Stability analysis of bank slope under conditions of reservoir impounding and rapid drawdown

Stability of an ancient landslide in a reservoir area is analyzed by using centrifugal model tests, soil laboratory tests and numerical analysis. Special attention is paid to variation in water level, simulation of large-scale heterogeneous prototype slope, and strength reduction of sliding zone soils after slope sliding. The results of centrifugal model test show that reservoir impounding can reduce sliding resistance at the slope toe, followed by toe collapsing and front cracking of slope. Rapid drawdown can produce hydrodynamic pressure towards reservoir at the front of slope. Deformation is observed in the middle and upper slope, which reduces the slope stability further and forms the pull-typed landslide trend. Reinforcement of slope toe is effective for preventing the progressive failure. The results of laboratory test show that slope toe sliding will lead to the redistribution of soil density and moisture content, which will reduce the shear strength of soil in sliding zone, and the cohesion of immersed soil is reduced gradually and finally vanishes with time. The numerical results show that the strength reduction method used in finite element method (FEM) is very effective in capturing the progressive failure induced by reservoir water level fluctuations, and the evolution of failure surface derived from numerical simulation is very similar to that observed in centrifugal model test.     

Stability analysis of bank slope under conditions of reservoir impounding and rapid drawdown

Stability of an ancient landslide in a reservoir area is analyzed by using centrifugal model tests, soil laboratory tests and numerical analysis. Special attention is paid to variation in water level, simulation of large-scale heterogeneous prototype slope, and strength reduction of sliding zone soils after slope sliding. The results of centrifugal model test show that reservoir impounding can reduce sliding resistance at the slope toe, followed by toe collapsing and front cracking of slope. Rapid drawdown can produce hydrodynamic pressure towards reservoir at the front of slope. Deformation is observed in the middle and upper slope, which reduces the slope stability further and forms the pull-typed landslide trend. Reinforcement of slope toe is effective for preventing the progressive failure. The results of laboratory test show that slope toe sliding will lead to the redistribution of soil density and moisture content, which will reduce the shear strength of soil in sliding zone, and the cohesion of immersed soil is reduced gradually and finally vanishes with time. The numerical results show that the strength reduction method used in finite element method (FEM) is very effective in capturing the progressive failure induced by reservoir water level fluctuations, and the evolution of failure surface derived from numerical simulation is very similar to that observed in centrifugal model test.     

Slope failures in residential land on valley fills in Yamamoto town

As a result of the 2011 off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku Earthquake, five slope failures occurred in a residential area on artificial valley fills in Taiyo New Town, Yamamoto, Miyagi Prefecture. The site was constructed by leveling a hilly area and using the cut materials as fill for the valleys to provide foundation ground for houses. The fill material was sandy and was derived from the weathering of tuffaceous sandstone which had formed the natural ground. Each of the five slope failures was observed to have occurred either at the edge of the artificial valley fills or within the embankment sections that had been widened for road construction. Laboratory tests show that the fill, which had a fines content of F_c=20%, had a very low liquefaction resistance, which further decreased with the application of initial shear stress. A pseudo-static slope stability analysis, using conventional strength parameters, could not explain the slope failure at one of the sites that failed, but it could explain the slope failure when the dynamic strength was used to represent the soil strength at the slip surface. Thus, the slope failures in Taiyo New Town, at least at the one site analyzed in this study, could be attributed to the liquefaction of the fill material induced by the intense shaking.     

Stability analysis of stratified rock slopes with spatially variable strength parameters: the case of Qianjiangping landslide

Jurassic strata prone to slope failure are widely distributed in the Three Gorges Reservoir region. The limit equilibrium method is generally used to analyze the stability of rock slopes that have a single failure plane. However, the stability of a stratified rock mass cannot be accurately estimated by this method because different bedding planes have variable shear strength parameters. A modified limit equilibrium method is presented with variable water pressure and shear strength used to estimate the stability coefficient of a sloping mass of stratified rock and to identify the potential sliding surface. Furthermore, an S-curve model is used to define the spatial variations of the shear strength parameters c and ? of the bedding plane and the tensile strength of the rock mass. This model can also describe the variation of strength parameters with distance from the slope surface, which depends on the reservoir water level. Also, it is used to evaluate the stability of the Qianjiangping landslide, located at Shazhenxi Town, Zigui County, Three Gorges Reservoir area, China. The results show the most probable sliding surface is the interface between a slightly weathered layer and subjacent bedrock. When reservoir water rises above the elevation of the slide mass toe, the stability coefficient of the slope declines sharply. When the reservoir water level is static at 135 m, the stability coefficient decreases gradually as the phreatic line changes as a result of heavy rainfall.     

