SLOPE FAILURE INVESTIGATION AT KM13.

2
LATAR EXPRESSWAY

By

ABDUL RAHMAN BIN HILMI

B.ENG CIVIL ENGINEERING

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING & THE BUILT
ENVIRONMENT
SEGi UNIVERSITY
2015

Chapter 1

Introduction

1.1

Project Background

Rapid increase of economy and social development in Malaysia has sparked demand
for road infrastructure that is able to connect different cities in shortest and fastest way
possible. The outlying cities within Kuala Lumpur - Selangor vicinity are now aggressively
taking part in contributing for the local industries as well as international trade thus making
them appear on the radar as being the busy cities in the last few years. Therefore, an adequate
and efficient transportation channel is now needed to reach out to these cities to
accommodate their rapid progress.
The KL-Kuala Selangor Expressway, abbreviated as LATAR Expressway is a newly
built highway connecting Ijok, a township in Kuala Selangor and Templer which is located
near Rawang. LATAR highway was officially opened for operation on June 2011and it
marked the fourth highway built by the government in Klang Valley east-west link after
Federal Highway, NKVE and Shah Alam Expressway.The highway stretches to 33 km end to
end which takes about 18 minutes to complete the whole course.
LATAR Expressway crosses different types of terrain and is mainly divided into 3
categories: forest and hilly side, flat surface land and oil palm plantations which cover
different type of soil conditions. The forest and hilly side consists of granite rock, clay and
sandy clay; the flat surface consists mainly of organic material of soils and oil palm
plantation area consists of mainly organic and peat soil.
Even after careful planning and construction, mistakes are usually inevitable. Since its
opening, several slope failures have been recognized along the stretch of LATAR Expressway
which may cause disturbance to public perception on safety. Although the expressway is
currently is not running at its full capacity but in future, these failures, if not rectified quickly
will hinder the smoothness of traffic, so rehabilitation process is currently being carried out.
The area of failure to be studied is a cut slope located at KM 13.2 west bound. This paper is
written to investigate the reason for its failure and to propose general solutions which will be
detailed in this report.

1.2

Problem Statement

There are different factors contributing to failure of a slope and the failure is usually a
combination of these factors, it is rare to find a slope fails due to a single definite cause.
Infiltration of water is the top factor according to one finding [Neoh, Cheng Aik. (2001).
Practical Design Aspects for Slopes in Mountainous Terrains.]. Therefore, a drainage
system is built to channel the excess water away from the slope as far as possible.
During preliminary investigation, it was found that the reason for failure was due to
poor maintenance of the existing drain where it was heavily silted. The drain channel was full
of debris and vegetation was found in excess.
The silt and debris layers at the bottom of the drain have made it seems shallow and
with the presence of silt and water, this condition promotes growth of vegetations. Massive
vegetation is an obstruction to a water channel, they trap water and are able to slow water
flow significantly, this is undesirable in case of heavy rain. Consequently, excess water
overflowed the drain and infiltrated the slope as the drain could not channel water at the
desired rate which it was designed for.
Excess water penetrates the top soil of the slope making the slope in active stage thus
decreasing the overall strength of the slope. Furthermore, the excess water penetration along
with the existing ground water directly increased the pore water pressure. The slope becomes
instable as the different planes are sliding between each other. The increase moisture content
reduces the shear strength of slope and therefore decreases the factor of safety (FOS).
Over time, the weight of the overlying soil becomes an excess burden to the
underlying plane which pushes the top plane to slide down and eventually causing the slope
to fail.

1.3

Study Objectives
1.
2.
3.
4.

To identify the soil properties at failure site

To determine the shear strength of post failure soil
To determine the shear strength of pre failure soil
To attempt to deduce the cause for the failure by comparing the shear strength of pre
and post failure soils.
5. To evaluate the accuracy and efficiency of laboratory experiment by comparing the
results obtained in the laboratory to the one obtained in field test.

1.4

Scope of Study

The study will be conducted at KM 13.2 west bound of LATAR Expressway where
the slope failure is located. The cut slope has a height of approximately 25 meters and a
width of 3 meters. It separates the road pavement at the bottom and palm oil plantation at
the top.
The study will cover the basic properties of the soil namely the moisture content,
plastic and liquid limit and plasticity index to classify the soil. This is done via Atterberg
Limit Test. The study will also cover the shear strength of the soil at failure site via Direct
Shear Test to determine the cohesion of soil and its friction angle. Both experiments will be
conducted on the failure site and the non-failure site next to it to obtain pre and post failure
soil properties for comparison purposes. The field test result done by professionals will be
acquired as a mean of verification for result obtained in laboratory.

