SLOPE

STABILIT
Y
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SLOPE STABILITY

An exposed ground surface that stands at an

angle with the horizontal is called an
unrestrained Slope.
The slope can be natural or man-made.
It can fail in various modes.

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SLOPE STABILITY

Cruden and Varnes(1996) classified the slope failures into

the following five major categories. They are:
1. Fall. This is the detachment of soil and/or rock
fragments that fall down a slope.

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SLOPE STABILITY

Cruden and Varnes(1996) classified the slope failures into

the following five major categories. They are:
2. Topple. This is a forward rotation of soil and/or rock
mass about an axis below the center of gravity of mass
being displaced

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SLOPE STABILITY

Cruden and Varnes(1996) classified the slope failures into

the following five major categories. They are:
3. Slide. This is the downward movement of a soil mass
occurring on a surface of rupture

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SLOPE STABILITY

Cruden and Varnes(1996) classified the slope failures into

the following five major categories. They are:
4. Spread. This is a form of slide by translation. It occurs
by sudden movement of water-bearing seams of sands
or silts overlain by clays or loaded by fills

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SLOPE STABILITY

Cruden and Varnes(1996) classified the slope failures into

the following five major categories. They are:
5. Flow. This is a downward movement of soil mass
similar to a viscous fluid

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SLOPE STABILITY

The task of the engineer charged with analyzing slope

stability is to determine the factor of safety. Generally, the
factor of safety is defined as:
Fs =
d

Where:
Fs = factor of safety with respect to strength
=average shear strength of soil
d = average shear stress developed along the
potential failure surface
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SLOPE STABILITY

The shear strength of a soil consists of two components:

cohesion and friction, and may be written as
= c + tan
d = cd + tan d
Where:
= normal stress on the potential failure surface
= angle of friction
c = cohesion

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SLOPE STABILITY

Therefore:
Fs =
d
Fs =

c + tan
cd + tan d

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SLOPE STABILITY

The factor of safety with respect to cohesion F c, and the

factor of safety with respect to friction F. They are defined
as:

Therefore:

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SLOPE STABILITY

When Fs is equal to 1, the slope is in a state of

impending failure. Generally, a value of 1.5 for
the factor of safety is acceptable for the design
of a stable s lope.

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SLOPE STABILITY

Stability of Infinite Slope

Assumption 1: No pore water pressure is found on the soil

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SLOPE STABILITY

Stability of Infinite Slope

Assumption 1: No pore water pressure is found on the soil
The weight of soil element is equal to:

The weight W can be resolved into two components:

1.Force perpendicular to the plane AB = W(cos) = LHcos
2. Force parallel to the plane AB = Wsin = LHsin
(Note that this is the force that tends to cause the slip
along the plane)

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SLOPE STABILITY

Stability of Infinite Slope

Assumption 1: No pore water pressure is found on the soil

Where:
Fs =factor of safety against sliding on the rock surface
= unit weight of soil above rock
H = height of soil above the interface of rock and soil
= angle that the slope makes with the horizontal
= angle of friction of soil
c = cohesion of soil
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SLOPE STABILITY

Stability of Infinite Slope

Assumption 2: When there is seepage on the soil due to
ground water level which coincides with the ground
surface.

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SLOPE STABILITY

Stability of Infinite Slope

Assumption 2: When there is seepage on the soil due to
ground water level which coincides with the ground
surface.

Where:
Fs =factor of safety against sliding on the rock surface
sat = saturated unit weight of soil
= sat w (effective unit weight of soil)
H = height of soil above the interface of rock and soil
= angle that the slope makes with the horizontal
= angle of friction of soil
c = cohesion of soil

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SLOPE STABILITY

If a soil possesses cohesion and friction, the depth of

the plane along which critical equilibrium occurs may be
determined by:

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SLOPE STABILITY

Analysis of Finite Slopes with Plane Failure Surfaces

(Culmans Method)
Culmans analysis is based on the assumption that
the failure of a slope occurs along a plane when the
average shearing stress tending to cause the slip is
more than the shear strength of the soil.

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SLOPE STABILITY

Analysis of Finite Slopes with Plane Failure Surfaces

(Culmans Method)

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SLOPE STABILITY

Analysis of Finite Slopes with Plane Failure Surfaces

(Culmans Method)
Weight of the wedge ABC is

W
The Normal and Tangential components of W with
respect to plane AC are:

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SLOPE STABILITY

Analysis of Finite Slopes with Plane Failure Surfaces

(Culmans Method)
By derivation, the cohesion that develops along the
potential failure surf ace is:

Thus, stability number is:

1
Stability factor =
m
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SLOPE STABILITY

Analysis of Finite Slopes with Plane Failure Surfaces

(Culmans Method)
The maximum height of the slope for which critical
equilibrium occurs can be obtained by:

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SLOPE STABILITY

But when
F.S. = 1
cd = cu

and

Then, critical depth is:

cu
Hcr =
sm
Where:
cu = undrained shear strength
m = stability number
s = unit weight of soil

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SLOPE STABILITY

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