A NOTE ON THE STABILITY OF CUTTINGS IN NORMALLY

CONSOLIDATED CLAYS
bY
R. E. GIBSON BSc., Ph.D., A.M.I.C.E., and N. MORGENSTERN,
B.A.Sc., Grad.1.C.E.

SYNOPSIS
It is shown that the factor of safety against un-
drained failure of a slope cut in an ideal normally
consolidated clay whose undrained shear strength
increases linearly with depth, depends not upon the
height but only upon the inclination of the slope,
the ratio 5 n and the bulk density of the clay.
0 et de la densite apparente de
The calculation of the factor of safety is facilitated
by the use of a stability number which is related to
the slope inclination alone: this relation is presented
graphically in the Paper.
11 est demo&r& que le coefficient de securiti: qui
joue dans la rupture d’une pente taillee dans une
argile normalement consolidee dont la resistance au
cisaillement a teneur en eau constante augmente
d’une facon lineaire avec la profondeur, depend non
de la hauteur mais seulement de l’angle de la pente,
du rapport 5
0pn
l’argile. Le calcul du coefficient de securite est
rendu plus arise par l’emploi d’un facteur de stabilite
qui n’est lie qu’a I’angle de la pente: ce rapport est
represent& graphiquement dans l’article.

INTRODUCTION
It is often required to determine the factor of safety of cuttings in normally consolidated
clays. These clays characteristically exhibit a linear increase of strength with depth, as
shown diagramatically in Fig. 1. Close to the ground surface the clay is usually over-
consolidated through dessication and the strength of this crust is higher than that of the
material immediately below it. For normally consolidated clays, Skempton (1957)l has
shown that the ratio (c/p),, of the undrained shear strength to the vertical effective stress under
which the material has been consolidated bears a relation with the plasticity index that can be
expressed by the equation:

= 0.11s 0.0037 (P.I.) . . . . . . . (1)

0S%
where c denotes the undrained shear strength at a depth where the effective overburden
pressure is equal top. P.I. denotes the plasticity index. More recent data (Wu, 1960; Kenney,
1960) have corroborated the linear increase of undrained strength with depth and the increase

of 5 with increasing plasticity index although some deviations from equation (1) have
0P?l
been indicated.
When analysing the end of construction stability of cuttings in normally consolidated
clays, it is necessary to take into account the increase of strength with depth. This may be
done by assuming the section to consist of layers the strengths of which approximate to the
true strength-depth relationship as shown in Fig. 2 and proceeding with a + = 0 analysis.
Alternatively, a value of the factor of safety may be arrived at by using the stability numbers
given by Taylor (1937; 1948) together with an average ground strength. This method leads
to inaccurate results, especially for flat slopes.
It is the purpose of this note to establish an expression for the factor of safety, based upon
a 4 = 0 analysis, for sections in which the ground strength varies linearly with depth as
shown in Fig. 2, and to compute stability numbers for a range of slope angles. The variation
of strength with depth can be determined by suitable in-situ or laboratory tests and an
estimate of the factor of safety may be obtained directly using the computed stability numbers.
1 The references are given on p. 216
212
 CUTTINGS IN CLAY 213

UNDRAINED SHEAR STRENGTH. c

t
Fig. 1. Typical variations of undrained - _ _ _ Assumed layered dirrriburion
strength with depth for a normally
consolidated clay Dlrtribwon assumedin
analykal solution

Fig. 2. Idealized strength-depth

relationships

ANALYTICAL SOLUTION

It will be assumed that the potential sliding surface is a circular arc, centre (see Fig. 3),
and the disturbing moment about this point can be shown to be:

y; [l - 2 cot2 /3+ 3 cot x cot @ + 3 cot CLcot h - 3 cot a cot ,&C!]

. . (2)

where y denotes the bulk density of the soil;

the height of the slope;
B” :: the angle of inclination of the slope;
i denote the angles specifying the location of the centre of the slip circle.
>
The equation is the same as that derived by Taylor (1937).
The resisting moment is equal to the moment about the centre of rotation of the available
shear strength around the slip circle, and is given by:

R= c(z)Rdd . . . . . . . . . * (3)
s --a
where the shear strength c is a linear function with depth. The shear strength may be
expressed by:
kz
c=-. . . . . . . .
H
where z denotes the depth to any point on the slip circle measured from the original ground
surface, and k is a constant with the same dimensions as c. From the geometry of Fig. 3, it
follows that:
z = R cos (A + 6’) - R cos (a - A) + H . . . . . (5)
214 R. E. GIBSON AND N. MORGENSTERN

SLOPE ANGLE ,8, (degrees)

