Rock Slope Engineering

Advanced Geotechnical Engineering

EAG 442

By: Dr Mohd Ashraf Mohamad Ismail

 Rock Slope Engineering

Basic mechanics of rock slope failure

Typical type of rock slope failure
Graphical presentation of rock slope failure
Numerical modeling in rock slope
Example(s)
 Rock Slope Engineering

Basic mechanics of rock slope failure

Typical type of rock slope failure
Graphical presentation of rock slope failure
Numerical modeling in rock slope
Example(s)
Structurally controlled instability
 Role of rock discontinuities in Rock
slope failure

Discontinuities: Joints, Faults, Bedding

Planes, Fractures, etc.

Discontinuities reduce the rock mass

strength.

Discontinuities control Planes of Weakness.

Orientation (Strike and Dip) influence the

failure modes and potency of sliding.
Cohesion and friction angle of rock joint

= c +.tan
Shear Stress ()

Friction angle (

Normal Stress

Shear Stress

Cohesion (c)

Normal Stress ()
 Self-weight sliding of rock block

R
W.Sin

W.Cos
W

Limiting Equilibrium: W.Sin = R = c.A + W.Cos .tan

Effect of water in tension crack

Water-filled tension crack

R
V
U
W.Sin

W.Cos

W
Limiting Equilibrium:
W.Sin + V = R = c.A + (W.Cos - U).tan
 Effect of water in tension crack

(a) Tension crack at head; (b) tension crack on slope face

 Forces acting on slope

Forces acting on a
planar slide surface

Forces exerted by a
resistant external
element (anchor)
applied to the slope
 Types of failure in rock slope

Strength curve for the rock mass and relationship between slope height and angle
(modified from Hoek and Bray, 1981)
 Rock Slope Engineering

Basic mechanics of rock slope failure

Typical type of rock slope failure
Graphical presentation of rock slope failure
Numerical modeling in rock slope
Example(s)
 Typical rock slope failure
(a) Planar Rock slope failure

(b) Rock slope wedge failure

(c) Toppling failure

 Planar Rock slope failure

Plane Sliding

Occurs when a geological discontinuity such as bedding

plane, strikes parallel to the slope face and dips into the
excavation at an angle greater than the angle of friction.
Kinematic analysis - Planar failure
 Planar Rock slope failure

Occurs when a geological discontinuity such as bedding

plane, strikes parallel to the slope face and dips into the
excavation at an angle greater than the angle of friction.
 Rock slope wedge failure

Wedge Sliding

When two discontinuity strike obliquely across the slope face

and their line of intersections daylights in the slope face, the
wedge of rock resting on these discontinuities will slide down
the line of intersection.
Kinematic analysis - wedge failure
Kinematic analysis - wedge failure
Daylight
 Toppling failure

Toppling Failure

When a block of rock resting on an inclined planes moving

downward from the face of the slope.
 Toppling failure

Strata toppling,
block toppling
and flexural
toppling

Buckling of vertical
strata with bending
and fracturing of
strata
 Rotational type failure

When a block of rock resting on an inclined planes moving

downward from the face of the slope.
 Complex mechanism

Combine discontinuity movements with failure

of intact rock
Step-path
Toppling, flexural bending or buckling
Rotational (circular, non-circular)
 Complex mechanism

Open pit mine slopes

Controlled by geological
structures at top and
possibly shearing through
intact rock at bottom
 Rock Slope Engineering

Basic mechanics of rock slope failure

Typical type of rock slope failure
Graphical presentation of rock slope failure
Numerical modeling in rock slope
Example(s)
Discontinuity mapping remote sensing
Stereonet pole plots
Pole plots and modes of rock slope failure
Planar Rock slope failure
Rock slope wedge failure

Wedge A and
B will not slide

Wedge C and
D will slide
Planar Rock slope failure
 Rock Slope Engineering

Basic mechanics of rock slope failure

Typical type of rock slope failure
Graphical presentation of rock slope failure
Numerical modeling in rock slope
Example(s)
Rock slope wedge failure
 Continuum model

Diagram of a curved failure surface

in heavily jointed rock
Rock fall program (Rocscience)
Swedge program (Rocscience)
Rock plane program (Rocscience)
 Numerical modeling in rock slope

Planar wedge
sliding

Sliding along
discontinuities
Numerical modeling in rock slope

Rotational type of failure

 Numerical modeling in rock slope

Step-path

Combined step-path
and rotational
 Numerical modeling in rock slope
Factors of safety ranged from 0.95 to 2.1
Numerical modeling in rock slope

Mine open pit in jointed rock mass

Numerical modeling in rock slope

Close up of rock mass jointing

Numerical modeling in rock slope
3-D discrete fracture network
 Rock Slope Engineering

Basic mechanics of rock slope failure

Typical type of rock slope failure
Graphical presentation of rock slope failure
Numerical modeling in rock slope
Example(s)
 Example (1)

A wedge is formed by two planes with the following characteristics:

Dip Dip direction Friction angle,

Plane A 450 1150 34.50
Plane B 750 2250 370

Factor of Safety for wedge failure:

F a tan A B tan B
 Example (1)
The procedure for finding the FoS is as follows:

The value of the difference in dip between two planes is calculated: 750-
450=300
From the different charts available, the two chart that correspond to the
value of 300 are selected.
The value of the difference in dip direction between the two planes is
calculated: 2250-1150=1100
On the abscissa axis of Chart a) a line is projected from this value of 1100 to
intersect the line corresponding to the dip of plane A, giving a reading of the
value of parameter A on the ordinate axis of 1.10
The same procedure is applied to plane B on chart b) to obtain 0.45, the value
of parameter B.
Once the values of A and B have been found, the FoS can be calculated with
the friction angle values of the two planes.

F a tan A B tan B 1.1 0.687 0.45 0.753 1.09

 Example (1)

Charts for dip difference between planes forming the wedge of 300
 Example (2)

Determine the factor of safety against sliding of the block DBC. Assume
block ABD is table
Thank you for your attention