Professional Documents
Culture Documents
DOI 10.1007/s00603-012-0262-x
ORIGINAL PAPER
Received: 13 February 2012 / Accepted: 1 May 2012 / Published online: 24 May 2012
Springer-Verlag 2012
Abstract This paper presents a case study regarding Keywords Slope stability Back analysis GSI
slope stability problems and the remedial slope stabiliza- Non-linear failure criterion Water storage tank
tion work executed during the construction of two rein- Heavily jointed rock mass Retaining pile wall
forced concrete water storage tanks on a steep hill in Block punch index test
Manisa, Turkey. Water storage tanks of different capacities
were planned to be constructed, one under the other, on
closely jointed and deformed shale and sandstone units. 1 Introduction
The tank on the upper elevation was constructed first and
an approximately 20-m cut slope with two benches was The potable water supply of a settlement is usually stored in
excavated in front of this upper tank before the construc- water tanks of different capacities. The dimensions of a tank
tion of the lower tank. The cut slope failed after a week and are related to the water demand, calculated with respect to
the failure threatened the stability of the upper water tank. the population. A water tank both regulates the water
In addition to re-sloping, a 15.6-m deep contiguous pressure in the network and reserves a water supply trans-
retaining pile wall without anchoring was built to support mitted from the source location. Furthermore, a water tank
both the cut slope and the upper tank. Despite the con- should be adequately elevated in order to fully maintain the
struction of a retaining pile wall, a maximum of 10 mm of hydraulic pressures required for potable water network
displacement was observed by inclinometer measurements distribution. Thus, water storage tanks are mostly located on
due to the re-failure of the slope on the existing slip sur- hills or uneven terrain, and a cut slope is usually excavated
face. Permanent stability was achieved after the placement so as to construct the concrete tank on a flat surface.
of a granular fill buttress on the slope. Back analysis based Although slope stability problems concerning water storage
on the non-linear (HoekBrown) failure criterion indicated tanks are not very common during the construction or post-
that the geological strength index (GSI) value of the slope- construction period, fatal events may occur after such
forming material is around 21 and is compatible with the in incidents (Calderon et al. 2009). Water leakage from the
situ-determined GSI value (24). The calculated normal tank may considerably reduce the shear strength of the slope
shear stress plots are also consistent with the HoekBrown material, leading to slope failures and catastrophic acci-
failure envelope of the rock mass, indicating that the dents. Moreover, excavations to create cut slopes during
location of the sliding surface, GSI value estimated by back construction may trigger slope instabilities, which may also
analysis, and the rock mass parameters are well defined. affect the safety of nearby structures. The failure of slopes
The long-term stability analysis illustrates a safe slope and the substantial costs of remedial measures are mostly a
design after the placement of a permanent toe buttress. consequence of unsatisfactory geological and geotechnical
investigations and inadequate interpretation of acquired
data during preliminary design (Lee and Hencher 2009).
M. Akin (&) The construction of two reinforced concrete (RC) water
Department of Mining Engineering, Yuzuncu Yil University,
Zeve Campus, 65080 Van, Turkey storage tanks started at the end of 2005 in Manisa, Turkey,
e-mail: mutluhanakin@gmail.com to store a portion of the potable water demand. The
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360 M. Akin
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Slope Stability Problems and Back Analysis in Heavily Jointed Rock Mass 361
3 History of the Slope Instabilities In the preliminary stage of the project, the construction
of the 3,000-m3 tank (WT1) at the higher elevation was
A detailed geotechnical survey was not carried out on the started. When the tank construction was about to be com-
construction site during preliminary investigations in this pleted, an approximately 20-m high cut slope with two
project. The physico-mechanical properties of the litho- benches was excavated in front of WT1 to make room for
logical units were estimated by observational studies and the foundation of the 7,500-m3 water storage tank (WT2) at
literature data without any laboratory or in situ tests. the lower elevation (Fig. 4). Having completed the slope
excavation, the foundation of WT2 and a drainage ditch
along the tank perimeter were excavated. One week after
excavation of the drainage ditch, the cut slope in front of
WT1 instantly failed. Major and progressive tension cracks
at the top bench and a small-scale horizontal movement at
the toe were observed after the failure (Fig. 4). The slip
surface shown in Fig. 4 is estimated considering the main
tension crack and the horizontal movement at the slope toe.
Eventually, the slope failure threatened the stability of
WT1. Also, a separation of several millimeters in scale
between the main tank and the maneuver room sections of
WT1 occurred and was monitored (Fig. 5).
As an immediate remedial measure to prevent slope
failure and to protect the stability of WT1, a granular toe
buttress was constructed and re-sloping was performed by
removing slope material from the crown to lower the
sliding forces (Fig. 6). Further slope movement was pre-
vented by the above-mentioned temporary remedial mea-
sures. However, the toe buttress covered a large portion of
the WT2 foundation and the temporary support had to be
removed in order to construct WT2.
