Seepage and Stability
Seepage and Stability
Seepage and Stability
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Set up and solve a steady-state finite element SEEP/W simulation. In CONTOUR, show the
positive pressure heads that develop.
Set up a slope stability problem in SLOPE/W based on the SEEP/W finite element mesh and
computed pore-water pressure; determine the critical slip surface and the factor of safety using
the SEEP/W pore-water pressure; and graph the pore-water pressure and strength along the slip
surface.
Repeat the analysis, but remove the advanced parameters from the soil property information.
Graph the pore-water pressure and strength along the slip surface and note how the negative
pore-water pressures have been ignored.
2 Feature highlights
GeoStudio feature highlights include:
15
Seepage face
Ksat 1e-5 m/day
Elevation
10
Pressure zero
Ksat 1e-3 m/day
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55
Distance
4 Material properties
The hydraulic functions are illustrated in Figure 2. These functions are represented by 2 data points, and
adequately show a drop in conductivity as suction increases (or as soil dries out). A 2-point function is not
realistic for all cases, but it is more than adequate to illustrate saturated / unsaturated flow.
The soil property information for the SLOPE/W portion of the analysis is given in Table 4.
15
10
Pressure zero
Ksat 1e-3 m/day
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55
Distance
Figure 3 Computed water tables. Note perched zone and seepage face
1.141
20
Seepage face
Silty Clay: Including Phi B
Elevation
10
Pressure zero
Sand: Including Phi B
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55
Distance
15
10
Pore-Water Pressure (kPa)
-5
-10
-15
-20
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Distance (m)
Figure 7 and Figure 8 show results of the same SLOPE/W model but with suction strength effects
neglected in the analysis. The overall factor of safety is reduced from 1.141 to 1.077.
1.077
20
Seepage face
Silty Clay: Excluding PhiB
Elevation
10
Pressure zero
Sand: Excluding PhiB
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55
Distance