考虑参数空间变异性的边坡可靠度分析非侵入式 随机有限元法

提出了考虑土体参数空间变异性的边坡可靠度分析的非侵入式随机有限元法。采用Karhunen-Loeve级数展开方法表征土体抗剪强度参数空间变异性,其中通过wavelet-Galerkin技术求解Fredholm积分方程得到相关函数的特征解。基于有限元滑面应力法计算边坡安全系数,采用随机多项式展开将隐式函数表达的安全系数替换为显式函数表达的安全系数,并编写了计算程序NISFEM。研究了所提方法在考虑土体参数空间变异性的边坡稳定可靠度分析中的应用。结果表明：提出的非侵入式随机有限元法极大地提高了考虑土体参数空间变异性的边坡可靠度分析的计算效率,为解决复杂边坡稳定可靠度问题提供了一条有效的途径。考虑抗剪强度参数空间变异性的边坡可靠度分析存在临界变异系数,其随边坡安全系数的增加而增大。当抗剪强度参数的变异系数小于临界变异系数时,忽略土体参数空间变异性将会高估边坡失效概率。当边坡安全系数小于1时,边坡失效概率并不总是随着抗剪强度变异系数的增加而增大。此外,土体黏聚力和内摩擦角随机场间相关性对边坡失效概率具有十分明显的影响。     

考虑参数空间变异性的无限长边坡可靠度分析

目前有关土体参数空间变异性对边坡稳定性影响的研究没有考虑抗剪强度参数随深度变化的影响。为此,提出了考虑土体抗剪强度参数均值随深度变化的无限长边坡稳定性概率分析方法。采用Karhunen-Loeve展开建立了表征土体空间变异性的随机场模型。探讨了考虑土体抗剪强度参数空间变异性时边坡失效概率和最危险滑动面的变化规律。最后,以无限长边坡稳定性概率分析问题为例验证了所提方法的有效性。结果表明：土体抗剪强度参数的空间变异性对无限长边坡失效概率有明显的影响,边坡失效概率随土体抗剪强度参数相关距离的增加而减小。对于不排水黏性边坡来说,边坡不排水抗剪强度随深度变化越明显,边坡失效概率越小。边坡最危险滑动面大部分都位于边坡底部。对于摩擦/黏性边坡来说,随着边坡抗剪强度随深度变化的增强,边坡失效概率有先减后增的趋势。抗剪强度参数随深度变化不同趋势对最危险滑动面分布规律有明显的影响。不考虑抗剪强度参数均值随深度变化将会导致最危险滑动面最可能出现在边坡底部。     

Geo- and Hydro-Mechanical Evaluation of Slope Failure Induced by Torrential Rains in Northern-Kyushu Area,July 2009

