Evolution of Strain Localization in Variable-Width Three-Dimensional Unsaturated Laboratory-Scale Cut Slopes
Publication: Journal of Engineering Mechanics
Volume 143, Issue 9
Abstract
To experimentally validate a recently developed theory for predicting the stability of cut slopes under unsaturated conditions, the authors measured increasing strain localization in unsaturated slope cuts prior to abrupt failure. Cut slope width and moisture content were controlled and varied in a laboratory, and a sliding door that extended the height of the free face of the slope was lowered until the cut slope failed. A particle image velocimetry tool was used to quantify soil displacement in the (horizontal) and (vertical) planes, and strain was calculated from the displacement. Areas of maximum strain localization prior to failure were shown to coincide with the location of the eventual failure plane. Experimental failure heights agreed with the recently developed stability theory for unsaturated cut slopes (within 14.3% relative error) for a range of saturation and cut slope widths. A theoretical threshold for sidewall influence on cut slope failures was also proposed to quantify the relationship between normalized sidewall width and critical height. The proposed relationship was consistent with the cut slope experiment results, and is intended for consideration in future geotechnical experiment design. The experimental data of evolution of strain localization presented herein provide a physical basis from which future numerical models of strain localization can be validated.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This research was funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF-CMMI-1561764) to Ning Lu. Digital camera use was assisted by Yuanli Wu, and help interpreting PIV results was given by Dr. Brian Ebel from the U.S. Geological Survey. Any use of trade, firm, or company names does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
References
Akhtar, K., and Stark, T. D. (2014). “Importance of side resistance in a 3D stability analysis.” Geotechnical Frontiers 2017, 285–293.
Arellano, D., and Stark, T. D. (2000). “Importance of three-dimensional slope stability analyses in practice.” Slope Stability, ASCE, Reston, VA, 18–32.
Aryal, A., Brooks, B. A., Reid, M. E., Bawden, G. W., and Pawlak, G. R. (2012). “Displacement fields from point cloud data: Application of particle imaging velocimetry to landslide geodesy.” J. Geophys. Res., 117, F01029.
Bonala, M. V. S., and Reddi, L. N. (1999). “Fractal representation of soil cohesion.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 901–904.
Borja, R. I., Song, X., Rechenmacher, A. L., Abedi, S., and Wu, W. (2013). “Shear band in sand with spatially varying density.” J. Mech. Phys. Solids, 61(1), 219–234.
Buffington, J. M., Dietrich, W. E., and Kirchner, J. W. (1992). “Friction angle measurements on a naturally formed gravel streambed: Implications for critical boundary shear stress.” Water Resour. Res., 28(2), 411–425.
Culmann, K. (1866). Die Graphische Statik, Von Meyer & Zeller, Zurich, Switzerland, 547–562.
Desrues, J., and Viggiani, G. (2004). “Strain localization in sand: An overview of the experimental results obtained in Grenoble using stereophotogrammetry.” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Meth. Geomech., 28, 279–321.
DuPont, S. C., Gondret, P., Perrin, B., and Rabaud, M. (2003). “Wall effects on granular heap stability.” Europhys. Lett., 61(4), 492–498.
Fox, G. A., Chu-Agor, M. L., and Wilson, G. V. (2007). “Erosion of noncohesive sediment by ground water seepage: Lysimeter experiments and stability modeling.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 71(6), 1822–1830.
Garga, K. V. (1988). “Effect of sample size on shear strength of basaltic residual soils.” Can. Geotech. J., 25(3), 478–487.
Gauthier-Quémard, C. (2011). “How to prove period-doubling bifurcations existence for systems of any dimension–applications in electronics and thermal field.” Advances in computer science and engineering, M. Schmidt, ed., InTech, Rijeka, Croatia.
GeoPIV 8 [Computer software]. University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia.
Godt, J. W., Baum, R. L., and Lu, N. (2009). “Landsliding in partially saturated materials.” Geophys. Res. Lett., 36(2), L02403.
