Chapter 3 - Part II - Slope Stability

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT
Course Module:
ECG3223
GEOTECHNICS
Chapter 3
Part 2
Slope Stability
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Last Updated: March 2020 © LMS SEGi Education Group Dr. Azlinda Saadon
This chapter consist of the following topics:
1. Introduction to slope stability.

2. Types of slope failure
3. Factor of safety
4. Stability of infinite slopes
5. Infinite slope with Steady-State seepage
6. Finite slopes – General
7. Analysis of finite slopes with Plane Failure Surfaces
(Culmann’s Method)
8. Analysis of Finite slope with Circular Failure Surfaces –
General, Mass Procedure and Method of Slices.
9. Ordinary Method of Slices.
Last
Last Updated:
Updated: March
8 February
20202020 © LMS SEGi Education Group Dr. Azlinda Saadon
8. Slope Stability Analysis for Circular Failure
Surfaces.
Modes of failure
In general, finite slope failure occurs in one of the following modes (Figure
14):
1. When the failure occurs in such a way that the surface of sliding intersects
the slope at or above its toe, it is called a slope failure (Figure 14a). The
failure circle is referred to as a toe circle if it passes through the toe of
the slope and as a slope circle if it passes above the toe of the slope. Under
certain circumstances, a shallow slope failure can occur, as shown in
Figure 14b.
2. When the failure occurs in such a way that the surface of sliding passes at
some distance below the toe of the slope, it is called a base failure
(Figure 14c). The failure circle in the case of base failure is called a
midpoint circle.
Figure 14 Modes of failure of finite slope:
(a) slope failure; (b) shallow slope failure; (c) base failure
8. Slope Stability Analysis for Circular Failure
Surfaces.
Slope Stability Analysis
(Circular Failure Surfaces)
1. Mass Procedure 2. Method of Slices

(Undrained Stability – Total (Drained Stability – Effective
Stress Analysis) Stress Analysis)
• For short-term stability. • For long-term stability

• Soil is assumed homogeneous. • For non-homogeneity of soil.
• Undrained condition (cu, ϕu) • Drained condition (c’, ϕ’)
Methods: Methods:
i. Undrained condition (homogeneous i. Ordinary slice (Swedish) method
clay with ϕu = 0) ii. Bishop’s Simplified method
ii. Undrained condition (homogeneous iii. Bishop & Morgenstern solution
clay with ϕu > 0) iv. Spencer’s solution
iii. Taylor’s stability number v. Michalowski’s solution
vi. Fellinius’s method
8.1 Mass Procedure: Undrained condition
(homogeneous clay with ϕu = 0)
i. Without tension cracks

 Total stress analysis may be applied to the case of a newly cut or newly
constructed slope in a fully saturated clay.
 Since ϕu = 0, the undrained shear strength is τ = cu.
 It is assumed that the failure surface will take the cross-sectional form
of a circular arc, usually referred to as the slip circle.
 The centre of the critical slip will be somewhere above the top of the
slope.
 The critical (failure) slip circle is one of an infinite number of potential
circles that may be drawn having different radius and centres (Figure
15).
 Some circles will pass through the toe of the slope and some will cut
the ground surface in front of the toe.
Figure 15 Slip circles of different radius and centres.
 The critical circle is the one along which failure is most likely to occur and
for which the factor of safety is the lowest.
 A number of trial circles are chosen and the analysis repeated for each
until the lowest factor of safety is obtained.
 Figure 16 shows the cross-section of the a slope together with a trial
slip circle of radius, R and centre, O.
 Instability tends to be the caused due to the moment of the body
weight, W of the portion above the slip circle.
 Disturbing moment = W d Eq. 43
 The tendency to move is resisted by the moment of the mobilised shear

strength acting along the circular arc of AB.
 Length of arc AB =Rθ Eq. 44
 Shear resistance force along AB = cuR θ Eq. 45
 Shear resistance moment = cuR2 θ Eq. 46
Figure 16 Total stress analysis.
𝑺𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝑴𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕
 Then, the factor of safety, F =
𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒃𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑴𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕
cuR2 θ
= Eq. 47
Wd
 The values of W and d are obtained by dividing the shaded area into
slices or traingular / rectangular segments and then taking area-
moments about a vertical axis passing through the toe, or other
convenient point.
ii. With tension cracks
 In cohesive soils, a tension crack tends to form near the top of the
slope as the condition of limiting equilibrium (and failure) develops.
 From the lateral earth pressure (Chapter 1), it is clear that the tension
crack depth may be taken as,
𝟐𝒄𝒖
𝒛𝒐 = Eq. 48
𝜸
 The development of the slip circle is terminated at the tension crack
depth and so its arc length AC as shown in Figure 17.
 The free body weight, W of the slipping mass is the shaded are
bounded by the ground surface, the slip circle arc and the tension
crack.
Figure 17 Effect of tension crack in total stress analysis.
 No shear strength can be developed in the tension crack, but, 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 = 𝜸𝒘 𝒛𝒐 𝟐 Eq. 49
𝟐
 Taking this into account, together with the fact that the slip circle arc is
reduced, the factor of safety expression becomes,
cuR2 θ𝒄
𝑭= Eq. 50
W d + 𝑷𝒘 𝒚𝒄
Example 4:
A cutting saturated clay in a saturated clay is inclined at a slope of 1 vertical : 1.5
horizontal and has a vertical height of 10.0 m. The bulk unit weight of the soil is 18.5
kN/m3 and its undrained cohesion is 40 kN/m2 (ϕu = 0). Determine the factor of safety
against immediate shear failure along the slip circle shown below:
(a) Ignoring the tension crack,
(b) Allowing for tension crack empty of water, and
(c) Allowing for tension crack when full of water.
© LMS SEGi Education Group Dr. Azlinda Saadon
Solution:
The factor of safety against immediate shear failure may be obtained using the total
stress method analysis. Firstly, it is necessary to establish the geometry and the 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,
Then, from the Eq. 47, the factor of safety,
(b) The effect of tension crack, is to reduce the arc length from AB to AC.
(c) When the tension crack full of water, a horizontal force, Pw will be exerted on the
slip mass..
8.2 Mass Procedure: Drained condition
(Non-homogeneous clay with ϕu = 0)
 A truly homogeneous soil would exhibit the same undrained shear