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362 M. Akin
geological strength index (GSI) system (Morales et al. Yin 2004). The HoekBrown non-linear failure criterion
2004; Marinos et al. 2006). The GSI system proposed by (Hoek and Brown 1980; Hoek et al. 2002) has been com-
Hoek et al. (1995) allows the determination of rock mass monly employed for the back analysis of slope failures in
strength and deformation parameters for both hard and heavily jointed rock masses (Sonmez et al. 1998; Sonmez
weak rock masses. and Ulusay 1999; Cai et al. 2007; Sharifzadeh et al. 2010).
The back calculation of shear strength parameters of The shear strength parameters of a failure surface in such
sliding surfaces using the linear MohrCoulomb criterion is rock masses can be determined for a specific normal stress
independent from normal stress. However, the failure using the material constants of the HoekBrown failure
envelope of a closely jointed rock mass is non-linear and is criterion (m and s) as a function of the rock mass rating
sensitive to normal stresses (Sonmez et al. 1998; Yang and (RMR) system or the GSI system.
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Slope Stability Problems and Back Analysis in Heavily Jointed Rock Mass 363
The non-linear HoekBrown failure criterion for (d) The calculation step is carried out for different values
homogeneous and isotropic rock masses is defined by the of GSI(s) to obtain a variety of GSI(s) and GSI(m) pairs.
equation below: (e) The results are presented in a GSI(s)-GSI(m) graph
and a straight line passing from the origin with an
r01 r03 rci mb r03 =rci s0:5 1 inclination of 45 is drawn. The inserted line inter-
where r01 and r03 are the maximum and minimum principal sects the GSI(s)-GSI(m) curve at a certain point
effective stresses acting upon the sliding surface, rci is the identifying the GSI value of the investigated rock
intact rock strength, and mb and s are the material mass (GSIRM).
constants, which are determined by the following Following the back analysis, the instantaneous cohesion
formulas in accordance with the GSI: and internal friction angle along the existing failure surface
can be calculated by application of the non-linear Hoek
mb mi expGSI 100=28 14D 2
Brown failure criterion, considering the normal stress and
s expGSI 100=9 3D 3 the GSIRM value.
where mi is the intact material constant and D is the dis- For the actual slope failure, the shear strength parame-
turbance factor of rock mass due to blasting or excavation. ters of the sliding surface mobilized at the time of failure
The GSI value can be directly determined in the field were estimated by means of back analysis using the non-
based on site conditions, although sampling for laboratory linear (GSI) approach. The slope stability back analyses
testing is extremely difficult in heavily jointed sedimentary were conducted using the Slide v.5.0 software (Rocscience
and metamorphic rock masses such as shale, flysch, and Inc. 2002) and the slope geometry before the failure was
schist. In addition, alternative procedures may be imple- considered in the analyses (Fig. 7). In addition, the slope
mented in order not to overestimate the mb and s values, as was kept in dry conditions in the back analysis, since no
overrated input parameters may lead to unrealistic results groundwater table was observed in the field and in bore-
in the slope stability back analysis using the non-linear holes drilled after the construction of the pile wall support.
approach (Unal et al. 1992; Sonmez et al. 1998). The back Due to the impossibility of sampling in heavily jointed
analysis of failed slopes using the GSI system can be rock mass, the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of the
performed with a trial and error approach following the slope material was determined through block punch index
procedure first presented by Sonmez et al. (1998). The (BPI) tests (Ulusay and Hudson 2007) using thin cylin-
calculation steps are as follows: drical slices of rock pieces from the slope material. The
calculated BPIc (corrected BPI) was then converted to the
(a) A GSI value called GSI(s) is assessed and the material UCS in accordance with the equations presented by Ulusay
constant s is determined using Eq. 3. and Hudson (2007). In the BPI test, thin cylindrical disc-
(b) The material constant mb is calculated considering the shaped specimens prepared from cores or blocks are put
existing slope geometry and slip surface in limit into an apparatus which is designed to fit the well-known
equilibrium software using the HoekBrown failure point load device (Ulusay et al. 2001). The specimens are
criterion given in Eq. 1, which satisfies the limit loaded and forced to break by a rectangular rigid punching
equilibrium condition (FOS = 1.0). block. In this study, disc slices used in the BPI tests were
(c) The calculated material constant mb in the previous drilled from rock blocks obtained from the investigation
step is employed in Eq. 2 and discloses the second area. The unit weight was also determined on the same
GSI value, named GSI(m). discs. Consequently, the average unit weight and UCS of
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364 M. Akin
the intact slope material are 17.3 kN/m3 and 15.3 MPa, The relationship between shear strength and normal
respectively. stress is more accurately represented by a non-linear
The GSI value of the rock mass studied was directly model. Furthermore, in the non-linear failure approach, the
determined in the field in accordance with the latest shear strength parameters mobilizing on the failure surface
quantitative GSI chart recommended by Sonmez and Ul- is normal stress-dependent. The instantaneous shear
usay (2002). More realistic GSI values can be estimated in strength parameters are obtained by the intercept and the
this chart by means of structure rating (SR) and surface inclination, respectively, of the tangent to the non-linear
condition rating (SCR). The SR value is assigned based on relationship between the shear strength and normal stress
the volumetric joint count (Jv), whereas the SCR of the (Hoek et al. 2002). In other words, the term instantaneous
discontinuities is calculated considering roughness, indicates the shear strength parameters at a certain normal
weathering, and infilling parameters. The volumetric joint stress level on the non-linear failure envelope.
