SLOPE STABILITY

ANALYSIS
Tuncer B. Edil
University of Wisconsin-Madison
LECTURE OUTLINE
Common Features of Slope Stability
Analysis Methods
Water Forces on Soil
Infinite Slope Analysis
Finite Slopes: Plane, Circular and
Noncircular Failure Surfaces
COMMON FEATURES OF
SLOPE STABILITY
ANALYSIS METHODS
Safety Factor: F = S/S
m
where S = shear
strength and S
m
= mobilized shear
resistance. F = 1: failure, F > 1: safety
Shape and location of failure is not known a
priori but assumed (trial and error to find
minimum F)
Static equilibrium (equilibrium of forces
and moments on a sliding mass)
Two-dimensional analysis
INFINITE SLOPE ANALYSIS
Translational failures along a single plane
failure surface parallel to slope surface
The ratio of depth to failure surface to length
of failure zone is relatively small (<10%)
Applies to surface raveling in granular
materials or slab slides in cohesive materials
Equilibrium of forces on a slice of the sliding
mass along the failure surface is considered
INFINITE SLOPE
h
p
d
|


sat
|
c
N
T
W
h
p
INFINITE SLOPE ANALYSIS
F = f(c, |, , |, d, u)
F = (c/ d) sec| cosec| + (tan|/tan|)(1-r
u
sec
2
|)
where r
u
= u/d (different r
u
for seepage parallel to slope face,
seepage emerging, seepage downward, etc)
For Granular Soil: F = (tan|/tan|)(1-r
u
sec
2
|)
Dry Granular Soil (r
u
= 0): F = (tan|/tan|)
For Cohesive Soil: F decreases with increasing
depth to failure plane; if c is sufficiently large, d
c

for F = 1 may be large and infinite slope failure
may not apply.
WATER FORCES ON SOIL
Water fills voids and increase weight which
increases driving forces
Water also exerts pore pressures which
decrease effective stress and therefore strength
There are mathematically two equivalent ways
of taking water forces into account in stability
analyses
EQUIVALENT METHODS
FOR WATER FORCES
1. Boundary water force + total unit weight
u = h
p

w
;
sat
consider soil element (particles
and water filled pores) as single solid mass
2. Seepage force + submerged unit weight
F
s
= i
w
V; consider soil element as
particle skeleton with water external to it
BOUNDARY WATER FORCE
SEEPAGE FORCE
Hydraulic Gradient, i = sin | ; Seepage Force,F
s
= i
w
Volume
Effective Weight, W = Volume; = -
w

FINITE SLOPES: PLANE
FAILURE SURFACE
Translational Block Slides along single plane
of weakness or geological interface
F = cL + (W cosu uL) tan| / W sinu + F
w
BLOCK SLIDES

BLOCK SLIDES

FINITE SLOPES: CIRCULAR
FAILURE SURFACE
Rotational Slides - Method of Slices
Applies to slopes containing cohesive soils
Ordinary Method of Slices (Fellenius Method)
Bishops Simplified Method
Spensers Method

ORDINARY METHOD OF
SLICES
Assumes that resultant of side forces on each slice
are collinear and act parallel to failure surface and
therefore cancel each other
F = E[c
n
l
n
+ (W
n
coso
n
- u
n
l
n
) tan|
n
] / EW
n
sino
n
Undrained analysis: F = E[c
n
l
n
] / EW
n
sino
n
SIDE FORCES IN ORDINARY
METHOD OF SLICES

BISHOPS SIMPLIFIED
METHOD
Assumes that resultant of side forces on each slice
act in horizontal direction and therefore vertical
side force components cancel each other
F = E[c
n
b
n
+ (W
n
- u
n
b
n
) tan|
n
](1/m
o
) / EW
n
sino
n
m
o
= coso
n
+ (sino
n
tano
n
)/F
Undrained analysis: F = E[c
n
l
n
] / EW
n
sino
n
CHART FOR m
o

SIDE FORCES IN
BISHOPS METHOD

SPENCERS METHOD
Assumes that the point of application of
resultant of side forces on each slice is at
mid-height of each slice but no assumption
is made regarding inclination of resultants;
inclination is determined as part of the
solution
This method is more exact than Bishops
FINITE SLOPES: NONCIRCULAR
FAILURE SURFACE
Wedge Method
Janbus Simplified Method
Morgenstern-Price Method
WEDGE METHOD
Failure surface consists of two or more
planes and applicable to slope containing
several planes of interfaces and weak layers
Force equilibrium is satisfied
Assumes that resultant of side forces on
each slice either acts horizontally or at
varying angles from horizontal (typically up
to 15
o
)
WEDGE METHOD
Layer B
Layer A
4
3
2
1
|
m
u
WEDGE ANALYSIS
Equilibrium of Forces in
each slice is
considered to adjust
the inter-slice forces
and balance them
resulting in a correct
solution.
JANBUS SIMPLIFIED
METHOD
A method of slices applicable to circular and
noncircular failure surfaces
F = f
o
E{[c
n
b
n
+ (W
n
- u
n
b
n
) tan|
n
](1/ coso
n
m
o
)} /
EW
n
tano
n
f
o
is a correction factor that varies with depth to
length ratio of sliding mass and type of soil
(| = 0, c, | or c = 0)
Factor, f
o
Ratio, d/L
| = 0
c, | soil
c = 0
L
d
MORGENSTERN-PRICE
METHOD
No assumption is made regarding
inclination or point of application of
resultants and these are determined as part
of the solution
Requires computers for solving the basic
equation
Exact but not practical
REFERENCES
J.M. Duncan, A.L. Buchignani and M. De Wet (1987), An
Engineering Manual for Slope Stability Studies, Virginia Tech
Department of Civil Engineering, Blacksburg, Virginia.

L.W. Abramson, T.S. Lee, S. Sharma and G.M. Boyce (1996), Slope
Stability and Stabilization Methods, Wiley, N.Y.

Das, B. M., Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, 3rd Ed., PWS
Publishing Co., Boston, MA, 1994.

Soil Mechanics Design Manual, NAVFAC DM-7.1, Department of
the Navy, 1982.


Slide 21..- La Conchita, California-a small seaside community along Highway 101 north of Santa Barbara. This landslide
and debris flow occurred in the spring of 1995. Many people were evacuated because of the slide and the houses nearest
the slide were completely destroyed. Fortunately, no one was killed or injured. Photograph by R.L. Schuster, U.S.
Geological Survey.