Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, SI, 9E Das/Sobhan

Chapter 15
Slope Stability

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 Bukit Antarabangsa
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGKjZZ0Q8x
M

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 Slope at UPNM

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 Slope engineering branch Public work (Cawangan
cerun JKR)-2004
 National Slope Master Plan- path way enhancement
of slope management -2009
 http://www.witpress.com/Secure/elibrary/papers/DM
AN13/DMAN13023FU1.pdf
 Inventorizing slopes
 Hazard and risk map
 Public awareness and program- slope
watchhttp://www.slopewatch.org.my/
 Forming committees for mitigations

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Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, SI, 9E Das/Sobhan

Learning Objectives
• Introduce the different types of slope failure
• Discuss how to determine safety factors for slope
stability
• Understand stability of infinite slopes
• Introduce the Culmann’s Method for analysis of finite
slopes with plane failure surfaces
• Discuss analysis of finite slopes with circular failure
surfaces

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Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, SI, 9E Das/Sobhan

Learning Objectives
• Perform various analyses on slope stability for
different soil types
• Introduce the mass procedure
• Introduce the ordinary method of slices
• Perform a stability analysis by method of slices for
steady-state seepage
• Provide some solutions for steady-state seepage

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Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, SI, 9E Das/Sobhan

15.1 Categories of Slope Failure

• An unrestrained slope is an exposed ground
surface that stands at an angle with the horizontal
• Cruden and Varnes (1996) classified slope failures
into the following major categories:
1. Fall
2. Topple
3. Slide
4. Spread
5. Flow

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Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, SI, 9E Das/Sobhan

Categories of Slope Failure

• Fall is the detachment
of soil and/or rock
fragments that fall
down a slope

• Topple is a forward
rotation of soil and/or
rock mass about an
axis below the center
of gravity of mass
being displaced
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Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, SI, 9E Das/Sobhan

Categories of Slope Failure

• Slide is the downward
movement of a soil
mass occurring on a
surface of rupture

• Spread is a form of
slide by translation. It
occurs by “sudden
movement of water-
bearing seams of sands
or silts overlain by clays
or loaded by fills”

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Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, SI, 9E Das/Sobhan

Categories of Slope Failure

• Flow is a downward
movement of soil
mass similar to a
viscous fluid

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Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, SI, 9E Das/Sobhan

Factor of Safety

• The task of a geotechnical engineer analyzing slope

stability is to determine an effective factor of safety
• In general, the factor of safety is defined as:
𝜏𝑓
𝐹𝑠 =
𝜏𝑑
 𝜏𝑓 is the average shear strength of the soil
 𝜏𝑑 is the average shear stress developed along the
potential failure surface
• A factor of safety of 1.5 is considered acceptable for stable
slope design

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 Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, SI, 9E Das/Sobhan

15.2 Factor of Safety

• Substituting the equation for shear stress:
𝑐 ′ + 𝜎 ′ tan 𝜙 ′
𝐹𝑠 = ′
𝑐𝑑 + 𝜎 ′ tan 𝜙𝑑′
 Where: c’ is cohesion
 𝜙’ is the angle of friction
 𝜎 ′ is the normal stress on the potential failure surface
 𝑐𝑑′ is the cohesion that develops along the potential failure
surface
 𝜙𝑑′ is the angle of friction that develops along the potential
failure surface
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 Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, SI, 9E Das/Sobhan

Factor of Safety
• The factor of safety with respect to cohesion can then be
defined as:
𝑐′
𝐹𝑐′ = ′
𝑐𝑑
• The factor of safety with respect to friction is:
tan 𝜙 ′
𝐹𝜙 ′ =
tan 𝜙𝑑′
• If the factor of safety with respect to cohesion is the same
as the factor of safety with respect to friction, then they
are the same as the factor of safety with respect to
strength:
𝐹𝑐′ = 𝐹𝜙′ → 𝐹𝑠 = 𝐹𝑐′ = 𝐹𝜙′
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 Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, SI, 9E Das/Sobhan

15.3 Stability of Infinite Slopes

• By performing a force
analysis as shown in Figure
15.6, the factor of safety for
a slope at an angle 𝛽 is:
𝑐′ tan 𝜙 ′
𝐹𝑠 = 2 +
𝛾𝐻 cos 𝛽 tan 𝛽 tan 𝛽
 𝐻 is the depth of the failure
plane being analyzed

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 Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, SI, 9E Das/Sobhan

Stability of Infinite Slopes

• For granular soils, 𝑐 ′ = 0
• This indicates that in an infinite slope in sand, the factor of
safety is independent of the height 𝐻
• The sand slope will be stable if 𝛽 < 𝜙′
• If a soil has both cohesion and friction, it will be stable up
to a critical depth:
𝑐′ 1
𝐻𝑐𝑟 =
𝛾 cos 2 𝛽 tan 𝛽 − tan 𝜙 ′
• This relationship is obtained by substituting 𝐹𝑠 = 1 and
𝐻 = 𝐻𝑐𝑟

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 Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, SI, 9E Das/Sobhan

15.4 Infinite Slope with

Steady State Seepage

• If there is seepage, the factor

of safety becomes:
𝑐′ 𝛾 ′ tan 𝜙 ′
𝐹𝑠 = 2
+
𝛾𝑠𝑎𝑡 𝐻 cos 𝛽 tan 𝛽 𝛾𝑠𝑎𝑡 tan 𝛽
 𝛾 ′ = 𝛾𝑠𝑎𝑡 − 𝛾𝑤 = the effective
unit weight of the soil
 𝛾𝑠𝑎𝑡 is the saturated unit
weight of the soil

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 EXAMPLE

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 Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, SI, 9E Das/Sobhan

15.5 Finite Slopes - General

• When 𝐻𝑐𝑟 approaches the slope height, the slope must be
treated as finite instead of infinite
• We must make an assumption about the shape of the
potential failure surface
• A plane surface, as investigated by Culmann (1875), is a
good approximation for near-vertical slopes
• For most other slopes, the surface is assumed to be an arc
of a circle

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 Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, SI, 9E Das/Sobhan

15.6 Analysis of Finite Slopes with Plane

Failure Surfaces (Culmann’s Method)
• Culmann’s analysis is
based on the assumption
that the failure of a slope
occurs along a plane when
the average shearing stress
tending to cause the slip is
greater than the shear
strength of the soil

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 Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, SI, 9E Das/Sobhan

Analysis of Finite Slopes with Plane

Failure Surfaces (Culmann’s Method)
• The cohesion developed along the plane is:

′
𝛾𝐻 1−cos 𝛽−𝜙𝑑
𝑐𝑑′ = ′ (15.40)
4 sin 𝛽 cos 𝜙𝑑

• The critical height at which the slope fails is:

4𝑐 ′ sin 𝛽 cos 𝜙′
𝐻𝑐𝑟 = (15.42)
𝛾 1−cos 𝛽−𝜙′
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 Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, Eighth Edition SI
Das/Sobhan
Example 15.2

4𝑐 ′ sin 𝛽 cos 𝜙 ′
𝐻𝑐𝑟 =
𝛾 1 − cos 𝛽 − 𝜙 ′

Then for H (dev along the potential line)?

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 Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, Eighth Edition SI
Das/Sobhan
Example 15.2 continued

Eqn 15.4 pg 641

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 Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, Eighth Edition SI
Das/Sobhan
Example 15.2 continued

Hcr

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 𝜏𝑓
𝐹𝑠 =
𝜏
EXAMPLE 15.3

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