Torrential rainfall in mid-July 2009 triggered numerous geodisasters such as slope failure and debris flow in Chugoku and Northern Kyushu areas of Japan. A number of slope failures and debris flows occurred in Yamaguchi and Fukuoka prefectures resulting in extensive damage to human life and infrastructure. One of the most serious geodisasters included a slope failure followed by debris flow at Sasaguri-machi and Fukuchi-machi, Fukuoka prefecture, Japan. This paper summarizes the results of geotechnical investigations on the geodisaster sites in Fukuoka prefecture. The geotechnical investigation included determining a series of grain size distributions, consistency limits and conducting direct box shear tests for collapsed soils collected at six disaster sites. The generation mechanisms of slope failure followed by debris flow were also investigated by analyzing the precipitation, topography, geology, and strength properties of the collapsed soils. Moreover, slope deformation and stability analyses were coupled with an unsaturated-saturated seepage analysis to investigate the slope failure mechanism. The main findings from the study are summarized as: The physical properties, such as the grain size distribution, the plastic limit and liquid limit of collapsed soils, are summarized and compared with the results of other failure slopes in the literature. The collapsed soil was characterized as being a well grained soil (the uniformity coefficient >50) and highly weathered (the ignition loss >5%), however, with regard to the liquid limit and plastic index, there were no remarkable findings. The original shear strength for collapsed soils with natural water content is relatively large and slope failure doesn't occur because the cohesion in the shear strength is induced by a suction force between the soil particles under unsaturated condition. However, water seepage into the soil induces a drastic decrease in the shear strength, which is mainly caused by a decrease in cohesion (losing suction) resulting from soil saturation. In addition, the drained/undrained condition in the shear process is also sensitive to shear strength. For example, both water seepage and the shear process with constant volume cause an approximate 30% reduction in shear strength for Fukuchi-machi and Sasaguri-machi soil samples. Therefore, the reduction of cohesive strength due to water seepage and the low permeability of the slope are the parameters which trigger geodisaster. Based on the results of slope deformation and a stability analyses which took the change in water pressure and cohesive strength into account, the geodisaster at Fukuchi-machi was simulated, it is reasonable to assume that the shallow failure near the top of slope occurred due to torrential precipitation of about 100 mm per hour which triggered a debris flow.     

Reliability analysis of slopes considering spatial variability of soil properties based on efficiently identified representative slip surfaces

Slope reliability analysis considering inherent spatial variability (ISV) of soil properties is time-consuming when response surface method (RSM) is used, because of the “curse of dimensionality”. This paper proposes an effective method for identification of representative slip surfaces (RSSs) of slopes with spatially varied soils within the framework of limit equilibrium method (LEM), which utilizes an adaptive K-means clustering approach. Then, an improved slope reliability analysis based on the RSSs and RSM considering soil spatial variability, in perspective of computation efficiency, is established. The detailed implementation procedure of the proposed method is well documented, and the ability of the method in identifying RSSs and estimating reliability is investigated via three slope examples. Results show that the proposed method can automatically identify the RSSs of slope with only one evaluation of the conventional deterministic slope stability model. The RSSs are invariant with the statistics of soil properties, which allows parametric studies that are often required in slope reliability analysis to be efficiently achieved with ease. It is also found that the proposed method provides comparable values of factor of safety (FS) and probability of failure (P_f) of slopes with those obtained from direct analysis and literature.     

各向异性随机场下的边坡模糊随机可靠度分析

土性参数具有很大的空间变异性,且在水平方向和垂直方向上差异显著。基于随机变量模型的传统边坡模糊随机可靠度分析方法并未对此进行考虑。提出一种能合理考虑土性参数空间变异性的边坡模糊随机可靠度分析方法。首先,视黏聚力和内摩擦角的均值为正态模糊数,对其取不同的λ截集水平并在各截集水平上进行参数组合。其次,利用各向异性随机场模拟土性参数的空间变异性,将有限元法和Monte–Carlo模拟相结合,计算各参数组合对应的可靠度指标。再通过数学方法得到边坡在各截集水平上的可靠度指标。最后,运用加权平均法计算边坡的模糊随机可靠度指标。算例分析表明:与水平方向的空间变异性相比,垂直方向的空间变异性对边坡模糊随机可靠度的影响更为显著;不考虑土性参数的空间变异性在一般情况下会低估边坡的模糊随机可靠度指标,但在抗剪强度参数变异性较大时,反而可能会高估边坡的模糊随机可靠度指标;此外,黏聚力与内摩擦角之间的相关性对边坡失效概率的影响趋势基本不受土性参数空间变异性的干扰。     

Reliability-based analysis of embankment on soft Bangkok clay

Six slope failures occurred at random locations along a 10 km embankment adjacent to an irrigation canal. The slope failures occurred when the embankment was raised to 2.05 m above MSL from an average elevation of 1.7 m above MSL coinciding with the lowering of the canal water level at the end of the dry season. Slope stability analysis was carried out using both conventional and reliability-based procedures. The spatial variability of undrained strength, the actual variation in embankment geometry, and the varying water level in the canal were considered in the analysis. Both idealized and empirical autocorrelation functions (ACF) of the undrained shear strengths were used in the analyses. An analysis using a factor of safety based on the deterministic soil profile defined by the mean undrained strength resulted in a prediction favoring a reverse failure pattern along the embankment. Using the probability of failure which incorporates spatial variation of undrained strength and uncertainties associated with stability prediction yielded a result conforming to the actual failure pattern along the embankment. The use of empirical autocorrelation function (ACF) seems to confirm and explain better the occurrence of the failure zones than utilizing the idealized ACF.     