Chapter 2

Literature Review

2.1

The Concept of Slope Stability

A slope is a terrain where the surface is vertically inclined above earth horizontal
plane. Slopes may be natural or man-made, and a man-made slope is also called a cut slope.
Slope stability is the capability of one slope to withstand gravity stresses from sliding or
collapsing down, this ability comes from the combination of frictions and cohesion of the
composite materials of the slope, which forms the shear strength of the slope to
counterbalance the shear stresses imparted on it due to gravity.
The stability level of a slope is basically an interaction between 2 forces the driving
force which causes the material to move downslope and the resisting force which prevents it
from any movement. Driving force is mainly gravitational and it is affected by different
factors such as climate, slope angle and its material. Resisting force is mainly the shear
strength of a material and it is a function of the materials cohesion and the internal friction. A
slope start to fail when the driving force becomes larger than the resisting force, in other
words, higher resisting force results in stronger slope. The relationship of these 2 forces is
used to define the factor of safety (FOS) of one slope, higher FOS means a safer, more stable
slope.
2.1.1

Friction

Friction can be defined as the surface resistance to movement of one body as it slides
or roll through the surface, the resistance is due to the rubbing of surface of one body to
another. In a slope, friction forms part of the total shear strength of material that provides
resistance to its downslope motion. Without friction, a slope will never retain its physical
shape and it will surely be unstable. To understand role of friction in slope stability, consider
a soil material resting on an inclined plane depicted below.

The material has mass thus it has weight. The weight is the gravitational force, g
acting vertically downward. This force has 2 components the force acting tangential to the
slope, gt and the force acting perpendicular to the slope, gp. Friction comes into play by acting
in opposite direction when gt trying to push the material down the slope thus keeping it at
standstill. However, the friction has a maximum which is a function of coefficient of friction
of the material and the magnitude of gp so the slope remains stable as long as the friction is
higher than gt.
For steeper slope, the angle is higher which cause gt component to increase and gp
component to decrease thus reducing the maximum friction since it depends on the value of
gp. The material will eventually be sliding downslope when slope angle gets big enough that
gt exceeds the limiting friction, the threshold angle where the body is on the verge of sliding
is called the angle of repose, and this is the angle engineer has to take into account when
designing a slope

2.1.2

Cohesion of Soil

In soil mechanics, cohesion is the measure of soils shear strength when the
compressive stress is zero, in other words, it is the existing force in soil structure that binds
the particles together without the presence of any applied stress. It is defined differently as
the cohesiveness that takes place of 2 adjacent bodies in soil physics.
Cohesiveness of soil is not as straight forward as it seems because there are different
factors affecting it such as moisture content, soil mineralogy, density and particles
orientation. Higher moisture content leads to lower cohesion, as proved in an experiment by
Muawia A. Dafalla from King Saud University, Riyadh in December 2012 where he included
a plot of soil cohesion vs. moisture content as shown below.
Denser soil means the grain particles are located closer to each other, this results in
tighter contact area, therefore it is more cohesive. Particles in loose soil have less contact area
thus less cohesive.

2.1.3

Shear Strength of Soil

Literature review content

Define slope and slope stability

Define friction and elaborate concept of friction
against gravity in inclined plane
- Define cohesion of materials
- Define and elaborate concept of shear strength
of slope a combination of friction and
cohesion
- Explain what happens when shear stress vs
shear strength relationship (causes soil to slip
thus slope fails)
- Explain types of slope failure (circular, non
circular, rotational, slip, creep, slide)
- Explain factor of safety (how it used for slope
safety)
- Explain causes of failure (infiltration, seepage
etc) (geometry of slope)
- Explain direct shear test to determine shear
strength
Explain atterberg limit test to find cohesion

2.2

Factors Influencing Slope Stability

2.2.1

Gravity

Slope stability is based on the interplay between two types of forces: driving forces
and resisting forces. Driving forces promote downslope movement of material. Resisting
forces deter the movement. When driving forces overcome resisting forces, the slope is
unstable and results in mass wasting. The main driving force in most land movements is
gravity. The main resisting force is the material's shear strength.

Driving forces are mainly gravity, it is to be noted that gravity does not act alone as
slope angle, climate, slope material, and water contribute to the effect of gravity. Mass
movement occurs much more frequently on steep slopes than on shallow slopes.
On a slope, the force of gravity can be resolved into two components: a component acting
perpendicular to the slope and component acting tangential to the slope.

