Engineering Geology 165 (2013) 133–142

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Engineering Geology
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/enggeo

Effects of flux boundary conditions on pore-water pressure distribution

in slope
Harianto Rahardjo a,⁎, Alfrendo Satyanaga b, Eng-Choon Leong c
a
School of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Block N1, 01a-02, Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore
b
School of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Block N1, B4c-10, Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore
c
School of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Block N1, 01c-80, Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Many geotechnical analyses commonly ignore the flux boundary conditions at the ground surface to avoid
Accepted 22 March 2012 the complexity in determining the actual flux values at the soil-atmosphere interface. However, actual flux
Available online 1 April 2012 boundary conditions can be an important input to many geotechnical analyses, especially those related to
unsaturated soils. Therefore, the effects of flux boundary conditions on pore-water pressure distribution in a
Keywords:
residual slope are investigated in this paper. The study focuses on infiltration and evaporation processes. The
Flux boundary
Rainfall
characterization of climatic data in Singapore is presented in this paper to illustrate the quantification of flux
Evaporation boundary conditions. Evaporation rate for the seepage analyses is calculated using Penman's method. The
Climate classification of Singapore climate is carried out using Thornthwaite index.
Penman's method The typical differences between air and soil temperatures in Singapore are presented in this paper using case
Thornthwaite index study from a residual soil slope at Yishun, Singapore. Finite element seepage analyses were conducted to
investigate the effect of rainwater infiltration and evaporation on pore-water pressure distribution of a
residual soil slope at Jalan Kukoh, Singapore. The numerical analysis results show good agreement with those
obtained from field measurements if the evaporation is applied in the analyses during the drying process.
This indicates that rainfall and evaporation play important roles in pore-water pressure changes within soil
slope.
© 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction the factor of safety of a slope is affected by flux boundary conditions

A flux boundary refers to an interface across which flow or flux
occurs. The flux boundary condition refers to the conditions at the
flux boundary that is affected by several factors, such as geological
activities, hydrological influence, topographical features, weathering
processes, human interference, vegetation and climatic conditions
(Brand, 1984; Broms and Wong, 1991; Sower, 1992). Four possible
types of flux are infiltration, evaporation, transpiration and evapo-
transpiration. Water is removed from the soil by evaporation,
transpiration and evapotranspiration and enters the soil by rainwater
infiltration.
In practice, geotechnical engineers commonly ignore flux bound-
ary conditions at the ground surface to avoid the complexity in
determining the actual flux values at the soil-atmosphere interface.
However, in most geotechnical designs, e.g. slope stability, the actual
flux boundary conditions may be an important concern. Flux
boundary condition produces an unsteady-state saturated/unsaturated
flow situation which results in a change in the pore-water pressure and
shear strength of soil (Fredlund and Rahardjo, 1993). In other words,
⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: + 65 67905246; fax: +65 67910676.
E-mail address: chrahardjo@ntu.edu.sg (H. Rahardjo).
across the slope surface. Therefore, the actual flux value should be
considered in geotechnical designs.
Many researchers have considered the effect of rainwater
infiltration on slope stability problems. Most of them observed that
slope failures usually occurred during heavy rainfalls, e.g. slope
failures in Naples (Evangelista et al., 2008; Papa et al., 2008), Hong
Kong (Brand, 1992), Malaysia (Liew et al., 2004) and Singapore (Pitts,
1985; Tan et al., 1987; Chatterjea, 1989; Lim et al., 1996; Toll et al.,
1999; Rahardjo et al., 2001). Other researchers studied the effects of
rainfall on residual soil slopes through pore-water pressure measure-
ments using tensiometers and piezometers (Chipp et al., 1982;
Sweeney, 1982; Pitts, 1985; Krahn et al., 1989; Fredlund and
Rahardjo, 1993; Lim et al., 1996; Rahardjo et al., 1998; Ng et al.,
2003, 2008; Li et al., 2005).
Alonso et al., 2003 and Potts et al., 1997 carried out numerical
analyses to study the effect of rainfall on stability and deformation of
slope. The results of analyses from Alonso et al. (2003) showed that
rainwater infiltration could generate heave and lateral displacements.
They also observed that soil–water characteristic curve and unsatu-
rated permeability of soil also played an important role in addition to
the rate of rainwater infiltration in affecting pore-water pressure
distribution within soil layer. The results from Potts et al. (1997)
illustrated the case where rainwater infiltration caused a progressive
failure of railway cutting slopes in stiff clay.