Seismic stability analysis of gravity retaining wall supporting c–φ soil with cracks

This article presents an analytical approach for the seismic stability analysis of gravity retaining wall with c–φ backfill soil. Cracks which are pre-existing (open before the collapse) and are form as part of slope collapse are considered. For a translational failure mechanism assumed, formulas are provided to calculate directly the yield acceleration and the inclination of failure surface. Factors such as cracks and cracks opening, wall back inclination, soil-wall friction, backfill slope are easily to be coupled into the formulations. Both the depth and most adverse location of the crack can be determined from the optimization procedure. Comparisons are made with existing methods and the influences of cracks opening are discussed. The influence of a crack presence on seismic stability of soil-wall system is distinct and pre-existing (opened) cracks have more adverse effect.     

Effectiveness of filter gabions against slope failure due to heavy rainfall

Slope failures due to heavy rainfall events are phenomena that can cause serious damage to social infrastructures and the loss of lives. Based on previous studies, natural slope failures are generally shallow and originate at the slope toe where infiltrated rainwater has accumulated and saturated it. Hence, it is extremely important to prevent these initial failures from inducing entire slope failures. In the present study, firstly, 1 g model tests, called G series tests, were conducted. In the tests, a gabion filled with filter materials was placed at the slope toe of each model for reinforcement and to drain the accumulated rainwater from the slope toe. Filter gabions have been found to shrink the failure regions and to significantly extend the time until slope failures occur. The failure mechanism in the G series tests was almost similar to that in cases without filter gabions if focus was placed on the slope above the filter gabions. However, the drainage effect was small. Secondly, P series tests, in which a filter gabion with a pipe was introduced for each model, were conducted. The results of these tests indicated that the displacements significantly decreased as the diameter of the pipe and the depth of the pipe’s insertion to the surface layer increased. Water did not discharge through the pipe until the pore water pressure around the pipe reached positive values. The failures always started when a phreatic surface appeared on the slope surface. Thus, it is very important to prevent a phreatic surface from forming on the slope surface. The adequate arrangement of a filter gabion with a drainage pipe may increase the potential for slope stability.     

A new method for quantitative identification of potential landslide

A growing number of slope hazard and engineering case studies have shown that only one safety factor (SF) can predict landslide occurrence, but cannot identify potentially dangerous landslides, which is the major source of the most destructive landslides. To solve the problem, a safety factor of cohesion (SF_c) is proposed, and an improved slope stability analysis based on two safety factors is presented. Taking a sloping rock mass as a case study, the results showed that when SF_c was less than 1 and the ratio of the cohesive force to the sliding resistance force drops to less than 100%, the slope became a potential landslide. The study suggests a new method for quantitative identification of potential landslides and provides a more reliable safety evaluation index, thus can solve the difficulty of adjustment of potential landslides and provide a more reliable safety evaluation index for engineering.     

Seismic stability of earth slopes with tension crack

Cracks at the crest of slopes frequently occur during earthquakes. Such cracks result from limited tension strength of the soil. A tension cut-off in Mohr-Coulomb shear strength can represent this limited strength. Presented is an extension of variational analysis of slope stability with a tension crack considering seismicity. Both translational and rotational failure mechanisms are included in a pseudo-static analysis of slope stability. Developed is a closed-form to assess the seismic stability of slopes with zero tensile strength. The results indicate that the presence of the tension crack has significant effects on the seismic stability of slopes, i.e., leading to small value of the yield acceleration. Considering soil tension strength in seismic slope analysis may lead to overestimation on the stability, as much as 50% for vertical slopes. Imposing tension crack results in transit of the critical failure mode to a straight line from a log-spiral, except for flat slopes with small soil cohesion. Under seismic conditions, large cohesion may increase the depth of crack, moving it closer to the slope.     

