CHAPTER FOUR

SLOPE STABILITY

Table of Contents

4 Introduction ...........................................................................................50
4.1 Definitions of Key Terms .......................................................................50
4.2 Some Types of Slope Failure ..................................................................50
4.3 Some Causes of Slope Failure ................................................................51
4.4 Two-Dimensional Slope Stability Analysis ................................................52
4.5 Stability Analysis of Infinite Slopes .........................................................53
4.5.1 Factor of Safety ................................................................................54
4.5.2 Stability of Infinite Slopes in u =0, cu soil. ..........................................54
4.5.3 Stability of Infinite Slopes in c’,  ' soil – with no seepage. ......................54
4.5.4 Stability of Infinite Slopes in c’,  ' soil – steady state seepage. ...............55
4.6 Rotational Slope Failure ........................................................................57
4.6.1 Stability of Slopes in cu, u =0 soil – circular failure surface. ....................57
4.6.2 Effect of Tension Cracks .....................................................................58
4.6.3 Stability of Slopes in c’,  ' soil – Method of Slices. ..................................58
4.6.3.1 Fellenius or Ordinary or Swedish Method ...........................................60
4.6.3.2 Bishop Simplified Method ................................................................61

Soil Mechanics II: Lecture Notes 49

4 Introduction

The term slope as used in here refers to any natural or man made earth mass,
whose surface forms an angle with the horizontal. Hills and mountains, river banks,
etc. are common examples of natural slopes. Examples of man made slopes include
fills, such as embankments, earth dams, levees; or cuts, such as highway and
railway cuts, canal banks, foundations excavations and trenches. Natural forces (wind,
rain, earthquake, etc.) change the natural topography often creating unstable slopes.
Failure of natural slopes (landslides) and man made slopes have resulted in much
death and destruction.
In assessing the stability of slopes, geotechnical engineers have to pay
particular attention to geology, drainage, groundwater, and the shear strength of the
soils. The most common slope stability analysis methods are based on simplifying
assumptions and the design of a stable slope relies heavily on experience and careful
site investigation. In this chapter, we will examine the stability of earth slopes in two
dimensional space using limit equilibrium methods.
When you complete this chapter, you should be able to:
 Understand the causes and types of slope failure.
 Estimate the stability of slopes using limit equilibrium methods.

Sample Practical Situation: A reservoir is required to store water for domestic use.
Several sites were investigated and the top choice is a site consisting of clay soils (clay
is preferred because of its low permeability – it is practically impervious). The soils
would be excavated, forming sloping sides. You are required to determine the
maximum safe slope of the reservoir.

4.1 Definitions of Key Terms

Slip plane or failure plane or slip surface or failure surface is the surface of
sliding.
Sliding mass is the mass of soil within the slip plane and the ground surface.
Slope angle (or simply slope) is the angle of inclination of a slope to the horizontal.
The slope angle is usually referred to as a ratio, for example, 2:1 (horizontal: vertical)

4.2 Some Types of Slope Failure

Slope failures depend on the soil type, soil stratification, groundwater, seepage,
and the slope geometry. A few types of slope failure are shown in Figure 4.1. Failure
of a slope along a weak zone of soil is called a translational slide (Fig. 4.1 a).

Soil Mechanics II: Lecture Notes 50

Translational slides are common in coarse-grained soils.

Figure 4.1: Some types of slope failure (Budhu, pp. 524)

A common type of failure in homogeneous fine-grained soils is a rotational

slide. Three types of rotational slides often occur. One type, called a base slide,
occurs by an arc enclosing the whole slope. A soft soil layer resting on a stiff layer of
soil is prone to base failure (Fig. 4.1 b). The second type of rotational failure is the toe
slide, whereby the failure surface passes through the toe of the slope (Fig. 4.1 c). The
third type of rotational failure is the slope slide, whereby the failure surface passes
through the slope (Fig. 4.1 d). A flow slide occurs when internal and external
conditions force a soil to behave like a viscous fluid and flow down even shallow slopes,
spreading out in several directions (Fig. 4.1 e).

4.3 Some Causes of Slope Failure

Slope failures are caused in general by natural forces, human mismanagement

and activities. Some of the main factors that provoke failure are summarised in Figure
5.2 below.