0013-7952/$ – see front matter © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.enggeo.2012.03.017
134 H. Rahardjo et al. / Engineering Geology 165 (2013) 133–142
Many geotechnical problems are caused by rainwater infiltration.
However, some geotechnical problems require the computation of
evaporation, such as design of dams, mining waste cover systems,
heave and some slope stability analyses. In particular, evaporation
may increase the negative pore-water pressure within the soil layer
and increase the shear strength of the soil. Wilson et al. (1993)
incorporated the effect of evaporation to observe the performance of
soil cover system in a waste disposal site in Ontario, Canada. Rykaart
et al. (2001) studied the effects of evaporation on pore-water
pressure distribution within tailings impoundment using 3-D seepage
software. Gitirana et al. (2005, 2006) took into account the effect of
evaporation for solving seepage problems within soil layers.
The quantity of water which flows downward through ground
surface into greater depths of soil layer is defined as the net
infiltrative water flux. This net flux is controlled by the water balance
at the soil surface with respect to precipitation, runoff, infiltration,
evaporation, precipitation and changes in soil moisture storage
(Wilson et al., 1993). The net infiltrative flux is difficult to predict
accurately since evaporation is a function of climatic factors (Penman,
1948; Thornthwaite, 1948; Gray, 1970; Priestley and Taylor, 1972;
Hillel, 1980; Wilson et al., 1993). Some climatic data are available
from weather station and others (net radiation, vapor pressure)
require calculation using the available equations (Penman, 1948;
Thornthwaite, 1948; Wilson et al., 1993, 1997). Penman (1948) and
Thornthwaite (1948) equations are used to calculate the potential
evaporation whereas Wilson et al. (1993) modified Penman's
equation to calculate the actual evaporation.
This paper presents the effect of rainwater infiltration and
evaporation on the pore-water pressure distributions in a residual
soil slope. The available formulations for calculating the potential
evaporation are presented in this paper.
2. Climatic conditions in the world
Many research works have been carried out to study the climate
changes and their effects on slope stability and soil behavior. The
effects of climate changes on slope stability in United Kingdom were
studied by Glendinning et al. (2009), Rouainia et al. (2009), Kilsby et
al. (2009) and Mendes (2011). Rouainia et al. (2009), Kilsby et al.
(2009) and Mendes (2011) set up the BIONICS project (biological and
engineering impacts of climate change on slopes) to investigate the
characteristics of climate changes and their effects on slope stability.
The analyses results from Rouainia et al. (2009) and Kilsby et al.
(2009) show the importance of numerical modeling in assessing the
climate changes and their effects on pore-water pressure distribution
and deformation within soil layer. The analysis results from
Glendinning et al. (2009) show that vegetation management also
contributed to the sustainability of slope infrastructure which was
affected significantly by climate changes. The results of analyses from
Mendes (2011) showed that the climate changes are normally
followed by changes in weather patterns. A change in the annual
weather pattern can change the mechanical behavior of slopes. The
results also show that the dry season will be longer and the
precipitation will be more intense during the wet season than those
experienced in the past in United Kingdom. This may result in a
higher possibility of slope failures during wet seasons in United
Kingdom (Mendes, 2011).
Springman and Teysserie (2001) and Springman et al. (2003)
installed several instruments to monitor the effect of climate change
on slope stability in Switzerland. The results concluded that rainwater
infiltration and snowmelt were the most important triggering factors
for slope failures in Switzerland. Temperature rise resulted in
snowmelt and the infiltration of the snowmelt caused the rising of
groundwater table which triggered deep seated failures in alpine
moraine slopes (Springman et al., 2003). The rainwater infiltration
caused surface instability in alpine moraine slopes (Springman and
Teysserie, 2001).
In many parts of the world, many researchers attempted to
characterize climatic conditions in their country. Sattler and Fredlund
(1991) characterized climatic conditions in Saskatchewan, Canada.
They used Thornthwaite model to calculate potential evaporation and
developed a model to calculate the actual evaporation. Based on their
study, the minimum and maximum mean monthly precipitations in
Saskatchewan are 12 mm and 79 mm, respectively. The minimum
mean precipitation is usually observed during winter (November to
January) whereas the maximum mean precipitation is usually
observed during summer (June to August).
In general, the average annual precipitation in Saskatchewan is
300 to 400 mm. The average annual potential evaporation in
Saskatchewan is 428 to 570 mm. Thornthwaite index for climate in
Saskatchewan is between − 40 and −60 which is classified as semi
arid area. Sattler and Fredlund (1991) concluded that evaporation
plays an important role in affecting vertical ground movement and
matric suction changes in soils in Saskatchewan, Canada. They also
concluded that the actual evaporation is approximately 70% of the
potential evaporation.
3. Climatic conditions in Singapore
Climate conditions in Singapore are characterized by uniform
temperature and pressure, high humidity and particularly, abundant
rainfalls. The rainy period in Singapore can be divided into two main
seasons, the wetter Northeast Monsoon season from December to
May and the drier Southwest Monsoon season from June to October
(National Environment Agency, 2010). Maximum rainfall is usually
observed between December and January, whereas June is noted as
the driest month (National Environment Agency, 2010). On 19
December 2006, Singapore experienced the third highest amount of
rainfall for one day (366 mm) in 75 years. This amount of rainfall
exceeded the average amount of 284 mm recorded for the entire
month of December in previous years (National Environment Agency,
2010).
Based on National Environment Agency (NEA) data from 1981 to
2010, typical monthly rainfall (Figure 1), air temperature (Figure 2),
relative humidity (Figure 3), and wind speed (Figure 4) in Singapore
can be obtained. Fig. 1 shows that the difference between the
minimum and maximum monthly rainfalls is very significant. For
example, the monthly rainfall in January can be as high as 800 mm,
but it can be as low as 20 mm. In general, the highest monthly rainfall
can be observed during the rainy period in December and January
whereas the lowest monthly rainfall can be observed during the dry
period in June. Fig. 1 also shows that the typical mean monthly
rainfall in Singapore is around 200 mm or 6.33 mm/day.
Fig. 1. Typical monthly rainfall in Singapore.
 H. Rahardjo et al. / Engineering Geology 165 (2013) 133–142
Fig. 2. Typical monthly temperature in Singapore.
Air temperature in Singapore is quite uniform throughout the year
(Figure 2). Typical maximum, mean and minimum temperatures in a
particular month are 31, 27 and 24 °C, respectively. The relative
humidity in Singapore plays an important role in the prediction of
potential evaporation. Fig. 3 shows that the typical maximum relative
humidity in Singapore is 95% and the typical minimum relative
humidity in Singapore can be as low as 60%. Fig. 4 shows that the
wind speed in Singapore can be as high as 2.5 m/s and as low as
1.3 m/s.
Many research works have been carried out to investigate the
pore-water pressure distribution within soil layers in Singapore by
installing tensiometers in the field. However, few researchers have
measured temperature of soil directly in the field. Therefore, the
analyses of typical soil temperature variation near ground surface
were carried out in this study using field measurements in a residual
soil slope from the sedimentary Jurong Formation at Yishun,
Singapore (Rahardjo, 2000). The slope was instrumented with
tensiometers, temperature sensors, rain gauge and piezometers in
1998 to investigate the hydrological response of the slope. Soil
temperatures were recorded during the period of October 1998 to
December 1998. The results were compared with the air temperature
data for the same period which were taken from Sembawang station
which is close to the Yishun slope (Figure 5). The differences between
air temperature and soil temperature near ground surface are plotted
in Fig. 6a. Fig. 6b shows that typical maximum and minimum
differences between air and soil temperatures in a given day are
3.4 °C and 0.6 °C, respectively. The maximum and minimum differ-
ences between air and soil temperatures were observed at noon
(12.00 pm) and midnight (12.00 am), respectively. Since daily
temperature is quite uniform for all locations in Singapore, Fig. 6b
Fig. 3. Typical monthly relative humidity in Singapore.
135
Fig. 4. Typical monthly wind speed in Singapore.
can be used to calculate soil temperature in other locations using the
recorded air temperature from NEA meteorological stations.
4. Quantifying flux boundary conditions
Many research works have been carried out to investigate the
infiltration and evaporation processes across the ground surface
through analytical solutions, numerical simulations, laboratory
experiments and field experiments. Rahardjo et al. (2005) studied
the response of residual soil slopes in Singapore due to rainfall. The
results showed that a large proportion of rainfall contributed to
infiltration in the residual soil slope as shown in Fig. 7. The amount of
rainfall that was converted into infiltration was from 40% to 100% of
total rainfall, depending on the rainfall amount. This relationship can
be used to estimate the amount of rainwater infiltration in seepage
analyses.
Water is removed from slope surface through evaporation. Several
equations have been developed to calculate the evaporation rate.
Penman (1948) developed equation that could be used to calculate
the evaporation using the climatic data. This evaporation rate is
commonly known as potential evaporation (PE). Wilson et al. (1993,
1997) modified Penman's equations by incorporating soil tempera-
ture and matric suction of soil to calculate the actual evaporation (AE)
near soil surface. They concluded that the actual evaporation is less
than the potential evaporation (Figure 8).
Several methods are available to calculate evaporation rate, such as:
Thornthwaite and Penman methods. Thornthwaite method is com-
monly used since it is simple and it is accompanied by an index to
classify the area based on its climate. Penman's method takes into
Fig. 5. Soil and air temperatures for residual soil slope at Yishun.
136 H. Rahardjo et al. / Engineering Geology 165 (2013) 133–142

