Indexed in Scopus Compendex and Geobase Elsevier, Chemical Abstract Services-USA, Geo-Ref Information Services-USA www.cafetinnova.

org ISSN 0974-5904, Volume 05, No. 05 October 2012, P.P. 1100-1109

Finite Element Analysis of Road Cut Slopes using Hoek & Brown Failure Criterion
A. KAINTHOLA, P. K. SINGH, A. B. WASNIK, M. SAZID and T. N. SINGH Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India-400076 Email: ashutoshkainthola@yahoo.in, psingh.geo@gmail.com, wasnik.ashwin@gmail.com, sazidmohd@gmail.com, tnsingh@iitb.ac.in
Abstract: The failure of cut slopes along highways can be disastrous, especially along the hills. The slope collapses can lead to huge economic losses as well as puts human life in grave danger. The state highway-72, connecting the Poladpur town to Mahabaleshwar, is infested with problem of slope instability. The SH-72 remains closed during the monsoon season. For the first time a study has been carried to assess the health of cut slopes along the highway. A finite element code has been used for seven chosen road sections. The results throw light on the stability of slopes during both dry and saturated conditions. Keywords: Finite element,Hoek and Brown failure criterion, Road cut slopes, Mahableshwar 1. Introduction: The hill stations are a favored tourist destination around the world and a major source of revenues for local development. The approach to these hilly areas is mainly roads, which isexcavated along the hill slopes. These cut slopes pose serious problem of collapse due toheavytraffic and disturbance due to construction of civil structures viz. road widening. These slopes are hardly constructed after proper scientific investigation and reckless excavation resulted vulnerability in slope instability. Failures of these cut slopes, both man-made and natural; include rock falls, overall slope instability and landslides (Sarkar& Singh, 2010). The consequence of such failures ranges from direct costs of removing the failed rock material and stabilizing the slope to a wide variety of indirect costs viz. damage to vehicles and injury to passengers on highways, traffic delays, business disruptions, flooding and disruption to water supplies where rivers are blocked by slides (Hoek& Bray, 1981). The chances of a slope failure is increased many folds along the road cut which disturbs the already fragile dynamic and static stress distribution along the slope mass. The displacement of material during excavation affects the geotechnical and geohydrological characteristics of the hill slopes, markedly reducing the shear strength of the slope forming material to its residual or 'ultimate ' strength. Hence, engineering works undertaken on them could disturb the road cut slopes, which are in a state of near limiting equilibrium. The day-by-day increase in vehicle traffic volume also further aids to the instability of the road cut slopes. Mahabaleshwar is one of the important tourist attractions in Maharashtra, India, with its peculiar climate and aesthetic locales. The approach to the town is made up of 41.3 Km long road (SH-72) excavated on the hills composed of basalt flows, red boles and laterite.The 17 Km stretch from Pratapgarhroad intersection is particularly vulnerable to road cut collapses due to presence of weak laterites, red boles and weathered basalts composing the slopes (Figure 1). These geo-materials undergo significant reduction in strength when they encounter water. The area having a high rainfall of 1121 mm per year, witness a number of slopes failures along the road cuts during the monsoon leading to the temporary closure of the highway. This incessant menace of slopes failures along the road cut puts the lives and properties of travellers in jeopardy. So far, no study on slope stability has been done in this area and hence the present study aims at the finite element method (FEM) analysis of these cut slopes along the 17.4 Km vulnerable tract. The study has been conducted for both the dry and saturated conditions to assess its more critical stability. Seven locationswere chosen for the FEM safety analysis with their distinct geometry and material composition based on field observation and record. The study employs Geological Strength Index (GSI) and Hoek and Brown failure criterion for the estimation of few input parameters for the FEM analysis (Hoek, 2000; Hoek et al., 2002). The analysis divulges information on the deformational mechanics of the cut slopes as well as the effect of water ingress on the material strength and the overall slope stability.

#02050501 Copyright 2012 CAFET-INNOVA TECHNICAL SOCIETY. All rights reserved.