The perpendicular component of gravity, gp, helps to hold the object in place on the slope. The
tangential component of gravity, gt, causes a shear stress parallel to the slope that pulls the
object in the down-slope direction parallel to the slope.On a steeper slope, the shear stress or
tangential component of gravity, gt, increases, and the perpendicular component of gravity, gp,
decreases.
The forces resisting movement down the slope are grouped under the term shear strength which
includes frictional resistance and cohesion among the particles that make up the object.When
the sheer stress becomes greater than the combination of forces holding the object on the slope,
the object will move down-slope.
Alternatively, if the object consists of a collection of materials like soil, clay, sand, etc., if the
shear stress becomes greater than the cohesion forces holding the particles together, the particles
will separate and move or flow down-slope.

2.2.2

Role of Water

Water plays a key role in producing slope failure. In the form of rivers and wave
action, water erodes the base of slopes, removing support, which increases driving forces.
Water can also increase the driving force by loading, i.e., adding to the total mass that is

subjected to the force of gravity. The weight (load) on the slope increases when water fills
previously empty pore spaces and fractures. An increase in water contributes to driving forces
that result in slope failure.
Resisting forces act oppositely of driving forces. The resistance to downslope
movement is dependent on the shear strength of the slope material. Shear strength is a
function of cohesion which is the ability of particles to attract and hold each other together
and internal friction, which is friction between grains within a material. Chemical Weathering
(interaction of water with surface rock and soil) slowly weakens slope material (primarily
rock), reducing its shear strength, therefore reducing resisting forces.
Another aspect of water that affects slope stability is fluid pressure. The shear strength
of the slope material is decreased by increasing the pore water pressure (pressure that
develops in pore spaces due to the increased amount of water). As soil and rock get buried
deeper in the earth, the grains can rearrange themselves to form a more compact structure, but
the pore water is constrained to occupy the same space. This can increase the fluid pressure
to a point where the water ends up supporting the weight of the overlying rock mass. When
this occurs, friction is reduced, and thus the shear strength holding the material on the slope is
also reduced, resulting in slope failure.
Groundwater exists nearly everywhere beneath the surface of the earth. It is water
that fills the pore spaces between grains in rock or soil or fills fractures in the rock. The water
table is the surface that separates the saturated zone below, wherein all pore space is filled
with water from the unsaturated zone above. Changes in the level of the water table occur
due changes in rainfall. The water table tends to rise during wet seasons when more water
infiltrates into the system, and falls during dry seasons when less water infiltrates.

Such changes in the level of the water table can have effects on:
a) Weight of the soil
b) Angle of repose which is the stable angle for the slope
c) Cohesiveness of the soil

d) Liquefaction of the soil - loose sediment becomes oversaturated with water and
individual grains loose grain to grain contact with one another as water gets
between them.
Any changes to the above will affect the stability of a slope.

2.2.3

Weak Materials and Structures

Bedding Planes - These are basically planar layers of rocks upon which original
deposition occurred. Since they are planar and they may have a dip down-slope, they can
form surfaces upon which sliding occurs, particularly if water can enter along the bedding
plane to reduce cohesion. In the diagram below, note how the slope above the road on the left
is inherently less stable than the slope above the road on the right.

Weak Layers - Some rocks are stronger than others. In particular, clay minerals
generally tend to have low shear strength. If a weak rock or soil occurs between stronger
rocks or soils, the weak layer will be the most likely place for failure to occur, especially if
the layer dips in a down-slope direction as in the illustration above. Similarly, loose
unconsolidated sand has no cohesive strength. A layer of such sand then becomes a weak
layer in the slope.

Joints & Fractures - Joints are regularly spaced fractures or cracks in rocks that
show no offset across the fracture (fractures that show an offset are called faults). Joints form
as a result of expansion due to cooling, or relief of pressure as overlying rocks are removed

by erosion. Joints form free space in rock by which water, animals, or plants can enter to
reduce the cohesion of the rock.
If the joints are parallel to the slope they may become a sliding surface. Combined
with joints running perpendicular to the slope (as seen in the sandstone body in the
illustration above), the joint pattern results in fractures along which blocks can become
loosened to slide down-slope.