count (Jv) of the slope material in the study area is around Therefore, the instantaneous shear strength parameters
21 with respect to in situ measurements. On the other hand, along the existing failure surface (ci and /i pairs) were
discontinuity surfaces are generally smooth, highly determined regarding the actual normal stress at the bottom
weathered, and contain soft clay infillings with a thickness of each slice. In the analyzed slope, the variation of ci and
of \5 mm. Then, the SR and SCR values were found to be /i with different normal stresses is illustrated in Fig. 11.
27 and 4, respectively. The GSI value of the slope material The normal stress level on the actual sliding surface attains
is 24, as seen in Fig. 8, indicating a blocky and disturbed a maximum value of 130 kPa. On the other hand, the
rock mass. It should be noted that the material constant mi instantaneous cohesion varies between 6 and 28 kPa,
was selected as 4 in the back analysis with regards to the whereas the instantaneous internal friction angle changes
recommended mi values for clastic rocks by Hoek et al. between 21 and 50.
(1995), because the triaxial test is almost impossible to
carry out on such rock types. Additionally, a disturbance
factor (D) value of 0.8 was employed in the back analysis 5 First Remedial Measure: Application
in accordance with Hoek et al. (2002), as the slope was of the Retaining Pile Wall
excavated mechanically and was subjected to a minor
disturbance due to stress relief from overburden removal. After the first failure, it was planned to construct retaining
The GSI(s)-GSI(m) graph obtained from the back anal- piles in front of WT1 in order to stabilize the constructed
ysis of the failed slope following the procedure proposed tank. Therefore, both the safety of WT1 would be provided
by Sonmez et al. (1998) is illustrated in Fig. 9. The GSIRM and the toe buttress on the foundation of WT2 would be
value of the failed slope was found to be 21, as seen in removed. In addition to retaining piles, a new re-sloping was
Fig. 9. As the surface characteristics of discontinuities also performed by lowering the slope angle of benches, to
were very poor and the slope material was tectonically decrease sliding forces. The shear strength parameters were
deformed, sheared, and jointed with a chaotic structure, the assessed for the pile design due to the presence of insuffi-
GSIRM value of the rock mass assessed by back analysis is cient data for the slope material. Two different material
reasonable and is compatible with the GSI value of 24 zones were distinguished during the design phase. The first
determined in the field. zone on the upper level of the slope was represented by
The HoekBrown failure envelope of the slope-forming disturbed material which was affected from the first slide.
rock mass was constructed using the GSI value of 24 The second zone under the first subdivision was the undis-
determined in the field and the related material constants turbed section of the rest of the slope. The slope material
(mb: 0.034, s: 8.5e-6, a: 0.5) calculated in accordance with parameters used for the design of the retaining piles are
Eqs. 2 and 3 (Fig. 10). Based on the back analysis con- presented in Table 1 (GDBP 2006). It should be kept in
sidering the pre-failure slope geometry and the location of mind that the shear strength values in Table 1 are not related
the sliding surface in Fig. 7, the normal and shear stresses to the back analyses performed in this study. The new slope
acting at the bottom of each slice of the observed failure model with the retaining pile wall is presented in Fig. 12.
surface was calculated. These data pairs were plotted onto As shown in Fig. 12, the new cut slope between the two
the non-linear HoekBrown failure envelope of the water storage tanks has three benches with lower inclina-
investigated rock mass, as depicted in Fig. 10. These tions (5457). Furthermore, 15.6-m long RC piles
normalshear stress plots mostly fall on the HoekBrown (diameter 80 cm) without any anchors were proposed to
failure envelope, indicating that the location of the sliding support WT1. The axial distance(s) between each pile is
surface, the estimated GSI value via back analysis, and the 1.60 m. After the preliminary design, a contiguous bored
rock mass parameters accurately represent the studied pile wall was constructed in accordance with the submitted
failure. support model. The slope was then re-excavated with three
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Slope Stability Problems and Back Analysis in Heavily Jointed Rock Mass 365
Fig. 8 Determination of the GSI value of the slope material using the proposed chart by Sonmez and Ulusay (2002)
benches. Subsequent to concrete pile wall construction and drilled between WT1 and the retaining pile wall. Each hole
re-sloping, the buttress at the slope toe was removed. was cased with an inclinometer casing to monitor probable
Additionally, a total of three 22-m deep boreholes were lateral movements in the slope and the retaining pile wall.