1101

A. KAINTHOLA, P. K. SINGH, A. B. WASNIK, M. SAZID and T. N. SINGH

Figure 1: Google Image of the Study Area with Marked Locations 2. Geology of the Study Area: The study area falls under the western Deccan plateau province in India. The Deccan traps in Western India are the largest accretion of continental lava flows covering an area of 518,000km2 (Beane, et al., 1986).Mahabaleshwar area is composed of well exposed flows of Wai sub-group (Figure 2). The Wai-group consists of Poladpur formation at the base, Ambenali formation in the middle and the topmost Mahabaleshwar formation (Table 1). There is reported that the area have 41 to 47 flows, with a total thickness of approximately 1150m (Konda, 1971; Najafi et al, 1981). Najafi et al. (1981) classified Mahabaleshwar area into three distinct formations on the basis of trace element geochemistry. Table 1: Stratigraphic Sequence of Wai Sub-Group (after K.V. Subbarao, M. S. Bodas, S. F. R. Khadri and J. L. BEane, 2000,) Formation Mahabaleshwar Field Characteristics Well defined, large and simple flows, oxidised flow tops/ lateritic. Well preserved bole horizon Well defined, large and simple with red, oxidised flows. Presence of Bole horizons. Well defined, large and simple plagioclase phyric flows with fine grained matrix. They have concluded that the Mahabaleshwar and Poladpur formations show evidences of crustal contamination, while the Ambenali is relatively uncontaminated and olivine rich. Nine red bole marker beds are recognized in Poladpur-Mahabaleshwar horizon besides one green bole layer. These red bole horizons are more prominent in the Ambenali and Mahabaleshwar formations. Mahabaleshwar formation at upper reaches shows marked laterization(Babita&Jadhav, 2010). The presence of these bole horizons is critical for cut slope stability. 3. Field Investigation Classification: and Geo-mechanical

Ambenali

Poladpur

An extensive field investigation was carried out to assess the geomechanical properties of the road cut slopes along 17 km patch of the state highway-72 from Pratapgarh road intersection till the Mahabaleshwar town. Seven vulnerable road sections (M1- M7) were identified for stability analysis (Figure 1). Location M1 and M2 are 8m to 10m high steep slopes, composed of lateriteandare situated near Mahabaleshwar along Sh-72 (Figure 2). LocationM3 is 15 m high vertical slope composed of 15 m weathered basalt having a 30cm thick red bole layer (Figure 3). Location M4 and M5 are also steep cut composed of fresh severely jointed basalt. Slope M5 is underlain by 1.8cm thick red bole layer, which tapers in the direction of Mahabaleshwar. The red bole has a varying thickness at the location ranging from 0.5m to 2.5 m (Figure 4). Slopes M6 and M7 are composed of highly decomposed weathered basalt. The original discontinuity pattern is preserved along these slopes though they have undergone extreme level of weathering.

International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering ISSN 0974-5904, Vol. 05, No. 05, October 2012, pp. 1100-1109

Finite Element Analysis of Road Cut Slopes using Hoek & Brown Failure Criterion

1102

Figure 2: Geological Map of the Study Area (Modified After Choudhary, B., Jadhav, G., (2010) 3. Field Investigation Classification: and Geo-mechanical and M2 are 8m to 10m high steep slopes, composed of lateriteandare situated near Mahabaleshwar along Sh-72 (Figure 2). LocationM3 is 15 m high vertical slope composed of 15 m weathered basalt having a 30cm thick red bole layer (Figure 3). Location M4 and M5 are also steep cut composed of fresh severely jointed basalt. Slope M5 is underlain by 1.8cm thick red bole layer, which tapers in the direction of Mahabaleshwar.