Fig. 8. The relationship between the ratio of the actual to potential evaporations of soil
and soil suction (Wilson et al., 1997).

I cumulative of the function (Ta/5) 1.514 in 12 months based

on correlations to “pan evaporation” measurements
a a complex function of the variable I

     
−7 3 −5 2 −2
a ¼ 6:75  10 I − 7:71  10 I þ 1:79  10 I þ 0:492 ð2Þ

Thornthwaite and Mather (1955) developed a climate classifica-

tion system (Table 1) based on relationship between Thornthwaite
moisture index (Im) and limited climatic data in USA. This climate
classification system is commonly used in geotechnical engineering
to evaluate the climate of a particular region. Thornthwaite moisture
index (Im) can be calculated using the following equation:

 
Fig. 6. Difference in soil and air temperatures for residual soil slope at Yishun. Pa
Im ¼ 100 −1 ð3Þ
PEa
account more climatic factors, such as: relative humidity, net radiation
and wind speed.
Thornthwaite's equation for calculating the evaporation rate where:
(Eq. (1)) is based on mean monthly temperature and average monthly
day length. Pa total annual precipitation.
  PEa total annual potential evaporation calculated as the sum-
10Ta a mation of the Thornthwaite (1948) monthly potential
PEm ¼ 16 ð1Þ
I evaporation (PEm).

where:
Penman (1948) developed an equation to calculate the potential
evaporation rate. The Penman equation depends on several factors as
PEm potential evaporation (mm/month)
described in Wilson (1990) and Gasmo (1997).
Ta mean monthly air temperature (°C)
The governing equation for water flow through an isotropic
unsaturated soil is formulated using Darcy's law as follows (Fredlund
and Rahardjo, 1993):

   
∂ ∂h ∂ ∂h w ∂h
kw w þ kw w ¼ m2 ρw g w ð4Þ
∂x ∂x ∂y ∂y ∂t

Table 1
Climate classification system (Thornthwaite and Mather, 1955).

Thornthwaite moisture index (Im) Category of climate

> 100 Perhumid

20 to 100 Humid
0 to 20 Moist humid
− 33 to 0 Dry subhumid
− 67 to −33 Semi-arid
− 100 to − 67 Arid
Fig. 7. Relationship between infiltration and rainfall amount (Rahardjo et al., 2005).
 H. Rahardjo et al. / Engineering Geology 165 (2013) 133–142 137

Fig. 9. Typical potential evaporation for Singapore calculated using Penman's equation.

Fig. 12. Soil–water characteristic curve of residual soils at Jalan Kukoh (Rahardjo et al.,
2010).