Fig. 3. Specification of parameters

R 1
-=2-j
H
. . . . . . . . . (6)
From (4) and (5):

c=k ~cos(h+e)-~cos(a-~)+l . . . . * (7)

[ 1
and using equation (6) the expression for the restoring moment becomes:
cos (A + e)
4 sin2 CIsin2 h - 4 sin2 CIsin2 X (8)
This reduces to:

&zCA [cot x + n(l - cot h cot CC)] . . . . . . (9)

The factor of safety F is equal to the ratio of the resisting moment and the disturbing moment:

F=33k, [cotx + cS(l - cot h cot cz)]

(16)
yHsmaasinah[l -2cot2~+3cotXcot~+3cot~coth--3cotacot~]

Substituting for i from equation (4) we find:

[cot x + (Y(1 - cot x cot CC)]

F=3c. (11)
yzsm2ccsin2X[1 -2cot2/g +3cotXcot/3 +3cotcccotX -3cotacot/3]

It should be noted that for normally consolidated clay the ratio ; is a constant for a particular

soilandisequalto (i)n( 1 - 2,) where yW is the density of water.

The interesting result emerges that the factor of safety is independent of the height of the
 CUTTINGS IN CLAY 215

0 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 d

Fig. 4. Variations of stability nmer, N, with slope angle, p

slope. If the values of CLand X can be found that make the factor of safety a minimum for a
given value of the slope angle fi, then the factor of safety for this slope can be expressed by

F=N.;:N(;)Jl -F). . . . . . . (12)

where N is the stability number, There is an infinity of critical circles, all giving the same
minimum factor of safety and all passing through or above the toe of the slope. It can be
shown that any circle passing beyond the toe of the slope will have a higher factor of safety
and need not be considered. Although there is an infinity of slip circles along which failure
can theoretically occur, the bank will choose to fail along one of these surfaces, the choice
being dictated by some small variation from the assumed strength-depth relationship.
The approximate values of cr.and h giving the minimum factor of safety for a range of slope
angles from 0” to 90” were found by determining the critical circle on an electronic computer
(Little and Price, 1958). Subsequently these values were refined by trial and error substitu-
tion in equation (11) to determine the minimum values of N. These stability numbers are
shown plotted against the slope angles p in Fig. 4.
It is of interest to note that the factor of safety tends to infinity as the slope angle tends to
zero. Taylor (1937) found that if the strength was constant with depth, a slope of zero
inclination had a finite factor of safety. To resolve this anomaly, he extended his solution
to the consideration of cases where the slip circle was tangent to some stratum of higher
strength. When, as in this present case, the strength increases linearly with depth as shown
in Fig. 2, the critical circle giving the minimum factor of safety always lies within the slope
regardless of the existence of a stronger stratum at some greater depth and since the anomaly
of a finite factor of safety for a slope of zero inclination does not arise, any consideration of
the depth factor is obviated.
216 R. E. GIBSON AND N. MORGENSTERN

CONCLUSIONS
The solution has been given for the factor of safety of clay slopes where the ground strength
c increases linearly with depth in the manner illustrated by Fig. 2. This pattern of increasing
strength with depth is often a good approximation to the actual strength profile (in terms of
total stresses) found in normally consolidated clays. In this case the stability number N of
any cutting in a normally consolidated saturated clay, deforming under undrained conditions,
can be obtained directly from Fig. 4. When the rate of increase of strength with depth
C
-or equivalently 5 -and the bulk density y have been determined, the factor of
(G ) 0*n
safety can be found from equation (12).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The Authors are indebted to Dr V. E. Price of The English Electric Company Limited for
the use of the DEUCE computer and to Mr A. C. Meigh, MICE., of Soil Mechanics Ltd.

REFERENCES
LITTLE, A. L. and V. E. PRICE, 1958. “The use of an electronic computer for slope stability analysis”
Gtbtechnique, 8 : 3 : 113-120.
KENNEY, T. C., 1960. Discussion on “Geotechnical properties of glacial lake clays.” Trans Anter. Sot.
civ. Engrs, 125 : 1 : 1012.
SKEMPTON,A. W., 1957. Discussion on “The planning and design of the new Hong Kong airport.” Proc.
Instn civ. Engrs, 7 : 305-307.
TAYLOR, D. W., 1937. “Stability of earth slopes” J. Boston Sot. civ. Engrs, 24 : 197-246.
TAYLOR, D. W., 1948. “ Fundamentals of soil mechanics.” Wiley, New York.
WV, T. H., 1960. “ Geotechnical properties of glacial lake clays.” Trans Amer. Sot. civ. Engrs, 125 : 1 : 994