An extensive field investigation was carried out to assess the geomechanical properties of the road cut slopes along 17 km patch of the state highway-72 from Pratapgarh road intersection till the Mahabaleshwar town. Seven vulnerable road sections (M1- M7) were identified for stability analysis (Figure 1). Location M1

Figure 3 (a & b): A View of Mahabaleshwar Field along SH-72 The red bole has a varying thickness at the location ranging from 0.5m to 2.5 m (Figure 4). Slopes M6 and M7 are composed of highly decomposed weathered basalt. The original discontinuity pattern is preserved along these slopes though they have undergone extreme level of weathering. The rock mass strength parameters were obtained using the Hoek- Brown (HB) failure criterion aided by the laboratory tests on the samples. The failure criterion allows for the reliable assessment of rock mass strength parameters. The HB failure criterion employs intact uniaxial compressive strength ( , GeologicalStrength Index (GSI),the joint surface property and the disturbance factor,D(Marinos et al, 2005 andLiet

Figure 4: Jointed Basalt Overlying Red Bole Layer along SH-72, Mahabaleshwar

International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering ISSN 0974-5904, Vol. 05, No. 05, October 2012, pp. 1100-1109

1103

A. KAINTHOLA, P. K. SINGH, A. B. WASNIK, M. SAZID and T. N. SINGH

al.,2008).For fewsamples, point load tests were used for the estimation of their compressive strength, where required size and sample were not obtained (Singh et al., 2012). The Hoek& Brown failure criterion can be expressed as:

equation

for a range of

Where, are major and minor effective principal stresses at failure. is the uniaxial strength of intact rock.

minor principal stressvalues which are defined by 1,3, 3max as shown inFigure 5.The fitting process involves balancing areas above and below the Mohr-Coulomb plot which results in the following equations for the angle of friction () and cohesive strength (c) (HoekBrown, 2002).

Where,

The calculations for the conversion of HB rock mass parameters into equivalent Mohr Coulomb parameters were derived using the Rocscience's freeware RocLab(RosScience, 2012). The material properties obtained for simulation are given in table 2 and 3 for dry and saturated conditions respectively. Figure 5: Relationships between Major and Minor Principal Stresses for Hoek-Brown and Equivalent Mohr-Coulomb Criteria (Hoek, Wood and Shah, 1992). , = The HB parameters were converted to equivalent Mohr coulomb parameters. This is done by fitting an average linear relationship to the curve generated by solving Table 2: The Averaged Strength Parameters (dry condition) Location M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 Uniaxial compressive strength Ci (MPa) 5 3.5 8 54 53 5 4 GSI 25 25 30 55 45 20 25 Ei (GPa) 5 4.5 8 36 38 2 3 Cohesion (MPa) 0.158 0.110 0.282 3.554 3.088 0.138 0.189 Phi () (deg) 23.07 23.07 24.60 38.01 34.99 21.49 22.4 Shear stress T(MPa) 0.002 0.001 0.004 0.091 0.043 0.001 0.0014 All the tests for geotechnical parameters were conducted in the laboratory for the dry and saturated conditions, while their GSI was estimated based in field observation and informations. The mi valueswere given to the rock type based on the recommendations by Hoek (Hoek-Brown, 2002). These strength parameters were used as input indexes for the numerical model for the analyses of cut slopes.

International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering ISSN 0974-5904, Vol. 05, No. 05, October 2012, pp. 1100-1109

