Evaluation of Surficial Stability for Homogeneous Slopes Considering Rainfall Characteristics
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 128, Issue 9
Abstract
Shallow slope failures in residual soil during periods of prolonged infiltration are commonly occurring in the world. This study examines an infinite slope analysis to estimate the influence of infiltration on surficial stability of slopes by the limit equilibrium method. An approximate method that accommodates the boundary condition of a uniform rainfall has been proposed to evaluate the likelihood of shallow slope failure that is induced by a particular rainfall event. The method based on the Mein and Larson model, which provides an explicit solution for preponding infiltration, has been applied to various types of soil having measured unsaturated hydraulic properties. To compare results with those obtained from the approximate method, a series of numerical analyses were carried out. According to the results, with the use of properly estimated input parameters, the approximate method was found to give results that compare reasonably well with those of more rigorous finite element analyses.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 128 • Issue 9 • September 2002
Pages: 756 - 763
Copyright
Copyright © 2002 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 21, 2000
Accepted: Jan 10, 2002
Published online: Aug 15, 2002
Published in print: Sep 2002
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