ρw density of water (Mg/m 3)

g gravitational acceleration (m/s 2)
m2w coefficient of water volume change with respect to a change
in matric suction (ua − uw)
ua pore-air pressure (kPa)
t time (second)

Eq. (4) shows that the unbalanced flow of water through a soil
element is equal to the change in water volume in the soil element.
Unlike saturated soils, the permeability of an unsaturated soil is not
Fig. 10. Typical potential evaporation for Singapore calculated using Thornthwaite's constant. The coefficient of permeability with respect to water for a
equation. soil is a non-linear function of the volumetric water content of the
soil. When the soil approaches saturation, the permeability becomes
constant and equal to the saturated coefficient of permeability with
where:
respect to water, ks. In addition, the volumetric water content of the
soil is dependent on the negative pore-water pressure in a non-
hw hydraulic head
linear fashion (soil–water characteristic curve or SWCC). In other
uw words, the ability of the unsaturated soil to retain water varies with
hw ¼ z þ ð5Þ
ρw g soil suction.
SWCC follows different paths during drying and wetting (hyster-
z elevation head esis) in nature where the soil on the drying path has a higher water
uw pore-water pressure (kPa) content than the soil on the wetting path at a given matric suction
x and y the Cartesian coordinates in the x- and y-directions, (Fredlund and Rahardjo, 1993). The hysteretic nature of the SWCC
respectively has been known to be complex and difficult to be represented by a
kw permeability function (m/s) simple mathematical form. This study emphasizes on the role of flux