strength (cu) at al points throughout its mass.
 Although it is obvious that such a condition can only exist in theoretical
terms, for certain cases, the assumption of constant can provide a
perfectly reasonable estimate of the factor of safety.
 However, the non-homogeneous nature of the soil cannot be ignored
when:
a) two or more layer of distinctly different soils are present; and,
b) in a single layer there is a significant variation in the undrained
shear strength with depth.
The multi layer problem
 A common type of multi-layered slope occurs when one soil is either
tipped or built-up to form an embankment on the pre-existing surface of
another soil (Figure 18).
 A multi-layered system may also be exposed when a cutting is driven
through stratified deposits.
Figure 18 Multi-layered slopes

(a) Embankment or tip, (b) Cutting in stratified deposits.
 The treatment of this type of problem depends mainly on the
comparative values of cu in the soils on either side of an interface.
 Where the soils have reasonably similar shear strengths, the total stress
analysis described in the previous section can be used.
 The slip mass corresponding to a given trial circle can be divided into
zones (Figure 18) and the area, centroid position and sector angle
determined for each.
 Equation 47 may be modified as follows:
R2 (cuA θ𝑨 + cuB θ𝑩 + … )
𝑭= Eq. 51
(WA dA + WB dB + … )
Example 5:
The slope of a cutting is 1 vertical : 1.5 horizontal and has a vertical height of 10.0 m.
The soil mass comprises of two saturated clay layers as shown in figure below. Using
the total stress (ϕu = 0) method, determine the factor of safety against immediate
shear failure along the trial slip circle.
Solution:
The slip mass is first considered as two separate zones for which the common radius R
is found to be 19.31 m.
For zone A (FEDE),
For zone B (EDA),
Effect of a hard layer.
 When the underlying layer has a much greater shear strength, the
critical slip circle is considered to develop only in the weaker layer
above.
 In the case of a built-up slope on a hard existing soil, all the trial circles
should be taken through or just above the toe.
 In multi-layered soils, the stability of the soft upper layer must be checked
on its own as well as the whole slope (Figure 19).
Figure 19 effect od an underlying hard layer
Submerged slopes (ϕu = 0)
 In the case of water-retaining embankments, such as earth dams, canal
banks, lagoon banks and like that, a part or, at times, all of the slope may
be submerged.
 Figure 20 shows a partially-submerged slope from which it may deduced
that the moment about O of the mass of water in the half segment EFH
exactly balances RGH.
 Thus the net water pressure moment is zero, provided the soil is saturated.
 This being the case, the weight of that portion of the slip mass below
EFG (the external water level) is calculated on the basis of the
submerged unit weight (γsat – γw).
 The bulk unit weight (γ) is still used for the portion above EFG.
 In fact, the water resting on the submerged part of the slope provides
an additional component of resistance moment, so that the factor of
safety increases as the water level rises and decreases as it falls.
Figure 20 effect of a submerged slope.
Example 6:
The slope of a water-retaining embankment is 1 vertical : 2 horizontal and the vertical
height is 10 m.
The soil if fully saturated and has an undrained cohesion (ϕu = 0) of 30 kN/m2 and the
unit weight of the soil is 18.5 kN/m3.
Determine the factor of safety against immediate shear failure along the slip circle
shown below:
(a) When the water level is at the toe of the slope, and
(b) When the water level is 6 m above the toe.
Solution:
The slip mass is first considered as two separate zones for which the common radius R
is found to be 33.83 m.
For zone A (FEDE),
For zone B (AED),
In each case, the hydraulic thrust in the tension crack will be included.
(a) When the water level is at the toe of the slope,
(b) When the water level 6 m above the toe,

Chapter 3 - Part II - Slope Stability

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Chapter 3 - Part II - Slope Stability

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FACULTY OF ENGINEERING

AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT

1. Introduction to slope stability.

1. Mass Procedure 2. Method of Slices

• For short-term stability. • For long-term stability

i. Without tension cracks

 The tendency to move is resisted by the moment of the mobilised shear

 Shear resistance force along AB = cuR θ Eq. 45

 Shear resistance moment = cuR2 θ Eq. 46

Then, from the Eq. 47, the factor of safety,

Then, from the Eq. 48, the factor of safety,

Then, from the Eq. 48, the factor of safety,

 A truly homogeneous soil would exhibit the same undrained shear

Figure 18 Multi-layered slopes

For zone A (FEDE),

For zone B (EDA),

Then, from the Eq. 51, the factor of safety,

Figure 19 effect od an underlying hard layer

For zone A (FEDE),

For zone B (AED),

(a) When the water level is at the toe of the slope,

(b) When the water level 6 m above the toe,

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