Soil Mechanics II: Lecture Notes 51

 Figure 5.2: Some causes of slope failure (Budhu, pp. 526)

As shown in Fig. 4.2, some of the most common causes of slope failures are erosion,
rainfall, earthquake, geological features, external loading, construction activities (ex.
excavation & fill), and reservoir rapid drawdown.

4.4 Two-Dimensional Slope Stability Analysis

Slope stability can be analyzed using one or more of the following: the limit
equilibrium method, limit analysis, finite difference method, and finite element
method. Limit equilibrium is the most widely used method for stability analysis. In the

Soil Mechanics II: Lecture Notes 52

following sections, we will learn some of the commonly used slope stability analysis
methods that are based on the limit equilibrium.

4.5 Stability Analysis of Infinite Slopes

Infinite slopes have dimensions that extend over great distances. In practice,
the infinite slope mechanism is applied to the case when a soft material of very long
length with constant slope may slide on a hard material (e.g. rock) having the same
slope. Let’s consider a clean, homogeneous soil of infinite slope s as shown in
Figure 4.3. To use limit equilibrium method, we must first speculate on a
failure of slip mechanism. We will assume the slip would occur on a plane parallel
to the slope. If we consider a slice of soil between the surface of the soil and the slip
plane, we can draw a free-body diagram of the slice as shown in Figure 4.3.

Figure 4.3: Forces on a slice of soil in an infinite slope.

The forces acting on the slice per unit thickness are the weight W = bz , the
shear forces X j and X j +1 on the sides, the normal forces E j and E j +1 on the
sides, the normal force N on the slip plane and the mobilized shear resistance of the
soil, T , on the slip plane. We will assume that forces that provoke failure are positive.
J s = i wbz develops, where i is the hydraulic
If seepage is present, a seepage force
gradient. For a uniform slope of infinite extent, X j = X j +1 and E j = E j +1 . To
continue with the limit equilibrium method, we must now use the equilibrium
equations to solve the problem. But before that we will define the factor of safety (FS)
of a slope in the following subsection. The general objective of infinite slope stability
analysis is to determine either the critical slope or critical height, or alternatively,
the factor of safety of the slope.

Soil Mechanics II: Lecture Notes 53

4.5.1 Factor of Safety

The factor of safety of a slope is defined as the ratio of the available shear
strength, f , to the minimum shear strength required to maintain stability (which is
equal to the mobilized shear stress on the failure surface),  m , that is:
f
FS = (4.1)
m
The shear strength of the soil is governed by the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion
(Chapter 1).

4.5.2 Stability of Infinite Slopes in u =0, cu soil.

For the u =0, cu soil, the Mohr-Coulomb shear strength is given by:
 f = cu (4.2)
From statics and using Figure 4.3,

N = W cos s and T = W sin s (4.3)

The shear stress per unit length on the slip plane is given by:
T W sin  s cos s bz
m = = = sin  s cos s = z sin  s cos s (4.4)
l b b
The factor of safety is then,
cu 2cu
FS = = (4.5)
z sin  s cos s z sin(2 s )
At limit equilibrium, FS = 1. Therefore, the critical slope is

 c = 12 sin −1 (2cu z ) (4.6)

and the critical depth is:

2cu
zc = (4.7)
 sin(2 s )

4.5.3 Stability of Infinite Slopes in c’,  ' soil – with no seepage.

For a c’,  ' soil, the Mohr-Coulomb shear strength is given by:

 f = c' +  n' tan  ' (4.8)

The factor of safety FS is then:

c' +  n' tan  ' c'  n' tan  '
FS = = + (4.9)
m m m
The normal and shear stresses per unit length at the failure plane in reference to
figure 4.3 are given by:

Soil Mechanics II: Lecture Notes 54

 N T
 'n = and  m = (4.10)
l l

For a slope without seepage, Js=0. From Eqns. (4.4, 4.9 and 4.10) we get:

c' W ' cos s tan  ' c' tan  '

FS = + = + (4.11)
z sin  s cos s W sin  s z sin  s cos s tan  s
At limit equilibrium FS = 1. Therefore, the critical depth zc is given by

c'  sec2  s 
zc =   (4.12)
  tan  s − tan  ' 