Finite Element Analysis of Road Cut Slopes using Hoek & Brown Failure Criterion

1104

Table 3: Averaged Strength Parameters (Wet Condition) Location M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 4. Finite Element Analysis: There are numerous tools to gauge into health of a slope viz., physical methods, empirical methods, mathematical methods and numerical methods (Verma et al., 2011; Sarkar& Singh, 2008). The numerical methods allow the analysis of slope stability problems involving complexities related to geometry, material anisotropy and nonlinear behavior (Li et al, 2009; Kainthola et al., 2011). They simulate the physical behaviorof earth material using computational tools without the need to simplify the problem (Alkasawneh et al., 2008).Numerical methods such as the Finite Element Method (FEM) have now been successfully applied to slope stability analysis over the years. It is now assumed as one of the best alternative over traditional limit equilibrium methods, because of less number of prior assumptions required for the solution (Hammah et al., 2009; Kainthola et al., 2012). A primary advantage of FEM is their versatility i.e., they can model a broad range of continuous and discontinuous rock mass behaviors whether it is planar, rotational or wedge type failure. Though most FEM codes can only model small displacement but it can include material heterogeneity, non-linear behavior, as well as complex boundary conditions (Eberhardt, 2003). The gravity increase method (Swan &Seo, 1999) and strength reduction method (Matsui & San, 1992)are the most widely used methods to estimate the factor of safety (FOS) of a slope. One of the most common methods applied in calculating factor of safety along cut slopes is through Shear Strength Reduction (SSR) approach. The Shear Strength Reduction technique in the finite element method involves successive reduction (by some factors, called strength reduction factor, SRF) Uniaxial compressive strength Ci(MPa) 3 2.5 6 46 47 4.1 3.2 GSI 25 25 30 55 45 20 25 Ei (GPa) 4 3.5 5.5 24 28 1.7 2.3 Cohesion (MPa) 0.095 0.076 0.211 3.028 2.688 0.118 0.169 Angle of internal friction ()(deg) 23.07 22.25 24.60 38.01 34.99 21.1 21.4 Shear stress T (MPa) 0.001 0.001 0.003 0.077 0.037 0.001 0.001

in the shear strength of the slope forming material until it fails, which is indicated by the non-convergence to a solution of the finite element model (Griffiths and Lane, 1999).

c ' tan ' = + F F F

Where is the shear strength of the material and F is the strength reduction factor (SRF). The approach can be used for materials following both the linear MohrCoulomb strength criteria and non-linear generalized Hoek-Brown criteria (Hammah et al, 2002). The terms SRF and FOS have been used interchangeably henceforth in this article. The present analysis was carried out in a finite element code for the seven sections along the 17 km patch of SH-72. The geometry ofFE model created for the seven slopes is based on the fielded inspection of the cut slopes (Figure 6). The effective slope length, pertaining to the collapse hazard has been considered for the analysis. Theslope models have been uniformly discretized using a four noded quadrilateral mesh with 1200 elements to fasten up the calculations (Cook et al. 1972). Only gravity induced stresses was applied on the model. The analysis was carriedout twice to gauge into the stability and deformational aspects under both dry and saturated conditions. The data from laboratory as well as field investigation was used as the input parameter for the model. Initial HB failure parameters were calculated which were converted into the equivalent Mohr-Coulomb parameters to be used in the model.

International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering ISSN 0974-5904, Vol. 05, No. 05, October 2012, pp. 1100-1109

1105

A. KAINTHOLA, P. K. SINGH, A. B. WASNIK, M. SAZID and T. N. SINGH

Figure 6: FE Models for the Analyzed Cut Slopes

International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering ISSN 0974-5904, Vol. 05, No. 05, October 2012, pp. 1100-1109

Finite Element Analysis of Road Cut Slopes using Hoek & Brown Failure Criterion

1106

Figure 7: FE Results for the Analyzed Cut Slopes Depicting Maximum Shear Strain Concentration along the Slope 5. Results and Discussion: The problem of the landslides is ubiquitous along this highway, which forces it to be halted during monsoon season. To tackle this menace of slope failure the 17kmlong vulnerable patch of cutslopeswas analyzed in a finite element code. The seven locations based on the lithology and slope geometry were chosen for the examination. The analysis was carried out for both dry

International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering ISSN 0974-5904, Vol. 05, No. 05, October 2012, pp. 1100-1109