Fig. 11. Geometry and soil profile of residual soil slope at Jalan Kukoh (Rahardjo et al., 2010).
138 H. Rahardjo et al. / Engineering Geology 165 (2013) 133–142
boundary condition and does not include the effect of hysteresis in
order to avoid the complexity of the problem.
5. Evaporation in Singapore
Based on climatic data of Singapore from 1981 to 2010, the poten-
tial evaporation was calculated using Penman and Thornthwaite's
equations. Fig. 9 shows that typical minimum, mean and maximum
monthly potential evaporations in Singapore based on Penman's
equation are 5, 6 and 7 mm/day, respectively. Fig. 10 shows that
typical minimum, mean and maximum monthly potential evapora-
tions in Singapore based on Thornthwaite's equation are 4, 4.5 and
5 mm/day, respectively. In general, potential evaporations calculat-
ed using Penman's equation are higher than those calculated using
Thornthwaite's equation as shown in Figs. 9 and 10, respectively. The
difference could be due to the fact that Penman's equation
incorporates more climatic factors into the calculation of evapora-
tion than Thornthwaite's equation. Thornthwaite index for Singapore
climate is around 9.85 which is classified as moist humid. Based on this
index, it can be seen that rainfall and evaporation in Singapore play
equally important role in determining the flux boundary conditions of
soil.
6. Numerical modeling of residual soil slope in Singapore
Numerical analyses of an actual soil slope were carried out to
study the effect of flux boundary conditions (rainwater infiltration
and evaporation) on pore-water pressure distributions in the slope.
The slope is located in the residual soil from the sedimentary Jurong
Formation at Jalan Kukoh. The actual slope geometry and soil
properties were taken from Rahardjo et al. (2010) as shown in
Fig. 11. The slope was instrumented with 4 rows (row A, B, C, D) of
tensiometers at four different depths (0.6 m; 1 m; 1.5 m and 2.0 m) in
each row. Three piezometers were installed in the crest, mid and toe
of the slope to monitor the position of groundwater table with time.
Soil–water characteristic curve (SWCC) and permeability function
of residual soils at Jalan Kukoh are shown in Figs. 12 and 13,
respectively. The SWCC data were obtained from laboratory tests
using Tempe cell and pressure plate apparatus. The lines in Fig. 12
represent the best-fitted Fredlund and Xing SWCC equations
(Fredlund and Xing, 1994) whereas the symbols represent laboratory
test results. In this study, only drying SWCC was used in the seepage
analyses. The saturated permeability of both clayey sand layers for Jalan
Kukoh slope as obtained from laboratory test was 8.2 × 10− 6 m/s. The
saturated permeability data of the investigated soil were obtained from
laboratory tests whereas drying permeability functions of the investi-
gated soils were determined indirectly from drying SWCC using the
statistical model (Marshall, 1958; Millington and Quirk, 1959; Kunze et
al., 1968) as explained in Fredlund and Rahardjo (1993).
Fig. 13. Permeability function of residual soils at Jalan Kukoh (Rahardjo et al., 2010).
Fig. 14. Air temperature between 5 and 10 October 2008 for seepage analyses of
residual soil slope at Jalan Kukoh.
Two cases of transient seepage analyses were performed on the
residual soil slope at Jalan Kukoh using finite element software,
Vadose/W (Geoslope International Pte Ltd., 2007). In the first case
(case 1), a natural rainfall was applied to the slope with the
assumption of no evaporation occurring during the dry period. In
the second case (case 2), the potential evaporation was applied to the
slope after the natural rainfall stopped (during the dry period). The
rainfall data for cases 1 and 2 were taken from rain gauge readings at
Jalan Kukoh from 5 October to 10 October 2008. The potential
evaporation for case 2 was calculated based on Penman's method
using the climatic data (air temperature, relative humidity and wind
speed) obtained from NEA meteorological station at Sembawang
which is close to Jalan Kukoh. The potential evaporation was adopted
in the numerical analyses to consider the effect of the maximum
evaporation rate on the pore-water pressure distribution in a residual
soil slope in Singapore. The results of cases 1 and 2 were then
compared with the results from the manual monitoring of pore-water
pressures in the slope. The total amounts of rainfall from 5 October to
6 October 2008 and from 7 October to 9 October 2008 were 49.5 mm
and 187.2 mm, respectively. The maximum rainfall intensity was
25.2 mm/h. The air temperature, relative humidity and wind speed
for the periods from 6 October to 7 October 2008 and from 9 October
to 10 October 2008 are shown in Figs. 14 to 16. The rainfall pattern
from 5 October to 10 October 2008 is shown in Fig. 17. The
evaporation rate for seepage analyses at Jalan Kukoh is shown in
Fig. 18.
The initial condition for the slope model in cases 1 and 2 was taken
as hydrostatic pore-water pressure condition with a limiting negative
Fig. 15. Relative humidity between 5 and 10 October 2008 for seepage analyses of
residual soil slope at Jalan Kukoh.
 H. Rahardjo et al. / Engineering Geology 165 (2013) 133–142