For the case where  s  ' , the factor of safety is always greater than 1 and is
computed from Eqn. (4.6). This means that there is no limiting value for the depth z,
and at an infinite depth, the factor of safety approaches to tan  ' / tan  s . For a
coarse-grained soil with c’ = 0, Eqn. (4.6) becomes:
tan  '
FS = (4.13)
tan  s
At limit equilibrium FS = 1. Therefore, the critical slope angle is:
c = ' (4.14)
The implication of Eqn. (4.8) is that the maximum slope angle of a coarse-grained soil
with c’ = 0, can not exceed  ' . In other words, the case c’ = 0 and  s   ' is always
unstable and can not be applied to practical situations.

Example 4.1
An infinitely long slope is resting on a rock formation with the same inclination. The
height of the slope is 3.2 m. Determine a) the factor of safety, b) the shear stress
developed on the sliding surface, and c) the critical height.  s =250,  = 17.5 kN/m3,
c’ = 12 kPa and  ' = 200.

4.5.4 Stability of Infinite Slopes in c’,  ' soil – steady state seepage.

We will now consider groundwater at the ground surface and assume that
seepage is parallel to the slope. The seepage force is:
J s = i wbz
Since seepage is parallel to the slope, i = sin . From statics,
N ' = W ' cos s =  ' bz cos s (4.15)
and

Soil Mechanics II: Lecture Notes 55

 T = W ' sin  s + J s
=  ' bz sin  s +  w bz sin  s = ( '+ w )bz sin  s (4.16)
=  sat bz sin  s

Therefore, the shear stress at the slip plane is:

T  sat bz sin  s cos s
m = = =  sat z sin  s cos s
l b
From the definition of factor of safety (Eqn. 4.3), we get:

c'  ' bz cos s tan  '

FS = +
 sat z sin  s cos s  sat zb cos s tan  s
(4.17)
c'  ' tan  '
= + 
 sat z sin  s cos s  sat tan  s

At limit equilibrium, FS=1. Therefore, the critical height is:

c' csc2  s
zc =
 tan  s −  ' tan  '
At infinite depth the factor of safety in Eqn. (4.17) becomes:
 ' tan  '
FS =  (4.19)
 sat tan  s
Eqn. (4.19) can also be used for calculating the factor of safety for a coarse-grained
soil with c’ = 0. At limit equilibrium FS = 1, and hence, the critical slope for a
coarse-grained soil with c’ = 0 is given by:
'
tan  s = tan  ' (4.18)
 sat
For most soils,  '  sa t  1
2 . Thus, seepage parallel to the slope reduces the limiting
slope of a clean, coarse-grained soil by about one-half.
If the groundwater level is not at the ground surface, weighted average unit
weights have to be used in Eqns. (4.17 and 4.18).

Example 4.2
A long slope of 4.5 m deep is to be constructed of material having the following
properties:  sat =20 kN/m3,  dry =17.5 kN/m3, c’=10 kPa, and  ' =320. Determine
the factor of safety a) when the slope is dry, b) there is a steady state seepage parallel
to the surface with the water level 2 m above the base and c) the water level is at the
ground surface.

Soil Mechanics II: Lecture Notes 56

4.6 Rotational Slope Failure

The infinite slope failure mechanism is reasonable for infinitely long and
homogeneous slopes made of coarse-grained soils, where the failure plane is
assumed to be parallel to the ground surface. But in many practical problems slopes
have been observed to fail through a rotational mechanism of finite extent. As shown
in Fig. (4.1), rotational failure mechanism involves the failure of a soil mass on a
circular or non-circular failure surface. In the following sections, we will continue to
use the limit equilibrium method assuming a circular slip surface. Those methods,
which are based on non-circular slip surface, are beyond the scope of this course.

4.6.1 Stability of Slopes in cu, u =0 soil – circular failure surface.

The simplest circular analysis is based on the assumption that a rigid, cylindrical
block will fail by rotation about its center and that the shear strength along the failure
surface is defined by the undrained strength cu. Figure 4.4 shows a slope of height H
and angle  s . The trial circular failure surface is defined by its center C, radius R and
central angle  .

