Modelling Expansive Soil FEM

Module 8 : Rock slope stability
ROCK SLOPE STABILITY
CONTENT
8.1 INTRODUCTION - FAILURE MODES
8.2 PLANE FAILURE
8.2.1 General condition of plane failure
8.2.2 Plane failure with tension cracks
8.3 WEDGE FAILURE
8.4 CIRCULAR FAILURE
8.4.1 Limit equilibrium stability analysis
8.4.2 Shear strength reduction technique
8.5 TOPPLING FAILURE
8.5.1 Kinematics of block toppling failure
8.6 BUCKING MODE OF SLOPE FAILURE
8.6.1 Analysis of buckling failure
8.7 ROCK SLOPE STABILIZATION
225
LECTURE 27
8.1 INTRODUCTION - FAILURE MODES
Rock slopes, whether manmade or artificially created in the process of excavation can
be seen many places. Any imbalance of these slopes may cause failure and always a serious
concern. The slope may fail in different modes depending on the rock structures and the
loading environment. This failures may be gradual with very slow movement of the sliding
mass/block or instantaneous without much indication or warning. Usually, there will be some
triggering factors which are responsible for the failure. These possible factors are,
1. Increase of seepage pressure due to built-up of hydrostatic pressure in the

joints/tension cracks.
2. Due to excavation in the slope toe material
3. Due to increase of surcharge loading and increase of shear stresses
4. Due to slow deterioration of material strength and decrease of shear resistance of the
joints planes
Figure 8.1 : Typical rock slopes as seen in the site
226
Figure 8.2: Common type of slope failure in rocks
Rock slope stability analyses are routinely performed and directed towards assessing the safe
and functional design of excavated slopes (e.g. open pit mining, road cuts, etc.) and/or the
equilibrium conditions of natural slopes. In general the primary objectives of rock slope
stability analyses are:
• To determine the rock slope stability conditions;

• To investigate potential failure mechanisms;
• To determine the slopes sensitivity/susceptibility to different triggering mechanisms;
• To test and compare different support and stabilization options; and
• To design optimal excavated slopes in terms of safety, reliability and economics
It is well known that the geological structure and strength of rock discontinuities as well as its
orientation with respect to the slope face are the essential factors to the failure of rock slope.
The pre-existing weak planes or discontinuities with unfavourable orientation are usually the
failure surfaces of an unstable rock slope, whereas in soils, it appears generally in the form of
a circular arc. The pure sliding is predominantly the failure mode in rock slope engineering.
227
There are five primary modes of slope failure in rock masses. These are,
(a) PLANAR FAILURE - Planar failure occurs if the joint plane dipping into the
excavation forming a well defined weak plane.
(b) WEDGE FAILURE - Wedge failure occurs when two or more weak planes intersect
to form a wedge.
(c) CIRCULAR FAILURE - This type of failure happens when in highly disturbed rock
with many intersecting weak planes / joints (weathered rock) , sliding along a curved
surface forming a circular arc, polynomial or logspiral.
(d) TOPPLING FAILURE - This failure is basically the rotation of rock blocks / layers,
takes place into the excavation when the critical joint set dips steeply into the rock
mass.
(e) BUCKLING FAILURE - When the excavation is carried out with its face parallel to
the thin weakly bonded and steeply dipping layers, depending upon the depth of the
excavation, these layers may buckle an fracture near the toe and sliding of the upper
portion.
These failure modes are shown in figure 8.3.
228
Figure 8.3: Different possible failure modes in rocks slopes
229
8.2 PLANE FAILURE
8.2.1 General condition of plane failure

• The plane on which sliding occurs must strike parallel or nearly parallel (within
approximately ± 20%) to the slope face.
• The failure plane must daylight in the slope face, means the dip must be smaller than
the slope face i.e.(ψ f > ψ p )
• The of dip failure plane must be greater than the angle of friction of this plane i.e. (ψ p
> ϕ)
W sin ψp
ψp W cos ψp
Figure 8.4 : A simple planar slope failure analysis
STABILISING FORCES
FOCTOR OF SAFETY =
DESTABILISING FORCES
c' A + W cos θ tan φ '

FOS =
W sin θ
If water is present in the discontinuity, the water pressure reduces the normal stress on the
discontinuity and the shear strength of the discontinuity planes reduces. The effect of water pressure
can be estimated by determining the effective normal stress.
230
c' A + ( W cos θ − U b ) tan φ '

FOS =
W sin θ + U r
when c' and ϕ' are effective cohesion and friction angle. 'A' is area of the failure plane per unit
thickness. U b and U r are the seepage pressures.
8.2.2 Plane failure with tension cracks
Effect of a tension crack on stability of slopes with reference to the location and depth
determined usually by stability charts (Hoek & Bray, 1977) or empirical equations. If the
position of a tension crack is known, its stability analysis can be made based on this existing
information. When the position of the critical tension crack position is unknown, it becomes
necessary to use an optimization approach to locate the position and depth of the tension
crack.
Figure 8.5: 3D view of the plane failure with tension crack
231
(a)
(b)
Figure 8.6: Analysis of plane failure with tension crack
The location of the tension crack (figure 4) is expressed by the dimension b (Hoek and Bray,
1981). When the upper surface is horizontal, the transition from one condition to another
occurs when the tension crack coincides with the slope crest. The depth of critical tension
crack, z c and its location, bc behind the crest can be calculated by the following equations:
232
FOS =
A simplified model consisting of a measured depth of water in the tension crack is shown in
figure 6. It is assumed that the tension crack is vertical and is filled with water to a depth z w .
It is considered that water enters the sliding surface along the base of the tension crack and
seeps along the sliding surface, escaping at atmospheric pressure where the sliding surface
daylights in the slope face. For slope stability analysis, a unit thickness of the slice is
considered at right angle to the slope face. . Under this condition, the water pressure decrease
linearly toward and exit at the toe of the slope. This pressure distribution results in a force V
due to water filling in the sub-vertical discontinuity and an uplift force U due to water
flowing at the surface between the block and its base.
233
Factor of safety is given by the equation when water pressure is there,
FOS =
234

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Module 8 : Rock slope stability

ROCK SLOPE STABILITY

8.2 PLANE FAILURE

8.2.1 General condition of plane failure

8.2.2 Plane failure with tension cracks

8.3 WEDGE FAILURE

8.4 CIRCULAR FAILURE

8.4.1 Limit equilibrium stability analysis

8.4.2 Shear strength reduction technique

8.5 TOPPLING FAILURE

8.5.1 Kinematics of block toppling failure

8.6 BUCKING MODE OF SLOPE FAILURE

8.6.1 Analysis of buckling failure

8.7 ROCK SLOPE STABILIZATION

1. Increase of seepage pressure due to built-up of hydrostatic pressure in the

Figure 8.1 : Typical rock slopes as seen in the site

Figure 8.2: Common type of slope failure in rocks

• To determine the rock slope stability conditions;

These failure modes are shown in figure 8.3.

Figure 8.3: Different possible failure modes in rocks slopes

8.2 PLANE FAILURE

8.2.1 General condition of plane failure

Figure 8.4 : A simple planar slope failure analysis

c' A + W cos θ tan φ '

c' A + ( W cos θ − U b ) tan φ '

8.2.2 Plane failure with tension cracks

Figure 8.5: 3D view of the plane failure with tension crack

Figure 8.6: Analysis of plane failure with tension crack

Factor of safety is given by the equation when water pressure is there,

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