CIRCULAR (ROTATIONAL) FAILURE

MINERÌA A CIELO ABIERTO

Reference: Rock Slope Engineering : civil and mining / Duncan C.
Wyllie, Christopher W. Mah — 4th ed

Asieh Hekmat

1
Conditions for circular failure

Circular failures occur most frequently in

homogeneous materials, such as constructed
embankments, fills, and highly fractured or jointed
rock slopes.
In the case of a closely fractured or highly
weathered rock, a strongly defined structural
pattern no longer exists, and the slide surface is
free to find the line of least resistance through the
slope.
Observations of slope failures in these materials
suggest that this slide surface generally takes the
form of a circle, and most stability theories are
based upon this observation.

2
Type of circular failure

Slope failure:
Slide surface intersects slope above
toe.
Shallow slope failure
Toe failure:
Slide surface intersects at toe
Base failure:
Slide surface passes below the toe; Soil
beneath the base is softer; slope angle
is low.

3
Circular failure
Much of the development of circular failure analysis
methods was carried out in the 1950s and 1960s, and
these techniques have since been used to prepare
computer programs that have the versatility to
accommodate a wide range of geologic, geometric,
ground water and external loading conditions.

The most common circular failure analysis methods

are:
- circular failure charts - Slices method
- Bishop`s method - Janbu`s method

4
Derivation of circular failure charts
These charts have been developed by running many thousands of circular analyses from which a
number of dimensionless parameters were derived that relate the factor of safety to the material
unit weight, friction angle and cohesion, and the slope height and face angle.

It has been found that these charts give a reliable

estimate for the factor of safety, provided that the
conditions in the slope meet the assumptions used
in developing the charts.

5
Assumptions used in developing the charts
(a) The material forming the slope is homogeneous, with uniform shear strength properties
along the slide surface.
(b) The shear strength τ of the material is characterized by cohesion: c and a friction angle φ,
that are related by the equation τ = c + σ tan φ.
(c) Failure occurs on a circular slide surface, which passes through the toe of the slope.
(d) A vertical tension crack occurs in the upper surface or in the face of the slope.
(e) Ground water conditions vary from a dry slope to a fully saturated slope under heavy
recharge.
(f) Circular failure charts are optimized for a rock mass density of 18.9 kN/m3. Densities
higher than this give high factors of safety, densities lower than this give low factors of safety.
Detailed circular analysis may be required for slopes in which the material density is
significantly different from 18.9 kN/m3.

6
 Ground water flow assumptions
In the case of slopes in soil or waste rock, the permeability of the mass of material is generally several
orders of magnitude higher than that of intact rock and, hence, a general flow pattern will develop in the
material behind the slope.
Within the rock mass, the equipotential are approximately perpendicular to the phreatic surface.
Consequently, the flow lines will be approximately parallel to the phreatic surface for the condition of
steady-state drawdown.

7
Ground water flow models
used with circular failure
analysis charts

8
Use of the circular failure charts

Step 1: Decide upon the ground water conditions which are believed to exist in the slope
and choose the chart which is closest to these conditions (use the figure in Slide 10)
Step 2: Select rock strength parameters applicable to the material forming the slope.
Step 3: Calculate the value of the dimensionless ratio c/(γ H tan φ) and find this value
on the outer circular scale of the chart.
Step 4: Follow the radial line from the value found in step 3 to its intersection with the
curve which corresponds to the slope angle.
Step 5: Find the corresponding value of tan φ/FS or c/(γ H FS), depending upon which
is more convenient, and calculate the factor of safety.

9
Use of the circular failure charts

Sequence of steps involved

in using circular failure
charts to find the factor of
safety of a slope.

10
Circular failure chart number 1—fully drained slope

11
Circular failure chart number 2—ground water condition 2

12
Circular failure chart number 3—ground water condition 3

13
Circular failure chart number 4—ground water condition 4

14
Circular failure chart number 5—fully saturated slope

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Example

A 15.2-m high cut with a face angle of 40° is to be excavated in overburden soil with a density γ = 15.7
kN/m3, a cohesion of 38 kPa and a friction angle of 30◦. Find the factor of safety of the slope,
assuming that there is a surface water source 61m behind the toe of the slope.

Solution
The ground water conditions indicate the use of chart number 3 (61/15.2 ∼ 4). The value of
c/(γ H tan φ) = 0.28 and the corresponding value of tan φ/FS, for a 40◦ slope, is 0.32.
Hence, the factor of safety of the slope of 1.80.

■ if the cohesion were to be halved to 20 kPa and the ground water pressure increased to
that represented by chart number 2, the factor of safety drops to 1.28.

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Stability analysis procedure
Limit Equilibrium:
1) Assume some circular (or other shape) failure surface
2) Calculate driving forces (moment about O)
3) Calculate resisting forces (moment about O)

Issues:
• Where is the center of mass?
• How does resistance vary along surface?
• How does normal stress vary along surface?
• Water table and seepage forces?
• Soil layering?
• More complex geometry?

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Location of critical slide surface and tension crack

During the production of the circular failure charts, the locations of both the critical
slide surface and the critical tension crack for limiting equilibrium (FS = 1) were
determined for each slope analyzed. These locations are presented, in the form of
charts.

These charts are useful for the construction of drawings of potential slides and for
estimating the friction angle when back-analyzing existing circular slides.

They also provide a start in locating the critical slide surface when carrying out more
sophisticated circular failure analysis.