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366 M. Akin
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Slope Stability Problems and Back Analysis in Heavily Jointed Rock Mass 367
Table 1 Specific slope material parameters used for the retaining pile wall design (GDBP 2006)
Unit weight (cn) Cohesion Internal friction Modulus of elasticity Poissons
(kN/m3) (c) (kPa) angle (/) () (E) (MPa) ratio (t)
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368 M. Akin
Fig. 14 Slope failure-related problems after the construction of the retaining pile wall (a tension crack on slope benches, b small-scale crack
near the water tank, c retaining pile wall and slope, d inclinometer casing between WT1 and retaining pile wall)
significant extensional regime in this region resulted in study area. Therefore, the maximum expected earthquake
numerous normal faults and graben systems (Bozkurt with a moment magnitude of 7.4 was considered in the
2001). The Manisa Fault exists in the very close vicinity of long-term stability assessment in this study. Additionally,
the project area. This normal fault is about 40 km in length the epicentral distance (Re) to the main segment of the
and lies in the southern margin of Manisa city (Fig. 17). Gediz Graben is around 25 km.
Although a moment magnitude (Mw) of 5.2 was recorded in The peak ground acceleration in the project area was
1994 in this fault segment (Emre et al. 2005), Kayabali and evaluated by two different regional attenuation relation-
Akin (2003) and Ulusay et al. (2004) assigned values of 7.2 ships of Ulusay et al. (2004) and Kayabali and Beyaz
and 7.4, respectively, to the Gediz Graben which is 150 km (2011), given in Eqs. 4 and 5, respectively. In these
long in total and is the main tectonic feature around the equations, PGA is the peak ground acceleration (cm/s2),
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Slope Stability Problems and Back Analysis in Heavily Jointed Rock Mass 369
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370 M. Akin
Mw is the moment magnitude, and Re is the epicentral significant overflow from water storage tanks. Therefore,
distance (km): the long-term stability of the supported slope design was
investigated using the rock mass parameters determined
PGA 2:18e0:021833:3Mw Re 4
by back analysis. The Slide v.5.0 software (Rocscience
log PGA 2:08 0:0254Mw2 1:001 logRe 1 Inc. 2002) was employed during analysis. It should be
5 noted that the non-linear failure criterion was taken into
consideration. The factor of safety of the final slope
The attenuation relationship proposed by Ulusay et al. design in static conditions is 1.95. In seismic conditions,
(2004) resulted in a peak ground acceleration of 272 cm/s2, considering a maximum of 136 cm/s2 horizontal seismic
whereas the relationship of Kayabali and Beyaz (2011) load, the factor of safety decreases to 1.52 (Fig. 18). The
resulted in a PGA of 113 cm/s2. Therefore, the maximum calculated safety factor is acceptable even in seismic
peak ground acceleration (272 cm/s2) determined by conditions, considering the degree of risk in the project
Ulusay et al. (2004) was accepted for the project area. area.
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Slope Stability Problems and Back Analysis in Heavily Jointed Rock Mass 371
Acknowledgments The author is grateful to the General Directorate Okay AI, Altiner D (2007) A condensed Mesozoic succession north of
of the Bank of Provinces (GDBP) for providing the necessary tech- Izmir: a fragment of the AnatolideTauride platform in the
nical information about the project. The author also thanks Dr. Samad Bornova Flysch Zone. Turk J Earth Sci 16:257279
Joshani-Shirvan and Dr. Margaret Sonmez for their comments on the Ozdemir A, Delikanli M (2009) A geotechnical investigation of the
use of language. The author would like to express his sincerest retrogressive Yaka Landslide and the debris flow threatening the
gratitude to Prof. Dr. Resat Ulusay for his valuable comments and town of Yaka (Isparta, SW Turkey). Nat Hazards 49:113136
assistance during the block punch index (BPI) tests. Akademi Soil and Popescu ME, Schaefer VR (2008) Landslide stabilizing piles: a
the Rock Mechanics Laboratory deserve thanks for the sample design based on the results of slope failure back analysis. In:
preparation before BPI testing. Thanks are due to the anonymous Chen Z, Zhang JM, Li ZK, Wu FQ, Ho K (eds) Landslides and
reviewers for their valuable and constructive comments. engineered slopes from the past to the future, vols 1 and 2. CRC
Press, Boca Raton, pp 17871793
Rocscience Inc. (2002) Slide version 5.02D limit equilibrium
slope stability analysis. Rocscience, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
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