Three-Dimensional Stability of a Slope Subjected to Seepage Forces
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 17, Issue 8
Abstract
Three-dimensional (3D) stability of a slope subjected to seepage forces is studied in this work in light of the kinematic approach of limit analysis. The widely used horn model for 3D stability of slopes is presented and discretized for the first time. To compute the seepage forces developed in a slope, 3D numerical calculations are used to solve the seepage-flow problem. The discretization makes it possible to calculate the seepage force acting on each element of the discretized horn mechanism by using the numerical results. The safety factors obtained by the proposed approach agree well with those given by numerical calculations. The influence of soil properties, 3D slope geometry, and anisotropic permeability is discussed in this work. Numerical results show that the 3D effect is important for B/H ratios lower than 10.0, beyond which the two-dimensional (2D) plane-strain analysis can be used for a 3D slope, and that a larger horizontal permeability with respect to the vertical one is a favorable factor for the slope stability.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The first author thanks the China Scholarship Council for providing a Ph.D. Scholarship for his research work. The second author thanks Project 2015zzts061 supported by Innovation Foundation for Postgraduate of the Central South University, and the financial support from the National Basic Research 973 Program of China (Grant 2013CB036004).
References
Baligh, M. M., and Azzouz, A. S. (1975). “End effects on stability of cohesive slopes.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 101(11), 1105–1117.
Bishop, A. W., and Morgenstern, N. (1960). “Stability coefficients for earth slopes.” Géotechnique, 10(4), 129–153.
Cala, M., and Flisiak, J. (2001). “Slope stability analysis with FLAC and limit equilibrium methods.” FLAC and numerical modelling in geomechanics, A. A. Balkema, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 111–114.
Cheng, Y. M., Lansivaara, T., and Wei, W. B. (2007). “Two-dimensional slope stability analysis by limit equilibrium and strength reduction methods.” Comput. Geotech., 34(3), 137–150.
FLAC3D [Computer software]. Itasca Consulting Group, Minneapolis.
Gao, Y. F., Zhang, F., Lei, G. H., and Li, D. Y. (2013). “An extended limit analysis of three-dimensional slope stability.” Géotechnique, 63(6), 518–524.
Gao, Y., Zhu, D., Zhang, F., Lei, G. H., and Qin, H. (2014). “Stability analysis of three-dimensional slopes under water drawdown conditions.” Can. Geotech. J., 51(11), 1355–1364.
Huang, F., and Yang, X. L. (2011). “Upper bound limit analysis of collapse shape for circular tunnel subjected to pore pressure based on the Hoek-Brown failure criterion.” Tunneling Underground Space Technol., 26(5), 614–618.
MATLAB [Computer software]. MathWorks, Natick, MA.
Michalowski, R. L. (1989). “Three-dimensional analysis of locally loaded slopes.” Géotechnique, 39(1), 27–38.
Michalowski, R. L., and Drescher, A. (2009). “Three-dimensional stability of slopes and excavations.” Géotechnique, 59(10), 839–850.
Michalowski, R. L., and Nadukuru, S. S. (2013). “Three-dimensional limit analysis of slopes with pore pressure.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 1604–1610.
Moregenstern, N. (1963). “Stability charts for earth slopes during rapid drawdown.” Géotechnique, 13(2), 121–131.
Nadukuru, S. S., and Michalowski, R. L. (2013). “Three-dimensional displacement analysis of slopes subjected to seismic loads.” Can. Geotech. J., 50(6), 650–661.
Pan, Q., and Dias, D. (2016). “The effect of pore water pressure on tunnel face stability.” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods Geomech., 40(15), 2123–2136.
Saada, Z., Maghous, S., and Garnier, D. (2012). “Stability analysis of rock slopes subjected to seepage forces using the modified Hoek-Brown criterion.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci., 55, 45–54.
Subrin, D., and Wong, H. (2002). “Tunnel face stability in frictional material: A new 3D failure mechanism.” C. R. Mech., 330(7), 513–519.
Viratjandr, C., and Michalowski, R. L. (2006). “Limit analysis of submerged slopes subjected to water drawdown.” Can. Geotech. J., 43(8), 802–814.
Yang, X., and Long, Z. (2016). “Seismic and static 3D stability of two-stage rock slope based on Hoek-Brown failure criterion.” Can. Geotech. J., 53(3), 551–558.
Yang, X., and Pan, Q. (2015). “Three dimensional seismic and static stability of rock slopes.” Geomech. Eng., 8(1), 97–111.
Yang, X., and Zou, J. (2006). “Stability factors for rock slopes subjected to pore water pressure based on the Hoek-Brown failure criterion.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci., 43(7), 1146–1152.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 17 • Issue 8 • August 2017
Copyright
© 2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 29, 2016
Accepted: Jan 3, 2017
Published online: Mar 16, 2017
Published in print: Aug 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Aug 16, 2017
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.