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Location of critical sliding surface for drained slopes

19
Location of critical tension crack for drained slopes

20
Location of critical sliding surface and with ground
water present

21
Location of critical tension crack for slopes with ground
water present

22
Stability analysis procedure
The stability analysis of circular failure is
carried out using the limit equilibrium
procedure similar to that described for
plane and wedge failures.
This procedure involves comparing the
available shear strength along the sliding
surface with the force required to maintain
the slope in equilibrium.
The application of this procedure to circular
failures involves division of the slope into a
series of slices that are usually vertical, but
may be inclined to coincide with certain
geological features.

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Stability analysis procedure

In the simplest case, the forces acting on

the base of each slice are the shear
resistance S due to the shear strength of
the rock (cohesion c; friction angle φ), and
forces E (dip angle ψ; height h above base)
acting on the sides of the slice.
The analysis procedure is to consider
equilibrium conditions slice by slice, and if a
condition of equilibrium is satisfied for each
slice, then it is also satisfied for the entire
sliding mass.

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Detailed stability analysis of circular failures
The circular failure charts presented earlier, are based upon the assumption that the
material forming the slope has uniform properties throughout the slope, and that failure
occurs along a circular slide path passing through the toe of the slope. When these
conditions are not satisfied, it is necessary to use one of the methods of slices published by
– Bishop (1955),
– Janbu (1954),
– Nonveiller (1965),
– Spencer (1967),
– Morgenstern and Price (1965) or Sarma (1979).

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Bishop’s and Janbu’s method of slices
■ Bishop’s method assumes a circular slide surface and that the side forces are horizontal; the
analysis satisfies vertical forces and overall moment equilibrium. The Janbu method allows a
slide surface of any shape, and assumes the side forces are horizontal and equal on all
slices; the analysis satisfies vertical force equilibrium.

■ As pointed out by Nonveiller (1965), Janbu’s method gives reasonable factors of safety when
applied to shallow slide surfaces (which are typical in rock with an angle of friction in excess
of 30◦ and rockfill), but it is seriously in error and should not be used for deep slide surfaces
in materials with low friction angles.

■ The procedures for using Bishop’s and Janbu’s methods of slices are very similar and it is
convenient to discuss them together.

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Bishop’s and Janbu’s method of slices
Step 1: Slope and slide surface geometry.
The geometry of the slope is defined by the actual or the designed profile as seen in a vertical
section through the slope. In the case of a circular failure, the charts given in pages 19 to 22 can
be used to estimate the center of the circle with the lowest factor of safety.

In the Janbu analysis, the slide surface may be defined by known structural features or weak
zones within the rock or soil mass, or it may be estimated in the same way as that for the Bishop
analysis.

In either case, the slide surface assumed for the first analysis may not give the lowest factor of
safety, and a series of analyses are required with variations on this position to find the surface
with the lowest factor of safety.

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Bishop’s and Janbu’s method of slices
Step 2: Slice parameters
The sliding mass assumed in step 1 is divided into a number of slices. Generally, a minimum of five
slices should be used for simple cases. For complex slope profiles, or where there are different
materials in the rock or soil mass, a larger number of slices may be required in order to define
adequately the problem.

The parameters which have to be defined for each slice are as given here:
– base angle 𝜓𝑏 ;
– the weight of each slice W, is given by the product of the vertical height h, the unit weight 𝛾𝑟
of the rock or soil and the width of the slice x: W = (h. 𝛾𝑟 .x); and
– uplift water pressure U on the base of each slice is given by the product of the height ℎ𝑤 to
the phreatic surface, the unit weight 𝛾𝑤 of water and the width of the slice x, that is, U =
(ℎ𝑤 .𝛾𝑤 .x).

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Bishop’s and Janbu’s method of slices
Step 3: Shear strength parameters.
The shear strength acting on the base of each slice is required for the stability calculation. In the
case of a uniform material in which the failure criterion is assumed to be that of Mohr–Coulomb,
the shear strength parameters c and φ will be the same on the base of each slice. When the
slope is cut in a number of materials, the shear strength parameters for each slice must be
chosen according to the material in which it lies.

When the shear strengths of the materials forming the slope are defined by non-linear failure
criterion, it is necessary to determine the cohesion and friction angle for each slice at the
effective normal stress for that slice.

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Bishop’s and Janbu’s method of slices
Step 4: Factor of safety iteration
When the slice and shear strength parameters have been defined, the values of X, Y and Z are
calculated for each slice.

The water force Q is added to Z, the sum of the components of the weight of each slice acting
parallel to the slide surface. An initial estimate of FS = 1.00 for the factor of safety is used, and a
new factor of safety is calculated from equations of the next page.

If the difference between the calculated and the assumed factors of safety is greater than 0.001,
the calculated factor of safety is used as a second estimate of FS for a new factor of safety
calculation. This process is repeated until the difference between successive factors of safety is
less than 0.001. For both the Bishop and the Janbu methods, approximately seven iteration
cycles will be required to achieve this result for most slope and slide surface geometries.

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31
 Ordinary Method of Slices (OMS)
• Effective Stress Analysis (ESA)

• Total Stress Analysis (TSA)

• Side forces neglected (statically determinant)

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Example 1
Compute the long term factor of safety for the failure surface using the OMS
1) Divide into slices (draw to scale)

2) Compute weights
3) Compute average pore pressure at base of each slice
4) Solve for overall factor of safety

5) Repeat for another failure surface to find minimum FS