Failure Mechanism of Granular Soil Slopes

This paper presents comparatively the laboratory experiments and numerical simulations to investigate the failure characteristics and micro-mechanical behaviors of granular soil slopes. Laboratory tests are carried out using a tilting box with various granular materials and configurations. Different patterns of slip surface in dry and wet states are revealed. These tilting box tests are then numerically reproduced using the improved Distinct Element Method. The influence of porewater pressure is accounted for through incorporation of the adhesive force. The computational results are consistent, and most importantly, are able to quantify statistically the micro-mechanical characteristics of interparticle network and their evolutions during slope failure process (shear deformation).