Instrumented model slopes to investigate the effects of slope inclination on rainfall-induced landslides

Chaminda Gallage a , Tharindu Abeykoon a,⇑ , Taro Uchimura b

a School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Science and Engineering Faculty, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane 4000, Queensland, Australia b School of Science and
Engineering, Saitama University, 255 Shimo-Okubo, Sakura Ward, Saitama 338-8570, Japan Received 14 February 2020; received in revised form 18 November 2020; accepted 25
November 2020

Abstract 5. Results and discusión

Rainfall infiltration is considered as one of the most significant factors triggering slope instability as a number of slope failure
occurrences have been documented during or immediately after a rainfall. The rainfall-induced slope instability is governed by
a complex interaction of topographical, hydrological and geological conditions of the slopes. Hence slope inclination is vital in
determining slope stability under rainfall. Although studies have been carried out to investigate the mechanism of rainfall-
induced slope failure, limited compelling experimental studies have been conducted on the factors influencing the initiation of
slope failure. In this study, instrumented model slopes were subjected to artificial rainfalls to investigate the effects of the slope
inclination on slope stability, and a validated numerical model was developed using the test results from the instrumented
model slopes. The outcomes of the study prove that the slopes become more susceptible to sudden collapse during rainfall as
the slope angle increases. Further, the results highlight that when the slope inclination is 1.2 times greater than the friction
angle of the soil, the failure is initiated by the loss of soil suction, and when it is smaller than or equal to 1.2 times the friction
angle of the soil, the failure is initiated by the positive pore water pressure developed at the toe of the slope.

1. Introduction
 Slope failures are considered as a high-risk geoenvironmental hazard due to the significant adverse impacts
imposed on social and economic aspects (Abeykoon et al., 2018; Abeykoon et al., 2019; Baum and Godt, 2010;
Petley, 2012).
 Rainfall is considered to be one of the most significant triggering mechanism of slope failures.
 A number of studies have been carried out to investigate the relationship between rainfall and the angle of the
terrain causing initiation of the landslides, which includes both numerical and physical model-based studies.
 Rahardjo et al. (2007) performed a series of parametric studies to understand the significance of hydrological and
geotechnical parameters of a slope on its rain-induced instability.
 Implications of the study can be employed in identifying slope failure hotspots to mitigate possible risks and reduce
adverse impacts.
 Failure of these embankment slopes can cause human casualties as well as negative impacts on a country’s
economy. In addition to triggering by earthquakes, rainfall has caused the failure of many embankment slopes,
worldwide (Aleotti, 2004; Ng and Zhan, 2007; Okada and Sugiyama, 1994; Okada and Sugiyama, 2001).
2. Testing materials
 Edosaki soil procured from a natural slope in Ibaraki prefecture in Japan was employed in the experimental
work of this study.
 The specific gravity, maximum void ratio, and minimum void ratio of the soil were measured as 2.75, 1.59, and
1.01, respectively (JGS standard - 0411). (fig 1)
 According to the Unified Soil Classification System, the soil can be classified as silty sand. (fig 1)
 Both the drying and the wetting SWCCs were obtained for the test material using a sample with a dry density of
1.22 g/cm3 as model slopes were constructed using Edosaki sand to achieve a dry density of 1.22 g/cm3. (fig2)
 Permeability function of unsaturated soils was measured using a laboratory-developed permeameter based on
a steady-state method developed by Gallage et al. (2013). (fig3)
 The test was conducted on the dry density of 1.22 g/cm3 of Edosaki sand. Fig. 3 also compares the laboratory-
measured permeability function with the predictions using the methods proposed by Fredlund et al. (1994).
(fig3)
6. Conclusions
The study set out to investigate the effect of slope inclination on the rain-induced slope failure using three instrumented model
slopes. Based on the visual observations and the analysis of time histories of pore water pressure, volumetric water content
and shear displacement transducers, the study confirmed vital relationships of slope inclination with slope deformation, suction
and moisture content. Thus the following conclusions are drawn:
4. Methodology • The vulnerability of slope failure under rainfall increases with slope inclination.
• The soil volume involved in the model slope failures decreases with the slope inclination. The steeper slopes fail under
unsaturated state, involve a smaller soil mass as the instability is induced only by rainfall infiltration, while in gentle slopes
4.1 Instrumented model slopes to investigate the effect of slope inclination
larger volume is involved as sliding mass due to combined effect of rainfall infiltration and rise of the water table. Hence
under rainfall deeper failure planes are exhibited by gentle slopes during rainfall-induced slope failures.
• Two distinct failure mechanisms are identified concerning the varying slope angle.
a. Slopes with inclinations less than or equal to 1.2 times of soil’s friction angle, build up significant positive pore-water pressure
in the toe area during rainfall, resulting in slow and progressive failure. Hence rainfall infiltration alone is not sufficient to
trigger such slope instability, but the development of positive pore-water pressure along with an increase in saturation ratio
related to the rise in the water table is required for gentle slopes to develop significant instabilities within the soil mass.
b. For slopes with inclinations greater than 1.2 times of soil’s friction angle, the decrease in suction is the predominant factor for
the failure initiation, leading to retrogressive slope failure. Hence such failures are initiated under unsaturated soil conditions.
7. Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the Promoting Fundamental Transport Technology Research of the Japan Railway
Construction, Transport and Technology Agency (JRTT) for the financial support for this study. The second author acknowledges
the scholarship for the doctoral degree received from QUT, Australia .