1107

A. KAINTHOLA, P. K. SINGH, A. B. WASNIK, M. SAZID and T. N. SINGH

as well as saturated conditions for their FOS (Table 4). The cut slope M1 composed of laterite was found to be critically stable under the dry condition with an FOS of 1.21, while it showed prominent collapse under the saturated conditions. Slope M2 was relatively stable under the dry conditions while it was theoretically stable under the saturated conditions. Slope M3, composed of weathered basalt was critically stable under the dry condition, while the introduction of water led to the failure of slope in the FEM model. The cut slopes M4 and M3 were composed of hard basalts, which were relatively stable under both dry and saturated conditions, but deteriorate with time due to presence of discontinuities. The cut slope M6, failed due to reduction in strength in the FEM model, while it was found to be stable under dry conditions. The cut slope M7, near the road intersection to Pratapgarh, was be stable under both dry and saturated conditions. A study wasalso carried out to judge the deformational characteristics of the slope. The strain generation along the slope face was analyzed for both dry and saturated

condition at the critical SRF (C SRF) and an SRF higher above the C SRF (Figure 8 & 9). The highest strain was developed at the toe region in both the cases. The strain generation was higher in dry condition as compared to the saturated conditions due to brittleness in the rock mass. The strain generated for each slope was higher at an SRF above C SRF. This is due to the drastic increase in stress above the C SRF (Kainthola et. al., 2011). Table 4: The FOS Calculated for the Cut Slopes. Critical SRF/ FOS (Dry) 1.21 1.48 1.16 2.33 1.9 1.09 2.28 Critical SRF/ FOS (Saturated) 0.8 1.01 0.86 1.6 1.75 0.94 1.15

Location M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7

Figure 8: The Shear Strain Generation for the Dry Condition along the Slope Length for the Analyzed Cutslopes.

Figure 9: The Shear Strain Generation for the Saturated Conditions along the Slope Length for the Analyzed Cut Slopes. International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering ISSN 0974-5904, Vol. 05, No. 05, October 2012, pp. 1100-1109

Finite Element Analysis of Road Cut Slopes using Hoek & Brown Failure Criterion

1108

For the saturated conditions,maximum strain was accumulated for cut slope M6. The strain generation was also found to depend on the slope geometry. The FEM study is in agreement with the field conditions as demonstrated by the recurrent failure of the cut slopes. The strain generation for slope M6 at a FOS higher above the critical FOS was highest, its value being, 0.003. This high value signifies the slope collapse at the region, different for various studied slopes, depending on the slope geometry. 6. Conclusion: For the first time stability, study has been conducted for the cut slopes in this region using the numerical technique. A 17 km patch along the SH-72 was analyzed with finite element code which is infested with cut slope failures problems especially during the rainy season. Seven locations were chosen for the examination. Their FOS was calculated for both the dry and saturated conditions. The cut slopes composed of laterite and weathered basalt near Mahabaleshwar, were found to be relatively stable in dry condition while they demonstrated collapse and critical stability under saturated conditions. The basalt cut slopes were rather stable. Further works need to be done in this area for the stability assessment of the jointed rock mass using discontinuum codes. References: [1] Alkasawneh, W., Malkawi,A.I.H., Nusairat,J.H. and Albataineh,N., (2008). A comparative study of various commercially available programs in slope stability analysis, Computers and Geotechnics, v. 35, 428435 [2] Beane, J.E., Turner, C.A. and Hooper, P.R., (1986). Stratigraphy, composition and form of the Deccan Basalts, Western ghats, India, Bulletin of Volcanology, v. 48, 61-83. [3] Choudhary, B., Jadhav, G., (2010). Melt Inclusion Geothermometric Studies of the Deccan Lavas from Mahabaleshwar Section, Maharashtra, India: A Reconnaissance, Origin and evolution of Deep continental crust, Narosa publication, New Delhi (ISBN:978-81-8487-055-8 ), 187-196. [4] Cook R.D., Malku, D.S., Plesha, M. E., (1974). Concepts and Application of finite element analysis, Edition.3, New York, John Wiley & Sons. [5] Eberhardt, E., (2003). Rock slope stability analysisUtilization of advanced numerical techniques,Canada: Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of British Columbia [6] Griffiths, D. V. and Lane, P.A., (1999). Slope stability analysis by finite elements, Geotechnique, v. 49 (3), 387-403.