2.3

Laboratory Test

2.3.1

Atterberg Limits

The objective of the Atterberg limits test is to obtain basic index information about the
soil used to estimate strength and settlement characteristics. It is the primary form of
classification for cohesive soils.
Fine-grained soil is tested to determine the liquid and plastic limits, which are
moisture contents that define boundaries between material consistency states. These
standardized tests produce comparable numbers used for soil identification, classification and
correlations to strength.
The liquid (LL) and plastic (PL) limits define the water content boundaries between
non-plastic, plastic and viscous fluid states. The plasticity index (PI) defines the complete
range of plastic state. Figure 1 illustrates it nicely.
Figure 1: Atterberg limits illustration.

Liquid Limit (LL)

The liquid limit defines the boundary between plastic and viscous fluid states. It is
determined using a standard "Liquid Limit Device," which drops a shallow cupful of soil 1
cm consistently. When a groove cut through the sample closes 1/2", the number of drops is
recorded and a moisture content sample processed.
Repeating the procedure for a total of four drop-count ranges provides enough data to
plot on a semi-log scale. From the plot, the moisture content at 25 drops defines the Liquid
Limit.
Plastic Limit (PL)

The plastic limit defines the boundary between non-plastic and plastic states. It is
determined simply by rolling a thread of soil and adjusting the moisture content until it
breaks at 1/8 inch diameter.

Chapter 3

Methodology

5.1

Sampling Technique

The soil sample will be taken from the site and be brought to the laboratory for testing.

5.2

Atterberg Limit Test

The purpose of this laboratory test is to determine the plastic and liquid limits of the
soil of the slope. The equipment for this test is listed below:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
5.2.1

Liquid limit device,

Porcelain (evaporating) dish,
Flat grooving tool with gage,
Eight moisture cans,
Balance,
Glass plate,
Spatula,
Wash bottle filled with distilledwater,
Drying oven set at 105C.

Test Procedure

For Liquid Limit:

1) Take roughly 3/4 of the soil and place it into the porcelain dish. Assume that the soil
was previously passed through a No. 40 sieve,air-dried, and then pulverized.
Thoroughly mix the soil with a smallamount of distilled water until it appears as a
smooth uniform paste.Cover the dish with cellophane to prevent moisture from
escaping.

2) Weigh four of the empty moisture cans with their lids, and record the respective
weights and can numbers on the data sheet.
3) Adjust the liquid limit apparatus by checking the height of drop of thecup. The point
on the cup that comes in contact with the base shouldrise to a height of 10 mm. The
block on the end of the grooving tool is10 mm high and should be used as a gauge.
Practice using the cupand determine the correct rate to rotate the crank so that the
cupdrops approximately two times per second.
4) Place a portion of the previously mixed soil into the cup of the liquidlimit apparatus at
the point where the cup rests on the base. Squeezethe soil down to eliminate air
pockets and spread it into the cup to adepth of about 10 mm at its deepest point. The
soil pat should forman approximately horizontal surface as in the photo below.

5) Use the grooving tool carefully cut a clean straight groove down thecenter of the cup.
The tool should remain perpendicular to the surfaceof the cup as groove is being
made. Use extreme care to preventsliding the soil relative to the surface of the cup as
shown in photo below.

6) Make sure that the base of the apparatus below the cup and theunderside of the cup is
clean of soil. Turn the crank of the apparatusat a rate of approximately two drops per
second and count the numberof drops, N, it takes to make the two halves of the soil
pat come intocontact at the bottom of the groove along a distance of 13 mm as shown
below.

If the number of drops exceeds 50, then go directly tostep eight and do not record the
number of drops, otherwise, recordthe number of drops on the data sheet.
7) Take a sample, using the spatula, from edge to edge of the soil pat.The sample should
include the soil on both sides of where the groovecame into contact. Place the soil into
a moisture can cover it.Immediately weigh the moisture can containing the soil,
record itsmass, remove the lid, and place the can into the oven. Leave themoisture can

in the oven for at least 16 hours. Place the soilremaining in the cup into the porcelain
dish. Clean and dry the cup onthe apparatus and the grooving tool.
8) Remix the entire soil specimen in the porcelain dish. Add a smallamount of distilled
water to increase the water content so that thenumber of drops required to close the
groove decrease.
9) Repeat steps six, seven, and eight for at least two additional trials producing
successively lower numbers of drops to close the groove. One of the trials shall be for
a closure requiring 25 to 35 drops, one for closure between 20 and 30 drops, and one
trial for a closure requiring 15 to 25 drops. Determine the water content from each
trial by using the same method used in the first laboratory.