非线性Mohr-Coulomb破坏准则下边坡可靠度上限

传统边坡可靠度分析往往在岩土参数服从线性Mohr-Coulomb(简称线性M-C)破坏准则的假设条件下进行,并且常常采用极限平衡法或有限元法计算安全系数。然而,岩土介质破坏准则具有一定的非线性。为能更加实际地描述岩土破坏机理和得到严格精确的解,基于非线性MohrCoulomb(简称非线性M-C)破坏准则,结合极限分析上限法和蒙特卡洛法,进行边坡可靠度上限分析。当非线性参数m=1时,与等效的线性M-C破坏准则进行对比计算,验证了方法的可行性。同时,将初始粘聚力、内摩擦角arctan(c0/σt)和非线性参数作为随机变量且服从截断正态分布,进行了参数变异性和敏感性影响分析。研究表明:非线性M-C破坏准则下,边坡可靠度随初始粘聚力、内摩擦角arctan(c0/σt)和非线性参数变异性的增大而减小;边坡可靠度随初始粘聚力和内摩擦角arctan(c0/σt)的增大而增大,随非线性参数的增大而减小。     

A Practical Numerical Model for Seepage Behavior of Unsaturated Soil

It is important to estimate the seepage properties of unsaturated soils when performing an unsaturated-saturated seepage analysis, which is used to clarify the slope failure mechanism and predict the occurrence time of slope failure due to rainfall. Kitamura et al. (1998) proposed a numerical model to quantitatively estimating the seepage properties of unsaturated soils. And they have compared numerical results with laboratory soil tests in order to examine the validity of the numerical model. Consequently, it has been found that the numerical model must be improved moreover. In this paper a practical numerical model for seepage behavior of unsaturated soil is proposed to improve the previous model proposed by Kitamura et al. (1998). Firstly, the basic theories of the previous model are explained. Calculation results are compared with those obtained from the laboratory soil tests in order to examine the validity of the previous model. Then, we perform some improvements of the previous model based on hydro-mechanical properties, and propose a new parameter, named “parallel translation index (I_pt)”. From the results we showed that the relationship between the new parameter and the uniformity coefficient (U_c), expressed by logarithm is linear relation. Therefore, the reasonable seepage properties of soils can be computed from the improved numerical model using only the popular soil parameters.     

Stability of long unsupported twin circular tunnels in soils

The stability of two long unsupported circular parallel tunnels aligned horizontally in fully cohesive and cohesive–frictional soils has been determined. An upper bound limit analysis in combination with finite elements and linear programming is employed to perform the analysis. For different clear spacing (S) between the tunnels, the stability of tunnels is expressed in terms of a non-dimensional stability number (γ_maxH/c); where H is tunnel cover, c refers to soil cohesion, and γ_max is maximum unit weight of soil mass which the tunnels can bear without any collapse. The variation of the stability number with tunnels’ spacing has been established for different combinations of H/D, m and ϕ; where D refers to diameter of each tunnel, ϕ is the internal friction angle of soil and m accounts for the rate at which the cohesion increases linearly with depth. The stability number reduces continuously with a decrease in the spacing between the tunnels. The optimum spacing (S_opt) between the two tunnels required to eliminate the interference effect increases with (i) an increase in H/D and (ii) a decrease in the values of both m and ϕ. The value of S_opt lies approximately in a range of 1.5D–3.5D with H/D = 1 and 7D–12D with H/D = 7. The results from the analysis compare reasonably well with the different solutions reported in literature.     

Required unfactored geosynthetic strength of three-dimensional reinforced soil structures comprised of cohesive backfills