Fig. 16. Wind speed between 5 and 10 October 2008 for seepage analyses of residual
soil slope at Jalan Kukoh.
pore-water pressure of 75 kPa. The limit was imposed to prevent the
generation of unrealistic pore-water pressures. Rahardjo (2000)
observed that the highest matric suction measured in a few sites in
Singapore was 75 kPa. The initial condition for the slope model in cases
1 and 2 was generated using spatial function based on the initially
measured pore-water pressures from tensiometer readings at Jalan
Kukoh slope. Spatial function is a function in Vadose/W to assist the
users in setting up the initial condition of the model accurately. Fig. 19
shows the slope model and the applied flux boundary conditions. The
distance between the slope and the side of the slope model was set to
three times the height of the slope to avoid the influence of the side
boundary conditions. The soil layer near ground surface at Jalan Kukoh
slope was modeled using function “surface region meshing” to allow
Vadose/W to generate pore-water pressure distributions due to
evaporation accurately. The finite element model down to 5 m below
the slope surface had a mesh size of approximately 0.5 m, smaller than
elements in other parts of the slope, in order to obtain accurate results
within the infiltration zone.
Figs. 20 and 21 show pore-water pressure distributions in the
middle of the slope (rows B and C) for case 1 (Figures 20a and 21a)
and case 2 (Figures 20b and 21b) during 12 h of rainfall from 5
October to 6 October 2008. The pore-water pressures near ground
surface, obtained from numerical analyses and field measurements,
increased rapidly with time during rainfall. However, the wetting
front was only about 1 m below the slope surface during the rainfall
Fig. 17. Rainfall intensity and evaporation flux between 5 and 10 October 2008 for
seepage analyses of residual soil slope at Jalan Kukoh.
139
Fig. 18. Evaporation rate for slope at Jalan Kukoh based on climatic data between 5
October and 10 October 2008.
event. This condition could be attributed to the low permeability of
the soil that resulted in the slow infiltration process of rainwater into
greater depths. Figs. 20a and 21a show that the pore-water pressure
decreased to − 2 kPa at t = 56 h (44 h after rainfall stopped) if it was
assumed that no evaporation occurred after rainfall stopped. On the
other hand, the pore-water pressure decreased to highly negative
pore-water pressure if evaporation was applied after rainfall stopped
(Figures 20b and 21b). However, the highly negative pore-water
pressures were only observed within 5 cm below ground surface. The
effect of evaporation on pore-water pressure distribution decreased
with depth. Figs. 20 and 21 show that the pore-water pressure
profiles for case 1 and case 2 are the same for depths greater than 1 m.
In general, the pore-water pressure profiles from numerical analyses
show a reasonably good agreement with those obtained from field
measurements in row B and row C. The discrepancy is observed in pore-
water pressure profile during the drying process (Figures 20a and 21a).
This can be attributed to the fact that evaporation was not incorporated
in the seepage analyses. It can be seen in Figs. 20b and 21b that
evaporation contributed to the additional negative pore-water pressure
during the drying process. As a result, numerical analyses for case 2
show a better agreement with those obtained from field measurements
as compared with case 1.
Figs. 22 and 23 show pore-water pressure distributions in the
middle of the slope (rows B and C) for case 1 (Figures 22a and 23a)
and case 2 (Figures 22b and 23b) during 48 h of rainfall from 7
October to 9 October 2008. The field data indicate that the increase in
pore-water pressure is not as significant as predicted by simulation in
Figs. 22 and 23. This could be due to the fact the initial pore-water
pressures of row B and row C at t = 56 h were already high (− 2 kPa
for case 1 and −8 kPa for case 2) at depths greater than 5 cm below
the ground surface. The initial pore-water pressure for case 2 within
5 cm below the ground surface was really low (highly negative pore-
water pressures) due to evaporation applied to the slope before
rainfall started. Similar to the results of the analyses for the period of
5 October to 6 October 2008, the analyses for the period of 7 October
to 10 October 2008 for case 2 show a better agreement with those
obtained from the field measurements as compared with case 1.
These results indicate that evaporation plays an important role in the
recovery of pore-water pressures during the drying process.
The amount of infiltration (as a percentage of total rainfall),
obtained from seepage analysis, was plotted against rainfall amount
at Jalan Kukoh for rainy period of 5–6 October and 7–9 October 2008
in Fig. 7, showing that approximately 40 to 50% of total rainfall
infiltrated into soil layer during 49.5 mm of rainfall between 5
October and 6 October 2008, whereas 50% of total rainfall infiltrated
into soil layer during 187.2 mm of rainfall between 7 October and 9
October 2008 at Jalan Kukoh. These results are in agreement with
140 H. Rahardjo et al. / Engineering Geology 165 (2013) 133–142

