The slope stability of some offshore environments can be evaluated by using only conventional acoustic profiling and short‐core sampling, followed by laboratory consolidation and strength testing. The test results are synthesized by using normalized‐parameter techniques. The normalized data are then used to calculate the critical earthquake acceleration factors or the wave heights needed to initiate failure. These process‐related parameters provide a quantitative measure of the relative stability for locations from which short cores were obtained. The method is most applicable to offshore environments of gentle relief and simple subsurface structure and is not considered a substitute for subsequent site‐specific analysis. Four sites off California and Alaska contain acoustically defined sediment failures. Calculated critical earthquake factors in these failed areas are typically lower than in adjacent unfailed areas, a result lending credence to the method.

A method of compacting dolomite into water as a part of Al‐Qadisiya Dam core construction is discussed in light of laboratory and field tests. Main characteristics of dolomitic soils are compared with the requirements for soils suitable to be placed by this method. Also, special uses of this method performed in the Al‐Qadisiya Dam site are introduced. Finally, limitations and shortcomings of this technology are discussed for the dolomitic soils filled into the core of the dam. Emphasis is placed in the conclusion on the needs for more research in this field before adopting the filling‐into‐water technology for dolomitic soils.

A plane‐strain finite element analysis procedure is used to investigate the interaction of soil failure and conduit instability in soil‐steel structures. Beam‐column elements, interface elements, constant strain and linear strain soil elements are used to simulate the combined soil‐steel structure. Hyperbolic models are employed for the interface elements and for the soil elements remote from the conduit; the beam elements can accommodate plastic hinge formation. An elasto‐plastic soil model represents the soil behavior in the severely stressed regions. A series of laboratory tests were conducted on a model conduit and reasonable agreement is noticed between the experimental and analytical results. The experimental and theoretical investigations clearly indicated the significant effect of the soil failure on the load carrying capacity of the soilsteel structure.

Interaction analysis and understanding of the mechanism of stresses and deformations in anchor‐soil systems can require consideration of three‐dimensional geometry, nonlinear soil behavior, and relative motions at the interface. A three‐dimensional finite element procedure that can allow for these factors is proposed. It is applied for analysis of a field load test involving an anchor grouted in a sand. A general yet simple elastic‐plastic hardening model is used for the sand. The constants for this model are found from a series of laboratory tests on cubical specimens of the sand. The interface is simulated by using the thin‐layer element. The finite element predictions provide satisfactory correlation with the field observations, and are able to explain various aspects of the stress‐deformation mechanism in and around the anchor.

A stochastic model, which concerns the functional relationship between the parameters of the soil and the parameters of the machines used, is presented. The problem of similarity between the variables of the soil‐machine system is examined on the basis of experimental results, correlation analysis, the method of least square estimation, and a special computational program. The stochastic model that gives the solution to the problem is an ellipsoid characteristic of the soil‐machine system, based on the statistical theory of “analysis of variance” and it is valid for every case.

Lake Shelbyville Dam is located in central Illinois. It is a 108‐ft (33‐m) high earth dam that was completed in 1970. A slide occurred in the steeper portion of its upstream slope immediately after construction and before filling of the reservoir was begun. The slide was stabilized in 1972 by constructing a rockfill berm at its toe. No plausible explanation of the failure could be established until re‐examination of construction records revealed a layer of more plastic, weaker fill in the closure section at the elevation of the base of the slide. Movements were gradual because the well‐compacted clay soil tended to dilate when sheared, which induced negative excess pore water pressures that temporarily increased the strength in the failure zone. However, as drainage occurred, the effective stresses acting on the failure surface decreased with time and the shear strength was reduced from that corresponding to undrained shear. Accordingly, total stress stability analysis, using undrained shear strength, is not a reliable index of stability in well‐compacted, silty clay fills.