SLOPE STABILITY

Slopes in soils and rocks are ubiquitous in nature and in man-made structures. Highways, dams,
levees, canals, and stockpiles are constructed by sloping the lateral faces of the soil because building
slopes is generally less expensive than constructing walls. Natural forces (wind, water, snow, etc.) change
the topography on Earth and other planets, often creating unstable slopes. Failures of natural slopes
(landslides) and man-made slopes have resulted in much death and destruction, economic losses, and
environmental damage. Some failures are sudden and catastrophic; others are insidious. Some failures
are widespread; others are localized.

Geotechnical engineers have to pay particular attention to geology, surface drainage,

groundwater, and the shear strength of soils in assessing slope stability. However, we are handicapped by
the geological variability of soils and methods for obtaining reliable values of shear strength. The analyses
of slope stability are based on simplifying assumptions, and the design of a stable slope relies heavily on
experience and careful site investigation. A slope failure adjacent to a roadway is shown in Figure 1.1. The
failed soil mass can move very quickly over large distances.

Figure 1.1 Slope Failure near a roadway

DEFINITIONS OF KEY TERMS

Slip or failure zone is a thin zone of soil that reaches the critical state or residual state, resulting in
movement of the upper soil mass.
Slip plane or failure plane or slip surface or failure surface is the surface of sliding.
Sliding mass is the mass of soil within the slip plane and the ground surface.

Slope angle ( s ) is the angle of inclination of a slope to the horizontal. The slope angle is sometimes
referred to as a ratio.
Pore water pressure ratio (ru) is the ratio of pore water force on a slip surface to the total weight of the
soil and any external loading.

TYPES OF SLOPE FAILURE

Slope failures depend on the soil type, soil stratification, groundwater, seepage, and the slope
geometry. We will introduce a few types of slope failure that are common in soils. Failure of a slope along
a weak zone of soil is called a translational slide (Figure 1.2a). The sliding mass can travel long distances
before coming to rest. Translational slides are common in coarse-grained soils.
A common type of failure in homogeneous fine-grained soils is a rotational slide that has its point
of rotation on an imaginary axis parallel to the slope. Three types of rotational failure often occur. One
type, called a base slide, occurs by an arc engulf ng the whole slope. A soft soil layer resting on a stiff layer
of soil is prone to base failure (Figure 1.2b). The second type of rotational failure is the toe slide, whereby
the failure surface passes through the toe of the slope (Figure 1.2c). The third type of rotational failure is
the slope slide, whereby the failure surface passes through the slope (Figure 1.2d).
A flow slide occurs when internal and external conditions force a soil to be have like a viscous fluid
and flow down even shallow slopes, spreading out in several directions (Figure 1.2e). The failure surface
is ill defined in flow slides. Multiple failure surfaces usually occur and change continuously as flow
proceeds. Flow slides can occur in dry and wet soils.
Block or wedge slides occur when a soil mass is shattered along joints, seams, fissures, and weak zones by
forces emanating from adjacent soils. The shattered mass moves as blocks and wedges down the slope
(Figure 1.2f).

Figure 1.2 Types of Slope Failure

CAUSES OF SLOPE FAILURE

Slope failures are caused, in general, by natural forces, human misjudgment and activities, and
burrowing animals.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Erosion
Rainfall
Earthquakes
Geological Feature
External Load

6) Construction Activities
a) Excavated Slopes
b) Fill Slopes
7) Rapid Drawdown

Erosion
Water and wind continuously erode natural and man-made slopes. Erosion changes the geometry of the
slope (Figure 1.3a), ultimately resulting in slope failure or, more aptly, a landslide. Rivers and streams
continuously scour their banks, undermining their natural or man-made slopes (Figure 1.3b).

Rainfall
Long periods of rainfall saturate, soften, and erode soils. Water enters into existing cracks and
may weaken underlying soil layers, leading to failure, for example, mud slides (Figure 1.3c).

Figure 1.3 Causes of Slope Failure

Earthquakes
Earthquakes induce dynamic forces (Figure 1.3d), especially dynamic shear forces that reduce the
shear strength and stiffness of the soil. Pore water pressures in saturated coarse-grained soils could rise
to a value equal to the total mean stress and cause these soils to behave like viscous fluidsa
phenomenon known as dynamic liquefaction. Structures founded on these soils would collapse;
structures buried within them would rise. The quickness (a few seconds) with which the dynamic forces
are induced prevents even coarse-grained soils from draining the excess pore water pressures. Thus,
failure in a seismic event often occurs under undrained condition.

External Loading
Loads placed on the crest of a slope (the top of the slope) add to the gravitational load and may cause
slope failure (Figure 1.3f). A load placed at the toe, called a berm, will increase the stability of the slope.
Berms are often used to remediate problem slopes.

Construction Activities
Construction activities near the toe of an existing slope can cause failure because lateral
resistance is removed (Figure 1.3g). We can conveniently divide slope failures due to construction
activities into two cases. The first case is excavated slope and the second case is fill slope.

