Slope Stability and Protection

Slopes fail when the shear strength of the soil is not enough to resist the forces acting on it. This chapter covers the types of failures, the methods used to analyze stability, and the effects of soil parameters and groundwater.

It also covers lateral squeeze of foundation soil, slope stabilization, slope protection, and dynamic slope stability and deformations. The chapter serves designers checking a cut or fill, contractors working on a slope, and owners who need to understand the risk of an existing slope.

In this chapter

• Introductionpage 565
• Types of Failurespage 565
  • Modes of Slope Failure
  • Causes of Slope Failure
  • Effect of Soil or Rock Type
• Methods of Analysispage 570
  • Limit Equilibrium Methods
  • Limit Analysis
  • Finite Element Method
  • Slope Stability Charts
  • Translational (Sliding Block) Failure
  • Required Safety Factors
• Effects of Soil Parameters and Groundwater on Stabilitypage 591
  • Effect of Groundwater and Excess Pore Pressure
  • Stability Problems in Special Materials
• Lateral Squeeze of Foundation Soilpage 594
  • Tilting
  • Estimation of Amount of Horizontal Abutment Movement
  • Design Solutions to Prevent Abutment Tilting
• Slope Stabilizationpage 596
• Slope Protectionpage 606
  • Slope Erosion
  • Types of Protection Available
• Dynamic Slope Stability And Deformationspage 607
  • Slope Stability under Seismic Loading
  • Seismically Induced Displacement
  • Slopes Vulnerable to Earthquakes
  • Analysis of Seismic Loading on Slopes