[7] Hammah, R.E. and Yacoub, T.E., (2009), Probabilistic slope analysis with the finite element method,RocscienceInc, 4th US- Canada Rock Mechanics symposium., June 2009. [8] Hoek, E., and J. Bray (1981), Rock Slope Engineering, Inst. of Min. and Metal., London [9] Hoek, E., Carranza-Torres, C. and Corkum, B., (2002).Hoek-Brown criterion 2002 edition. Proc. NARMS-TAC Conference, Toronto, v. 1, 267-273. [10] Kainthola, A., Verma, D., Singh,T. N.,(2011). Computational Analysis for the Stability of Black Cotton Soil Bench in an Open Cast Coal Mine in Wardha Valley Coal Field, Maharashtra, India, International Journal of Economic and. Environmental Geology. v. 2(1), 11-18 [11] Kainthola,A.,Verma,D.,Gupte, S.S. and Singh,T. N., (2011). A coal mine dump stability analysis-A case study, International journal of Geomaterial, v. 1, 1-13. [12] Konda, T., (1971). Deccan Basalts at Mahabaleshwar, India. Contribution to Mineralogy and Petrologyv. 32, 69-73. [13] Li, A.J., Merield,R.S. andLyamin, V., (2008). Stability charts for rock slopes based on the Hoek Brown failure criterion, International. Journal of Rock Mechanics.and Mining Science., v. 45, 689700. [14] Li, L.C., Tang,C.A., Zhu,W.C. and Liang,Z.Z.,(2009). Numerical analysis of slope stability based on the gravity increase method, Computers and Geotechnics v. 36, 12461258. [15] Marinos, V., Marinos, P., Hoek,E., (2005). The geological strength index: application and limitations, Bulletin of Engineering. Geology and Environment Journal., v. 64, 55-65 [16] Matsui, T., San, K., (1992). Finite element slope stability analysis by shear strength reduction technique, Soils Foundation; v. 32, 5970. [17] Najafi, S., Cox, K.G and Sukeshwala, R.N., (1981). Geology and geochemistry of the basalt flows, Deccan Traps, of the Mahad-Mahabaleshwar section, India; In: Volcanism and related provinces in other parts of the world, Geol. Soc. of India, v. 3, 300-315. [18] Rocscience, (2012).RocLabdownload.rocscience. com/products/RocLab.asp. [19] Sarkar, K., and Singh,T.N.,(2008). Slope stability study of Himalayan Rock- A Numerical Approach, International Journal of Earth Science. and Engineering. 7-16. [20] Sarkar, K. and Singh, T.N., (2010). Road cut stability analysis along NH-22 in Luhri area, Himanchal Pradesh, Rock Mechanics in Civil and Environmental Engineering (Zhao,Labiouse,Dudt

International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering ISSN 0974-5904, Vol. 05, No. 05, October 2012, pp. 1100-1109

1109

A. KAINTHOLA, P. K. SINGH, A. B. WASNIK, M. SAZID and T. N. SINGH

and Mathier,Eds), Taylor and Francis publication,659-662. [21] Singh, T. N.,Kainthola,A.,Venkatesh, A., (2011). Correlation between Point Load Index and Uniaxial Compressive Strength for different rock types, Rock Mechanics Rock Engineering 45(2):259264. [22] Swan, C.C., Seo, Y., (1999). Limit state analysis of earthen slopes using dual continuum/FEM approaches. Int. J. of Num. and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics; v. 23, 135971.

[23] Subbarao,K.V. ,Bodas, S.F.,KhadriR. and BEane,J.L.,2000, Field excursion guide to the western deccan basalt province, Geological Society of India, Penrose. [24] Verma, D., Thareja, R..,Kainthola, A. and Singh, T. N.,(2011). Evaluation of open pit mine slope stability analysis, International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering, v.4 (4), 590-600.

International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering ISSN 0974-5904, Vol. 05, No. 05, October 2012, pp. 1100-1109