Lecture Soil and Rock Slope Stability

Factor of safety; limit equilibrium analysis of slopes; slope stabilisation measures

Po Shan Road landslide

(image from the GCO Hong Kong; figure from Waltham 2009)

Instability and the total geological model

Factor of Safety
F = shear strength / shear stress At F = 1.0, the slope is at limit equilibrium F < 1.0 slope will fail F > 1.0 slope is stable BS6031 recommends a minimum long-term Factor of safety of 1.3 for cuttings and a short-term F of 1.5 for embankments Eurocode 7 uses factors of safety in a different way (partial factors)

The infinite slope model

Example: Depth to shear surface (H) 2 metres =1V: 2.5H design slope (21.8 degrees) = 21.0 kN/m3 = 30 degrees

ru = 0.3
c = 0.5 kN/m2 Thus:

Parameter B = 2.9
Parameter A = 0.66 F = 0.96

Analysis where = 0
Example:

Slope angle 1V:2H (26.5 degrees)

H = 10 m D=5m therefore d= 0.5 Toe circle No= 6.7 c = 50 kPa = 21.0 kN/m3 F = 1.6

Use of stereonets to establish the types of rock failure

Slope Stabilisation Measures

Meshing

Sprayed shotcrete on wire mesh

Folkestone Warren Landslide

Folkestone Warren Landslide

Summary
Slopes can be analysed for stability using a limit equilibrium method involving calculation of a factor of safety Different methods for analysing stability are available Generally cut slopes in soil become less stable over time where as embankments become more stable Slopes can be made more stable by drainage, reducing their angle, or by use of retaining structures