Conservative design of Geosynthetic-reinforced soil structures (GRSSs) is commonly limited to two-dimensional (2D) conditions, ignoring the influence of possible cohesion in backfill material. However, the actual stability of GRSSs is directly influenced by the presence of cohesion – true or apparent – in backfill as well as three-dimensional (3D) effects. In this study, a 3D rational failure mechanism based on the kinematic approach of limit analysis is adopted to assess the stability of GRSSs comprised of cohesive backfills. Within this study, the influence of 3D effects, varying pore water pressures, varying backfill cohesion, and a range of slopes on long-term stability are illustrated in a series of convenient design charts. The results of 3D stability analyses for geosynthetic reinforced walls constructed with cohesive backfills are compared with the results obtained from design guidelines. As expected, when GRSSs are well-drained and relatively narrow in width - or when increasing levels of cohesion are present in the backfill - more stable conditions are realized. For practical scenarios, however, it is critical that cohesive soils should be utilized as backfill with great caution and reliable drainage conditions. Nonetheless, the presented solutions are directly useful towards the assessment of failures of real GRSSs, as they may be constructed with marginal fills that exhibit cohesion, accumulate pore water pressure and often exhibit failure conditions that are three-dimensional in nature.     

Bearing capacity of circular foundations reinforced with geogrid sheets

The ultimate bearing capacity of a circular footing, placed over a soil mass which is reinforced with horizontal layers of circular reinforcement sheets, has been determined by using the upper bound theorem of the limit analysis in conjunction with finite elements and linear optimization. For performing the analysis, three different soil media have been separately considered, namely, (i) fully granular, (ii) cohesive frictional, and (iii) fully cohesive with an additional provision to account for an increase of cohesion with depth. The reinforcement sheets are assumed to be structurally strong to resist axial tension but without having any resistance to bending; such an approximation usually holds good for geogrid sheets. The shear failure between the reinforcement sheet and adjoining soil mass has been considered. The increase in the magnitudes of the bearing capacity factors (N_c and N_γ) with an inclusion of the reinforcement has been computed in terms of the efficiency factors η_c and η_γ. The results have been obtained (i) for different values of ϕ in case of fully granular (c=0) and c−ϕ soils, and (ii) for different rates (m) at which the cohesion increases with depth for a purely cohesive soil (ϕ=0^○). The critical positions and corresponding optimum diameter of the reinforcement sheets, for achieving the maximum bearing capacity, have also been established. The increase in the bearing capacity with an employment of the reinforcement increases continuously with an increase in ϕ. The improvement in the bearing capacity becomes quite extensive for two layers of the reinforcements as compared to the single layer of the reinforcement. The results obtained from the study are found to compare well with the available theoretical and experimental data reported in literature.     

An investigation on the mechanisms of instabilities and safe design of the south slope at a lignite pit (SW Turkey) based on a sensitivity approach

Turkey has significant lignite reserves which are generally being extracted using open pit mining methods. The Hüsamlar pit is one of the operated lignite pits in the well-known Mugla lignite province in SW Turkey. Some local failures and one large failure, which caused the evacuation of the Hüsamlar village located next to the slope crest and interruption in coal production, occurred along the south slope of this pit. This paper outlines the results of the field and laboratory geotechnical investigations associated with the causes and mechanisms of the instabilities, and assessments on the possible modifications in the current and planned final slope geometries to improve the stability of the south slope. Since no sufficient data on groundwater conditions in the pit were available, in order to reduce the uncertainty associated with groundwater, different pore pressure ratios (r _u) were considered and a sensitivity approach was used in the stability assessments. The back-analyses of the observed instabilities including one or more benches in the overburden indicated that the most critical modes of failure for the south slope are circular and composite sliding surfaces. Although kinematical analyses suggested that structurally controlled failures would not be expected, one local planar failure that occurred in the south slope emphasizes that the possibility of local planar sliding should be considered when the dip of bedding planes locally exceed 20° and pore pressure becomes high. In addition, the back-analyses revealed that r _u was probably between 0.3 and 0.4 and the residual shear strength along the bedding planes was critical when slope instabilities occurred along the south slope. The stability assessments for the current and the final south slope, which was planned by the mining organization operating the pit, indicated that some modifications in bench and slope geometries are necessary to achieve a factor of safety of 1.3, which is a commonly used value in open pit practice. In addition, these assessments also suggested that the most critical zone in the overburden was the thinly bedded marl in terms of stability, and at the thickest part of this material (30 m), the overall slope angles satisfying F = 1.3 at r _u values of 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 should be 18°, 17° and 15°, respectively. Except those in the thinly bedded marl, bench widths in the overburden units and coal seam are reduced and steeper slopes with F ≥ 1.3 were achieved.