For Plastic Limit:

1) Weigh the remaining empty moisture cans with their lids, and recordthe respective
weights and can numbers on the data sheet.
2) Take the remaining 1/4 of the original soil sample and add distilledwater until the soil
is at a consistency where it can be rolled withoutsticking to the hands.
3) Form the soil into an ellipsoidal mass as shown below.

Roll the mass between the palm or the fingers and the glass plate as shown below.

Use sufficient pressure to roll the mass into a thread of uniform diameter by using
about 90 strokes per minute. (A stroke is one complete motion of the hand forward
and back to the starting position.) The thread shall be deformed so that its diameter
reaches 3.2 mm, taking no more than two minutes.
4) When the diameter of the thread reaches the correct diameter, breakthe thread into
several pieces. Knead and reform the pieces intoellipsoidal masses and re-roll them.
Continue this alternate rolling,gathering together, kneading and re-rolling until the
thread crumblesunder the pressure required for rolling and can no longer be rolled
intoa 3.2 mm diameter thread as shown below.

5) Gather the portions of the crumbled thread together and place the soilinto a moisture
can, then cover it. If the can does not contain at least6 grams of soil, add soil to the
can from the next trial (See Step 6).Immediately weigh the moisture can containing
the soil, record itsmass, remove the lid, and place the can into the oven. Leave
themoisture can in the oven for at least 16 hours.
6) Repeat steps three, four, and five at least two more times. Determine the water content
from each trial by using the same method used in the first laboratory.
5.2.2

Data Analysis

For Liquid Limit:

1) Calculate the water content of each of the liquid limit moisture cansafter they have
been in the oven for at least 16 hours.
2) Plot the number of drops, N, (on the log scale) versus the watercontent (w). Draw the
best-fit straight line through the plotted pointsand determine the liquid limit (LL) as
the water content at 25 drops.
For Plastic Limit:
1) Calculate the water content of each of the plastic limit moisture cansafter they have
been in the oven for at least 16 hours.
2) Compute the average of the water contents to determine the plastic limit, PL. Check to
see if the difference between the water contents isgreater than the acceptable range of
two results (2.6 %).
3) Calculate the plasticity index, PI=LL-PL.Report the liquid limit, plastic limit, and
plasticity index to the nearestwhole number, omitting the percentage designation.

5.2.3

Data Sheet

5.3

Triaxial Test Procedure

5.3.1

Equipment

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
5.3.2

Strain controlled triaxial load frame

Triaxial cell assembly
Cell pressure supply panel
Scale
Balance sensitive to 0.1 g
Moisture cans
Oven
Procedure

a) Measure diameter, length, and initial mass of the specimen.

b) Measure the thickness of the rubber membrane.

c) Set a soil specimen in a triaxial chamber.

d) Increase the cell pressure to a desired value (70 kPa for the first case and 140 kPain
the second case).
e) Shear the specimen at the rate of 1%/min or 0.7 mm/min (for 70 mm sample
height).In automated device, the software calculates it automatically based on the soil
type.
f) Record L, and d in every 10 seconds (computer does it automatically).
g) Continue the test until the deviator stress shows ultimate value or 20% axial strain.
h) After completion of the test, release the cell pressure to 0, vent the pressure andbring
the cell down by bring the lower platen down, drain the cell, and clean theporous
stone and the assembly.
i) Sketch the mode of failure.
j) Measure the weight of the soil specimen again, and put the specimen into the oven.
k) Measure the weight again after 24 hours.
l) Repeat the test for the second specimen too (140 kPa of cell pressure and
thirdspecimen 210 kPa of cell pressure).
5.3.3

Data Analysis

a) Calculate axial strain. =L / L, L = Vertical deformation of the specimen.

b) Calculate vertical load on the specimen. It will be obtained directly from the force
transducers.
c) Calculate corrected area of the specimen Ac = A0 / (1 ), A0 = Initial cross-sectional
area i.e. x D2 /4
d) Calculate the stress on the specimen. = Load / Ac
e) Plot d versus axial strain separately for three tests.
f) Plot d vs a for three tests in the same plot.
g) Plot Mohr circle based on 1 and 3 at failure. They should give the same d
value.Add one Mohr circle for unconfined compression test too.
h) Make a straight line, which is tangent to all Mohrs circles. This gives cu with
ahorizontal line, i.e. u = 0. Therefore this test is called = 0 test. Cu = d / 2

i) Calculate the moisture content of the specimen after the test.

j) Calculate the initial void ratio of the specimen.

5.3.4

Data Sheet

Test Details

Measurement & Calculations