ w h  tan  
and factor of safety, F   1  
 γz  tan 
where  = actual slope angle
Alternatively, putting pore pressure, u   w h cos 2  :
 u  tan  
F  1  
 γz cos   tan 
2
Special cases slopes

Special cases slopes with unique drainage conditions :

 Dry sand or gravel

 Groundwater level coincident with the slip plane
 Groundwater level below the slip plane
 water logged slope with steady parallel seepage
 Slope in c’ > 0 conditions
 Using pore pressure ratio

For the above cases, please refer to text : BSM, R.

Whitlow, pgs 358-360, for further discussion.
 Summary

Essential points

 The maximum stable slope in a coarse-grained soil, in

the absence of seepage, is equal to the friction angle.
 The maximum stable slope in a coarse-grained soil, in
the presence of seepage parallel to the slope, is
approximately one-half the friction angle.
 The critical slope angle in fine-grained soils is 45o for an
infinite slope failure mechanism.
 The critical depth is the depth of tension cracks, that is,
2cu/γ.
 Undrained Stability

4.4 UNDRAINED STABILITY-Total stress analyses (Φ = 0)

4.4.1 Homogeneous slopes

4.4.1.1 Critical slip circle

A total stress analysis may be
applied to the case of a newly cut
or newly constructed slope in a
fully saturated clay.

The critical circle is the

one along which a failure
is most likely to occur
and for which the factor
of safety is the lowest.
Instability tends to CIRCULAR SLIPS Case 1:  = 0
be caused due to
the moment of the Stability? Limit equilibrium c = cu
body weight W of
the portion above
centre of
the slip circle : A circle
The tendency to
move is resisted by
the moment of the
mobilised shear
strength acting W
along the circular
arc AB

c u LarcR x
FoS 
Wx
Disturbing moment = WX B
Total Stress Analysis

Length of arc AB  R

Shear resistance along AB  cu R

Shear resistance moment  cu R 2

Then factor of safety shear resistance moment

F
disturbing moment
cu R 2

Wd
The values of Wand d are obtained by dividing the shaded area into slices or
triangular/rectangular segments and then taking area- moments about a vertical
axis passing through the toe, or other convenient point.
Tension Cracks

4.4.1.2 Tension cracks

In cohesive soils, a tension cracks tends to form near the
top of the slope as the condition of limiting equilibrium
develops.
Depth of tension crack
2c u
zo 
γ
as Ka = 1
Tension Cracks
Tension cracks ….
No shear strength can be developed in the tension
crack, but, if if it can fill with water, allowance must
be made for the hydrostatic force Pw which acts
horizontally adding to the disturbing moment.
1
Pw  γ w zo2
2
The expression for the factor of safety becomes :

cu R 2 c
F 
Wd  Pw yc
 Worked example 9.4 A cutting in a saturated clay is inclined at a slope of 1.0 vertical :
1.5 horizontal and has a vertical height of 10.0 m. The bulk unit weight of the soil is
18.5kN/m3 and its undrained cohesion is 40 kPa. Determine the factors of safety
against immediate shear failure along the slip circle shown in Fig. 9.10:
(a) ignoring the tension crack,
(b) allowing for the tension crack empty of water,
(c) allowing for the tension crack when full of water.

Solution

The factors of safety against immediate shear failure may be obtained using the total stress
method of analysis. Firstly, it is necessary to establish the geometry and area of the
slip mass.
(a) In the case ignoring the tension crack, the slip mass is bounded by the ground surface and
the circular arc AB, for which the following may be calculated.
WORKED EXAMPLE
4.4.1.3 Worked Example (Refer R. Whitlow, Pg. 364)
Undrained
Stability

4.4.2 Non-homogeneous slopes

4.4.2.1 Multi-layer problem

Factor of safety is given by :

R (cuA A  cuB B  .....)

2

F
(W Ad A  WB d B  ....)
 Undrained Stability

4.4.2.1 Multi-layer problem

Embankment of tip Cutting in stratified deposits

Ref : BSW, Fig. 9.11, Pg 366

 INTRODUCTION TO SLOPE STABILITY
Undrained Stability 4.4.2.1 Multi-layer problem

Ref : BSW, Fig. 9.12, Pg 366

GEOTECHNIQUES (ECG433) ARM - 2007
Undrained Stability

4.4.2.2 Effect of a hard layer

When the underlying layer has a much greater strength,

the critical slip circle is constrained to develop only in
the weaker layer above :

Effect of an underlying hard layer

Undrained Stability

4.4.3 TOTAL STRESS ANALYSIS – method of slices

Undrained Stability
4.4.3.1 Cohesive soil
Tabulation of data

Slice W =γA M = Wd
b (m) h (m) A (m2) d (m)
No (kN/m) (kNm/m)

M∑
Factor of safety for cohesive soil is given by :

F
shear resistance moment cu R 2

disturbing moment Wd
• TWO DIFFERENT FOR
CALCULATION;-
1. CLAY
CU R² Θ
WD

2. SAND
CU R² Θ + R Σ N TAN ɸ
R Σ± T
TOTAL STRESS ANALYSIS
 The total stress analysis uses the un-drained shear strength of the soil.
  typically only used for cohesive soil

 Analysis is performed encountered during the construction phase or just at

the end of construction.
 we can use total stress analysis for short term problems

 location of the groundwater table is not considered in the analysis.

CLAY
 W=ɣA
 Area, A= Bxh

 d = distance middle B of the slice to straight line centre of the “O”

 Disturbing Moment, M = Wd

 Calculate for each slice.

SAND
 Same like clay but add;-

N (W cos α) stability
 T (W sin α) over turning

 Where “α” angle ;-

EXAMPLE

R = 13.45
Θ=65ᵒ
Θ=83ᵒ
8.4 m² Clay
d d:9
10 m²
ɣ=18
5 m² d:6 Cu=14
8 m²
d:4
d:2
αo :5
20 m²
40 m² d:6 Sand
αo :9
10 m² d:4 ɣ=19
d: 2 αo :8
2 m² αo :5
Cu=14
d:0.5 ɸ=20
αo :5
Sand
slice Area (m² ) W= ɣA α N = w cos α T = w sin α
1 2 38 -5o 37.86 -3.31
2 10 190 5o 189.28 16.56
3 8 152 5o 151.42 13.25
4 40 760 8o 752.60 105.77
5 20 380 9o 375.32 59.44
    Total 1506.48 191.71

Clay
slice Area (m² ) W= ɣA d M = Wd

1 5 90 4 360

2 10 180 6 1080

3 8.4 151.2 8 1209.6

Total M 2649.6
   CLAY
F = Cu R² θ
Wd
= 14(13.45²)(65) (
2649.6 (180)
= 1.08

SAND
F = Cu R² θ + R Σ N tan ɸ
R Σ± T
= (14)(13.45²)(83)()+ (13.45) (1506.48) tan 20
(13.45)191.71
= 4.28
Total FOS = 1.08 + 4.28
= 5.36