Figure 4.4: Slope failure in cu, u =0.

The weight of the sliding block acts at a distance d from the center. Taking
moments of the forces about the center of the circular arc, we have:
cu LR cu R 2 0 
FS = =  (4.19)
Wd Wd 1800
Where L is the length of the circular arc, W is the weight of the sliding mass and d is
the horizontal distance between the circle center, C, and the centroid of the sliding

Soil Mechanics II: Lecture Notes 57

mass. If cu varies along the failure surface then:

R 2 (cu11 + cu 2 2 + ... + cun n ) 

0 0 0
FS =  (4.20)
Wd 1800
The centroid of the sliding mass is obtained using a mathematical procedure based on
the geometry or the sub-division of the sliding mass into narrow vertical slices.

Example 4.3
Find the factor of safety of a 1V:1.5H slope that is 6 m high. The center of the trial
mass is located 2.5 m to the right and 9.15 m above the toe of the slope. cu = 25 kPa,
and  =18 kN/m3. Take d = 3.85 m.

4.6.2 Effect of Tension Cracks

Tension cracks may develop from the upper ground surface to a depth z 0 that
can be estimated using Eqn. (3.13). The effect of the tension crack can be taken into
account by assuming that the trial failure surface terminates at the depth z0, thereby
reducing the weight W and central angle  . Any external water pressure in the crack
creates a horizontal force that must be included in equilibrium considerations.

Example 4.4
Rework Example 4.3 by taking into account tension cracks. Geometric data are:
 =66.60, area of sliding mass = 27.46 m2, and d = 3.48 m.

4.6.3 Stability of Slopes in c’,  ' soil – Method of Slices.

The stability of a slope in a c’,  soil is usually analyzed by discretizing the

mass of the failure slope into smaller slices and treating each individual slice as a
unique sliding block (Fig. 4.5). This technique is called the method of slices.

Figure 4.5: Slice discretization and slice forces in a sliding mass.

Soil Mechanics II: Lecture Notes 58

 In the method of slices, the soil mass above a trial failure circle is divided into a
series of vertical slices of width b as shown in Fig. 4.6 (a). For each slice, its base is
assumed to be a straight line defined by its angle of inclination  with the horizontal
whilst its height h is measured along the centerline of the slice.

Figure 4.6: a) Method of slices in c’,  ' soil, b) Forces acting on a slice.

The forces acting on a slice shown in Fig. 4.6 (b) are:

W = total weight of the slice =  ×h×b
N = total normal force at the base = N’ + U, where N’ is the effective total
normal force and U = ul is the force due to the pore water pressure at
the midpoint of the base length l.
T = the mobilized shear force at the base =  m  l , where  m is the minimum
shear stress required to maintain equilibrium and is equal to the shear
strength divided by the factor of safety:  m =  f FS .
X1, X2 = shear forces on sides of the slice and E1, E2 = normal forces on sides
the slice. The sum of the moments of the interslice or side forces about
the center C is zero.
Thus, for moment equilibrium about the center C (note the normal forces pass
through the center):
i=n i =n i =n ( f l ) i i =n

 Ti R = R ( m l ) = R
i =1 i =1 i =1 FS
=  (W sin ) R
i =1
i (4.20)

where n is the total number of slices. Replacing f by the Mohr-Coulomb shear

strength, we obtain:

Soil Mechanics II: Lecture Notes 59

  (c'+ 
i =n i =n
'
n tan  ' )l i  (c' l + N ' tan  ' ) i
FS = i =1
i =n
= i =1
i =n
(4.21)
 (W sin )
i =1
i  (W sin )
i =1
i

The term c’l may be replaced by c'b / cos . For uniform c’, the algebraic summation of
c’l is replaced by c’L, where L is the length of the circular arc. The values of N’ must
be determined from the force equilibrium equations. However, this problem
is statically indeterminate – because we have six unknown variables for
each slice but only three equilibrium equations. Therefore some simplifying
assumptions have to be made. In this chapter two common methods that apply
different simplifying methods will be discussed. These methods are called the
Fellenius method and Bishop simplified method.