Excavated Slopes
When excavation occurs, the total stresses are reduced and negative pore water
pressures are generated in the soil. With time the negative pore water pressures dissipate,
causing a decrease in effective stresses and consequently lowering the shear strength of the soil.
If slope failures were to occur, they would most likely take place after construction is completed.

Fill Slopes
Fill slopes are common in embankment construction. Fill (soil) is placed at the site and
compacted to specifications, usually greater than 95% Proctor maximum dry unit weight. The soil
is invariably unsaturated, and negative pore water pressures develop. The soil on which the fill is
placed, which we will call the foundation soil, may or may not be saturated. If the foundation soil
is saturated, then positive pore water pressures will be generated from the weight of the fill and
the compaction process. The effective stresses decrease, and consequently the shear strength
decreases. With time the positive pore water pressures dissipate, the effective stresses increase,
and so does the shear strength of the soil. Thus, slope failures in fill slopes are most likely to occur
during or immediately after construction.

Rapid Drawdown
Reservoirs can be subjected to rapid drawdown. In this case the lateral force provided by the
water is removed and the excess pore water pressure does not have enough time to dissipate (Figure
1.3i). The net effect is that the slope can fail under undrained condition. If the water level in the reservoir
remains at low levels and failure did not occur under undrained condition, seepage of groundwater would
occur and the additional seepage forces could provoke failure (Figure 1.3j)

INFINITE SLOPES
Infinite slopes have dimensions that extend over great distances. The assumption of an infinite
slope simplifies stability calculations. Let us consider a clean, homogeneous, coarse-grained soil of infinite
slope, s . To use the limit equilibrium method, we must first speculate on a failure or slip mechanism. We
will assume that slip would occur on a plane parallel to the slope. If we consider a slice of soil between
the surface of the slope and the slip plane, we can draw a free -body diagram of the slice, as shown in
Figure 1.4.

Figure 1.4 Forces on a slice of soil in an infinite slope

The forces acting on the slice per unit thickness are the weight = , the shear force Xj and
Xj+1 on the sides, the normal forces Ej and Ej+1 on the sides, the normal force N j on the slip plane, and the
mobilized shear resistance of the soil, Tj, on the slip plane. We will assume that forces that provoke failure
are positive. If seepage is present, a seepage force = develops, where is the hydraulic gradient.
The sign of the seepage force depends on the seepage direction. In our case, the seepage force is positive
because seepage is in the direction of positive forces. For a uniform slope of infinite extent, = +1 and
= +1 .

To continue with the limit equilibrium method, we must now use the equilibrium equations to
solve the problem. But before we do this, we will define the factor of safety of a slope. The factor of safety
(FS) of a slope is defined as the ratio of the available shear strength of the soil, f, to the minimum shear
strength required to maintain stability, m, that is,
=

The shear strength of soils for an effective stress analysis is governed by the Coulomb failure criterion,
that is, = . The shear strength of soils (fine-grained soils) for a total stress analysis is governed
by Trescas failure criterion, that is, = . The factor of safety is then
Effective Stress Analysis (ESA): =
Total Stress Analysis (TSA):

where N is the normal effective force on the slip plane and T m is the mobilized shear force.

Let us now use statics to solve for the factor of safety. First, we will consider a slope without
seepage and groundwater below the slip plane. Because the groundwater is below the slip plane, the
effective stress is equal to the total stress. From statics,
=
=

At limit equilibrium, FS = 1. Therefore

=
We will now consider groundwater within the sliding mass and assume that seepage is parallel to the
slope.
=

At limit equilibrium, FS = 1. Therefore,

tan =
For most soils,

1
2

tan

. Thus, seepage parallel to the slope reduces the limiting slope of a clean, coarse-

grained soil by about one-half.

The shear stress on the slip plane for a TSA, which is applicable to the short-term slope stability in
fine-grained soils, is
=

sin cos

=
=
sin cos

2
=
=

sin cos sin 2

At limit equilibrium, FS = 1. Therefore,

=

1 1
sin (2/)
2

and
=

2
sin(2 )

The critical value of z occurs when = 45, that is,

= = 2 /
which is the depth of tension cracks. Therefore, the maximum sl ope of fine-grained soils under short-term
loading, assuming an infinite slope failure mechanism, is 45. For slopes greater than 45 and depths

greater than 2 / , the infinite slope failure mechanism is not tenable. The infinite slope failure
mechanism is more relevant to coarse-grained soils than f ne-grained soils because most slope failures
observed in f ne-grained soils are finite and rotational.

Sample Problem

Infinite Slope Stability Considering Seepage

Dry sand is to be dumped from a truck on the side of a roadway. The properties of the sand are
= 30 , = 17/3 and = 17.5/ 3 . Determine the maximum slope angle of the sand in
(a) the dry state, (b) the saturated state without seepage, and (c) the saturated state if groundwater is
present and seepage were to occur parallel to the slope. What is the safe slope in the dry state for a factor
of safety of 1.25?

a)

=
=
=

= (
b)

) = (

) = .

is not significantly affected by whether the soil is dry or wet.

The value of

=
c)

= tan 1 (
= tan 1 (
=

tan )

17.79.81
17.5

tan 30)