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Plate No. 3
A QUANTITATIVE APPROACH OF LANDSLIDE ASSESSMENT AND
MITIGATING MEASURES
1. Description
A landslide is the movement of rock, debris or earth down a slope. They result from the failure of the materials
which make up the hill slope and are driven by the force of gravity. Landslides are known also as landslips, slumps
or slope failure. Landslides can be triggered by natural causes or by human activity. They range from a single
boulder in a rock fall or topple to tens of millions of cubic metres of material in a debris flow. They can also vary in
their extent, with some occurring very locally and impacting a very small area or hill slope while others affect
much larger regional areas. The distance travelled by landslide material can also differ significantly with slides
travelling from a few centimetres to many kilometres depending on the volume of material, water content and
gradient of the slope.
11. Toe of the Surface of Rupture: The intersection (usually buried) between the lower part of the surface of
rupture of a landslide and the original ground surface.
12. Surface of Separation: The part of the original ground surface overlain by the foot of the landslide.
13. Displaced Material: Material displaced from its original position on the slope by movement in the
landslide. It forms both the depleted mass and the accumulation.
14. Zone of Depletion: The area of the landslide within which the displaced material lies below the original
ground surface.
15. Zone of Accumulation: The area of the landslide within which the displaced material lies above the
original ground surface.
16. Depletion: The volume bounded by the main scarp, the depleted mass and the original ground surface.
17. Depleted Mass: The volume of the displaced material, which overlies the rupture surface but underlies the
original ground surface.
18. Accumulation: The volume of the displaced material, which lies above the original ground surface.
19. Flank: The undisplaced material adjacent to the sides of the rupture surface. Compass directions are
preferable in describing the flanks but if left and right are used, they refer to the flanks as viewed from the
crown.
20. Original Ground Surface: The surface of the slope that existed before the landslide took place.
2. Objectives/Purpose
The main objective of this plate is to perform a quantitative approach of landslide assessment and mitigating
measures. Specifically, it aims to:
a. Calculate the factor of safety for rock slopes,
b. Learn Bishops simplified method, and
c. Use the Taylors Method for solving the factor of safety.
3. Formula
Formulas for Rock Slopes
where:
c = cohesion stress (kPa)
= unit weight of rock
H = height of the hill
B = ratio of cohesion stress to the vertical stress at one-half the greatest depth in the block
where:
zcr = depth of tension crack
su = undrained shear strength of the soil along the slip surface within the slice
= unit weight of soil
ru = porewater pressure ratio
Janbus Method
( )
Taylors Method
where:
D0 = depth from the top of the stiff layer
H0 = height of the slope
N0 = stability number
5. Problem Exercise:
1. For a roadcut like that shown in Fig. 1, the vertical thickness of the hill is 16.5 m and the dip angle of the
bedding plane is 35.0. The angle of friction is 31.0 and the cohesion stress equals 38.4 kPa. The unit
weight of the rock is 23.7 kPa/m. Find the factor of safety for a vertical cut.
Fig. 1: Roadcut
Given:
H = 16.5 m = 35.0 = 31.0
c = 38.4 kPa = 23.7 kPa/m = 90
Solution:
2. Use Bishops simplified method to estimate the factors of safety of the slope shown in Figure E16.3a.
Assume the soil above the phreatic surface to be saturated. Consider three cases: Case 1no tension
crack; Case 2tension crack; and Case 3the tension crack in Case 2 is filled with water.
Illustration:
Fig. 2.1
Solution:
Fig. 2.2
Assumptions:
Homogeneous soil
su = 30 kPa
= 33
w = 9.8 kN/m3
sat = 18 kN/m3
zcr = 3.33 m
FS = 1.05 assumed
Assumptions:
FS = 1 assumed
Assumptions:
R = 14.3 m
TCM/R = 23.7 kN
FS = 0.95 assumed
FS
Condition
ESA TSA
Without tension crack 1.06 1.48
With tension crack 1 1.27
Tension crack filled with water 0.95 1.22
the smallest factor of safety occurs using an ESA with the tension crack filled with water. The slope, of
course, fails because FS < 1.
3. Determine the factor of safety of the slope shown in Figure 3. Assume no tension crack.
Illustration:
Fig. 3
Solution:
FS 1.01 assumed
the factor of safety occurs using an ESA and TSA at 1.01 and 1.91, respectively.
4. A coarse-grained fill was placed on saturated clay. A noncircular slip surface was assumed, as shown in
Fig 4. Determine the factor of safety of the slope using an ESA. The groundwater level is below the
assumed slip surface.
Illustration:
Fig. 4
Solution:
Soil 1 Soil 2
' 29 33.5 deg
w 9.8 kN/m3
sat 18 17 kN/m3
d 4.5 m
I 11.5
d/I 0.39 f0 1.06
FS 1.04 assumed
Janbu's Method
b z1 z2 W = bz ESA
Slice mj Wtan()
(m) (m) (m) (kN) (deg) Wtan(')(cos())mj
1 2 1 0.7 59.8 -45 3.03 -59.8 71
2 3.5 2 2.5 274.8 0 1 0 152.3
3 2 1 4.3 182.2 45 0.92 182.2 65.9
4 2.9 0 2.5 123.3 59.9 0.95 212.6 38.9
Sum 335 328.1
FS 1.04
5. Using Taylors Method, determine the factor of safety of the slope shown in Fig. 5.
Fig. 5
Solution:
APPENDIX 2 (REFERENCES)
http://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/hazards/landslide/basics/what
Budhu, M. (2011). Soil mechanics and foundations. 3rd ed. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4320231/