Drained Shear Strength Parameters for Analysis of Landslides
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 131, Issue 5
Abstract
This paper presents recommendations for selecting the type and magnitude of drained shear strength parameters for analysis of landslides. In particular, the importance, existence, and use of the cohesion shear strength parameter is reviewed. For slope stability analyses, it is recommended that the shear strength be modeled using a stress dependent failure envelope or a friction angle that corresponds to the average effective normal stress acting on the slip surface passing through that particular material instead of using a combination of cohesion and friction angle to represent soil shear strength. Other recommendations for stability analyses include using an effective stress cohesion of zero for residual and fully softened strength situations. To facilitate selection of shear strength parameters for landslide analyses, empirical relationships for the drained residual and fully softened strengths are updated from the previous empirical relationships presented by Stark and Eid. Finally, the paper presents torsional ring shear test results that indicate that pre-existing shear surfaces exhibit self-healing that results in increased shear resistance. The magnitude of healing appears to increase with increasing soil plasticity, and this increase could have implications for the size, timing, and cost of landslide remediation.
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Acknowledgments
This study was performed as a part of National Science Foundation Grant CMS-9802615. This source of financial support is gratefully acknowledged. Tim Keuscher of Geomatrix Consultants provided the data for the Whittier, Calif. site.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 131 • Issue 5 • May 2005
Pages: 575 - 588
Copyright
© 2005 ASCE.
History
Received: Jun 19, 2003
Accepted: Aug 6, 2004
Published online: May 1, 2005
Published in print: May 2005
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