TOPIC: DETERMINE THE DISCONTINUITIES SETS AND MODES OF

FAILURES OF STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY DATA DUE TO SLOPE

(LAB 4b)

1.0 PROCEDURE

Plotting great circles:-

Great circles are plotted on the equatorial net, but they cannot be plotted directly on this
net because the true dip can only be scaled off the horizontal axis. The plotting
procedure for great circles consists of the following steps:

1) A piece of tracing paper was being laid on the net with a thumbtack through the
center point so that the tracing paper can be rotated on the net.
2) The north direction of the net marked on the tracing paper.
3) The dip direction of the plane was located on the scale around the circumference of
the net and this point was marked on the tracing paper. The dip direction scale was
noted on the equatorial net for plotting great circles starts at the north point at the
top of the circle and increases in a clockwise direction.
4) The tracing paper rotated until the dip direction mark coincides with one of the
horizontal axes of the net, that is, the 90o or 180o points of the dip direction scale.
5) The arc was located on the net corresponding to the dip of the plane and traced into
the paper. A horizontal plane noted has a great circle at the circumference of the
net, and a vertical plane is represented by a straight line passing through the center
of the net.
6) The tracing paper rotated so that the two north points coincide and the great circle is
oriented correctly.
The slope data was given as 90° (dip direction) and 60° (dip angle)
 2.0 RESULT AND ANALYSIS
 Major and minor discontinuities sets marks as J1,J2……..Jn
 Potential modes of failures
Joint Set Data
Joint member Dip direction Dip angle,° N
J1 207 56
J2 99 46
J3 302 44
J4 260 67
J5 347 84
J6 169 86
Mode Of Failure For Each Type Together And With Their Criteria As An Evidence
Slope= 90/60
Friction angle, ϕ=30
Mode of Failure Criteria
Circular None. There is no fractured of rock or soil.
Planar J2: 99/46
Justification:
i) Dip direction: 90  20 = 70 – 110
ii) Dip angle: 30 < 46 < 60
iii) J2 is potential for planar failure.
Hence, J2 fulfills the planar failure criteria.

Wedge J1 & J2 (99/46 & 207/56)

Justification:
i) Intersection of J1 & J2 within unstable zone.
ii) 30 < 46 < 60 (J1)
iii) 30 < 56 < 60 (J2)
Since J1 and J2 fulfilled the requirement of ψf > ψi > j (slope
angle>intersection of 2 plane angle>friction angle) , therefore
wedge failure occurred. Both joints are not in the safe zone.
Toppling Justification:
i) Dip direction: (90 + 180 = 270) opposite direction
270  10 = 260 – 280
Hence, J4 fulfills criteria
ii) Dip angle: (90 – 60) + 30  plane angle
60  57
J4 does not fulfill the toppling failure criteria, hence
toppling failure did not occurred.
3.0 DISCUSSION

1) Explain the mode of failure for rock slope for each type.
Most rock slope failures can be classified into below four categories depending on the
type and degree of structural control:-

i. Planar failure
Plane failure occurs when a discontinuity dips in a direction close to that of the
face and the magnitude of the dip is greater than the angle of friction for the
discontinuity.
ii. Wedge failure
Wedge failure occurs when the orientation of two discontinuities result in a
line of intersection that dips in a direction close to that of the face and dip of
this line is significantly greater than the angle of friction for the
discontinuities.
iii. Toppling failure
This type of failure occurs when long slender rock blocks dip into the face at
relatively steep angles and rest on a basalt discontinuity, which dips out of the
face at an angle less than the angle of friction for that discontinuity.
iv. Circular failure
When the material is weak (as in soil slope) or when the rock mass is heavily
jointed or broken (as in a waste rock dump) the failure surface is likely to be
circular. When the pattern of discontinuities is random, circular failure modes
are likely.
 Figure 6.1 Types of rock slope failures; (a) Planar failure, (b) Wedge failure,
(c) Toppling failure, (d) Circular failure

2) Identify which discontinuities set have potential to fail and what are their failure
modes.
Fault discontinuities have the potential to fail in rock mass. The failure mode usually is
planar failure mode. After the calculation done, the J4, J5, J6 is considered stable. There are 1
failure for the wedges .The calculation shows that the wedge failure is unstable and have
potential to fail. For toppling the J4 have potential not to fail and considered safe.

3) What are the others criteria that must be met in order to promote the slope
failure?
a. Steepness of the slope
The steeper a slope is, the more unstable it will be. The natural tendency of
steep slopes is to move some of its materials downwards until the natural
angle of repose is found. Any form of slope modification, whether it be
through natural means such as a stream undercutting the banks of a river or by
workers removing a section of the slope’s base to build roads, will impact the
stability of a slope.
b. Water and drainage
Water is several times heavier than air. During heavy rains when the soil
becomes saturated and water takes the place of air between the grains of soil,
the earth in slopes becomes a lot heavier. Water also reduces grain-to-grain
contact which, in turn, reduces cohesiveness and the soil’s angle of repose.
Along with changes in the groundwater fluid pressure in slope rocks during
the rainy season, water saturation by itself already increases the probability of
downslope mass movement.

c. Soil Composition
The composition of the slope’s soil is a very important consideration when it
comes to mitigating slope failure. Different types of soils will have very
different characteristics when it comes to frictional resistance to erosion and
cohesion among the grains. Loose soil or sand, for example, has very low
cohesion and will easily erode when saturated with water. Soils that have a
large amount of clay, on the other hand, tend to expand when exposed to
water; this makes them heavier and more prone to movement.

d. Vegetation
The amount and type of vegetation found in a slope is also proportional to the
strength of that slope. Vegetation, specifically its roots, holds the soil in place
and makes it more resistant to erosion. The bigger the size of vegetation, the
more widespread its roots are and the more it is able to hold the soil in place.
The more vegetation there is, moreover, the more stable the slope is likely to
be.

e. Bedding planes
A bedding plane is basically a surface that separates a layer of stratified rock
or bed from another. Think of it as butter spread between two slices of bread.
Because of their nature, exposed beds in a slope are also at a high risk of
slope failure. This is risk is exacerbated if there is a weak layer of rock
sandwiched in the bedrock.
f. Joints & fractures
Joints and fractures are natural cracks in the rocks forming a slope. These are
caused by the natural expansion of rocks due to cooling or the removal of
overlying rocks due to erosion. Because of these cracks, the cohesion
between the rocks that make up the slope is greatly reduced, increasing the
likelihood of a landslide in the slope.
 4.0 CONCLUSION

After complete this experiment, we can conclude that the objective of this experiment
to identify the major discontinuities set, plot the circle of discontinuities and analyze the
failure mode has achieved.

In a nutshell, we managed to achieve the result based on the objective. Modes of rock
slope depending on the type and degree of structural control. Furthermore, a discontinuity set
cannot be represented with a peak orientation discontinuity because the density of other
discontinuities being scattered around the peak orientation discontinuities. As such, each
discontinuity which formed a discontinuity set does play an important role in slope failure.
Each possible discontinuity orientation must be considered in a kinematic analysis research
program. This phenomenon is very important for the selection and planning of settlement
regions, as slope failure can cause harm to the ecosystem and loss of life.