4.6.3.1 Fellenius or Ordinary or Swedish Method

The ordinary or Swedish method of slices was introduced by Fellenius (1936).

This method assumes that for each slice, the interslice forces X1=X2 and E1=E2. Based
on this assumption and from statics, the forces normal to each slice are given by:
N = W cos = N ' + ul  N ' = W cos − ul (4.22)
Substituting N’ into Eqn. 4.21, we obtain:
i =n

 (c' l + (W cos − ul) tan  ' ) i

FS = i =1
i =n
(4.23)
 (W sin )
i =1
i

For convenience, the force due to pore water is expressed as a function of W:

u i bi
ru = (4.24)
Wi
Where ru is called the pore water pressure ratio. Consequently, we have:
i =n

 (c' l + W (cos − r u sec ) tan  ' )i

FS = i =1
i =n
(4.25)
 (W sin )
i =1
i

The term ru is dimensionless because the term ub =  w  hw  b 1 represents the

weight of water with a volume of hw  b 1 . Furthermore, ru can be simplified as
follows:
ub  w hw b  w hw
ru = = = (4.26)
W hb h

Soil Mechanics II: Lecture Notes 60

 In the case of the steady state seepage the height of water above the midpoint
of the base is obtained by constructing the flow net. Alternatively, an average value of
ru may be assumed for the slope. By doing so it is assumed that the height of water
above the base of each slice is a constant fraction of the height of each slice. If the
height of the water and the average height of the slice are equal, the maximum value
of ru becomes w  , which for most soils, is approximately 0.5. Note that the
effective normal force N’ acting on the base is equal to N ' = W cos − ul or
N ' = W (cos − ru sec ) . If the term (cos − ru sec ) is negative, N’ is set to zero
because effective stress can not be less than zero (i.e. soil has no tension strength).
The whole procedure explained above must be repeated for a number of trial
circles until the minimum factor of safety corresponding to the critical circle is
determined. The accuracy of the predictions depends on the number of slices, position
of the critical surface, and the magnitude of ru. There are several techniques that are
used to reduce the number of trial slip surfaces. One simple technique is to draw a grid
and selectively use the nodal points as centers of rotation.

Example 4.5
Using Fellenius’ method of slices, determine the factor of safety for the slope of
example 4.3 for ru = 0 and 0.4. Take the number of slices as 8, each having 1.5 m
width (check the width of the last slice). Soil properties are c’ = 10 kPa,  ' =290, and
 =18 kN/m3.

4.6.3.2 Bishop Simplified Method

This method assumes that for each slice X1=X2 but E1  E2. These assumptions
are considered to make this method more accurate than the Swedish method. An
increase of 5% to 20% in the factor of safety over the Swedish method is usually
obtained. Referring to Figure 4.6 b, and writing the force equilibrium in vertical
direction (in order to eliminate E1 and E2), the following equation for N’ can be found:

c' l sin 
W − ul cos −
N' = FS (4.27)
sin  tan  '
cos +
FS
In addition to the force in the vertical direction, Bishop Simplified method also
satisfies the overall moment equilibrium about the center of the circle as expressed in
Eqn. (4.21). Putting l = b / cos and ub = ruW , and substituting Eqn. (4.27) into
Eqn. (4.21), we obtain:

Soil Mechanics II: Lecture Notes 61

 1 i =n
 c' b + W (1 − ru ) tan  ' 
FS = i =n 
i =1  m  (4.28)
i
 (W sin )
i =1
i

where,
sin  tan  '
m = cos + (4.29)
FS
Equation (4.29) is non-linear in FS (that is FS appears on both sides of the equations)
and is solved by iteration. An initial value of FS is guessed (slightly greater than FS
obtained by Fellenius’ method) and substituted to Eqn. (4.29) to compute a new value
for FS. This procedure is repeated until the difference between the assumed and
computed values is negligible. Convergence is normally rapid and only a few iterations
are required. The procedure is repeated for number of trial circles to locate the
critical failure surface with the lowest factor of safety.

Example 4.6
Re-work Example 4.5 for ru = 0.4 using Bishop’s simplified Method.

Soil Mechanics II: Lecture Notes 62