Hall, S. A., Wood, D. M., Ibraim, E., and Viggiani, G. (2010). “Localised deformation patterning in 2D granular materials revealed by digital image correlation.” Granular Matter, 12(1), 1–14.
Harris, C., Smith, J. S., Davies, M. C. R., and Rea, B. (2008). “An investigation of periglacial slope stability in relation to soil properties based on physical modeling in the geotechnical centrifuge.” Geomorphology, 93(3–4), 437–459.
Iverson, R. M., and George, D. L. (2016). “Modelling landslide liquefaction, mobility bifurcation and the dynamics of the 2014 oso disaster.” Geotechnique, 66(3), 175–187.
Iverson, R. M., Logan, M., and Denlinger, R. P. (2004). “Granular avalanches across irregular three-dimensional terrain. 2: Experimental tests.” J. Geophys. Res., 109(1), F01015.
Iverson, R. M., Reid, M. E., and LaHusen, R. G. (1997). “Debris-flow mobilization from landslides.” Annu. Rev. Earth Panet. Sci., 25(1), 85–138.
Jaky, J. E. (1948). “Pressure in soils.” Proc., 2nd Int. Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Vol. 1, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 103–107.
Keefer, D. K., and Larsen, M. C. (2007). “Assessing landslide hazards.” Science, 316(5828), 1136–1138.
Lu, N., and Godt, J. W. (2013). Hillslope hydrology and stability, Cambridge University Press, New York.
Lu, N., Godt, J. W., and Wu, D. T. (2010). “A closed-form equation for effective stress in unsaturated soil.” Water Resour. Res., 46, W05515.
Lu, N., and Likos, W. J. (2004). Unsaturated soil mechanics, Wiley, New York.
Lu, N., and Likos, W. J. (2006). “Suction stress characteristic curve for unsaturated soil.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 131–142.
Mooney, M., Finno, R., and Viggiani, M. (1998). “A unique critical state for sand?” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 1100–1108.
Morse, M., Lu, N., Godt, J., Revil, A., and Coe, J. (2012). “Comparison of soil thickness in a zero-order basin in the Oregon Coast range using a soil probe and electrical resistivity tomography.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 1470–1482.
Morse, M., Lu, N., Wayllace, A., Godt, J., and Take, W. (2014). “Experimental test of theory for the stability of partially saturated vertical cut slopes.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 04014050.
Rechenmacher, A. L. (2006). “Grain-scale processes governing shear band initiation and evolution in sands.” J. Mech. Phys. Solids, 54(1), 22–45.
Skempton, A. W., and Hutchinson, J. (1969). “Stability of natural slopes and embankment foundations.” Proc., 7th Int. Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Mexico, 291–340.
Springman, S. M., Jommi, C., and Teysseire, P. (2003). “Instabilities on moraine slopes induced by loss of suction: A case history.” Geotechnique, 53(1), 3–10.
Stark, T. D., and Eid, H. T. (1998). “Performance of three-dimensional slope stability methods in practice.” J. Geotech. Eng. Div., 1049–1060.
Taylor, D. W. (1948). Fundamentals of soil mechanics, Wiley, New York.
van Genuchten, M. T. (1980). “A closed-form equation for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 44(5), 892–898.
Wayllace, A., and Lu, N. (2012). “A transient water release and imbibitions method for rapidly measuring wetting and drying soil water retention and hydraulic conductivity functions.” Geotech. Test. J., 35(1), 103–117.
White, D. J., Take, W. A., and Bolton, M. D. (2001). “Measuring soil deformation in geotechnical models using digital images and PIV analysis.” Proc., 10th Int. Conf. on Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics, Tucson AZ, 997–1002.
White, D. J., Take, W. A., and Bolton, M. D. (2003). “Soil deformation measurement using particle image velocimetry (PIV) and photogrammetry.” Geotechnique, 53(7), 619–631.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Engineering Mechanics
Volume 143 • Issue 9 • September 2017
Copyright
©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 31, 2016
Accepted: Feb 14, 2017
Published online: Jun 8, 2017
Published in print: Sep 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Nov 8, 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.