8. References
Abeykoon, T., Gallage, C., Dareeju, B., Trofimovs, J., 2018. Real-time monitoring and wireless data transmission to predict
rain-induced landslides in critical slopes. Aust. Geomech. J. 53 (3), 61–76.

4.2 Numerical analysis to investigate the effect of slope Abeykoon, T., Gallage, C., Trofimovs, J., 2019. Optimisation of sensor locations for reliable and economical early warning of
inclination under rainfall rainfall-induced landslides. Proceedings Ninth International Conference on Geotechnique, Construction Materials and
Environment (GEOMATE 2019), Japan. GEOMATE International Society, Japan, pp. 69–74.
4.2.1 Transient seepage análisis
Aleotti, P., 2004. A warning system for rainfall-induced shallow failures. Eng. Geol. 73 (3), 247–265.
3. Model box and instrumentation
Baum, R.L., Godt, J.W., 2010. Early warning of rainfall-induced shallow landslides and debris flows in the USA. Landslides
 The box (Fig. 4) used for the model tests has a length of 2.2 m, a width of 0.8 m, and a height of 1.0 m. (fig 4) 7 (3), 259–272.
 The walls of the box are made up of steel plates, except for the front side, which is made of acrylic glass for the
ease of deformation process observations (Orense et al., 2004). (Fig4) Brand, E.W., Premchitt, J., Phillipson, H., 1984. Relationship between rainfall and landslides in Hong Kong. In: Proceedings
 Fig. 5 shows the ADR (Amplitude Domain Reflectometry) and ECH2O types of soil moisture sensors that were Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Landslides, Volume 1. BiTech Publishers, Vancouver, Toronto, Canada,
used in the model tests to measure soil moisture content during water infiltration. (fig5) pp. 377–384.
 The ADR probe body contains an oscillator from which 100 MHz sinusoidal waves were applied via a specially
designed internal transmission line to a sensing array of four electrodes whose impedance depends on the
Burns, S.F., Burns, W.J., James, D.H., Hinkle, J.C., 1998. Landslides in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area resulting
dielectric constant of the water content of soil into which they are embedded. (fig5)
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 Inclinometers (shear displacement transducers) installed in the soil, measured the sub-soil displacements. These
v. 905828.
were connected vertically by rings to have a hinge connection. (Fig6)
 Inclinometer-1 and 2 have two panels, and an accelerometer is attached to only the upper panel. (Fig6)
 nclinometer-3 has four panels, and accelerometers are attached to three panels except the bottom one. (Fig6) Sagitaningrum, F.H., Bahsan, E., 2017. Parametric study on the effect of rainfall pattern to slope stability. In: Proceedings
 n all three inclinometers, the bottom panel was fixed to a wooden piece which was then fixed to the base of the MATEC Web of Conferences 2017, Volume 101, EDP Sciences, p. 05005.
box (Fig6)