Fig. 19. Slope model for seepage analyses of residual soil slope at Jalan Kukoh.

Fig. 20. Pore-water pressure profiles in residual soil slope from Jalan Kukoh at row B Fig. 21. Pore-water pressure profiles in residual soil slope from Jalan Kukoh at row C
from 5 to 7 October 2008 (a. without evaporation; b. with evaporation). from 5 to 7 October 2008 (a. without evaporation; b. with evaporation).
 H. Rahardjo et al. / Engineering Geology 165 (2013) 133–142
Fig. 22. Pore-water pressure profiles in a residual soil slope from Jalan Kukoh at row B
from 7 to 10 October 2008 (a. without evaporation; b. with evaporation).
those of the earlier study where the infiltration amount was found to
decrease to as low as 40% of total rainfall for high rainfall amounts
(Rahardjo et al., 2005).
7. Conclusions
Unsaturated soil mechanics is required to understand the effect of
flux boundary conditions on pore-water pressure distribution within
soil. The characterization of climatic data is necessary for quantifying
flux boundary conditions. Penman's method is suggested to be used
for calculating the potential evaporation since it incorporates more
complete climatic data, such as air temperature, wind speed and
relative humidity. Thornthwaite classification system has been used
to classify Singapore climate, which is categorized as moist humid.
The numerical analyses in this study only involved drying soil–water
characteristic curve and permeability function. The non-ponding
condition must be applied in the numerical analyses to avoid the
generation of positive pore-water pressure at the ground surface. The
pore-water pressure profiles from seepage analyses show a reason-
ably good agreement with those obtained from field measurements if
the evaporation rate is incorporated in the seepage analyses.
Therefore, rainfall and evaporation play important roles in affecting
the pore-water pressure distribution within the soil.
141
Fig. 23. Pore-water pressure profiles in a residual soil slope from Jalan Kukoh at row C
from 7 to 10 October 2008 (a. without evaporation; b. with evaporation).
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the assistance provided for
this study by Geotechnics Laboratory staff, School of Civil and Environ-
mental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
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