Slope Instability

In the history of rock mechanics and rock engineering, more attention

has been paid to slope instability considerations than any other topic,
and this topic remains one of the most important today.
One of our first considerations must be to identify the basic mechanisms
of slope instability. Analysis may then proceed treating the unstable
mass as a continuum or discontinuum.

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 Slope Instability Mechanisms

The following diagram

illustrates what are
traditionally regarded as
the four basic instability
mechanisms for rock slopes.
The geometry of the slip in
(a) is a function of the
slope geometry and the
strength of the slope-
forming material, but those
shown in (b-d) show how the
boundaries of the instability
are governed by
discontinuities.

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Schemi generali di equilibrio
 Curvilinear Slip (Rotational Slides)

The term ‘curvilinear slip’

is used to describe the
group of instabilities
where the slip surface is
curved and usually
terminates at a tension
crack at the upper ground
surface. The shape and
location of the slip
surface depends on the
strength characteristics
of the ground mass,
which in turn depends on
the structure of the
assumed continuum.

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Curvilinear Slip (Rotational Slides)

… development of curvilinear slips as a function of

rock mass structure and characteristics.

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 Limit Equilibrium – Circular Analysis
Circular failure surfaces are found to be the most critical in soil slopes
consisting of homogenous materials. There are two analytical, statically
determinate, methods commonly used to calculate the FS for these
slopes: the circular arc (φ=0) and the friction circle method.

cu LR (=Cu R^2 theta)

FS =
Wx

… circular failure surface in φ = 0 soil defined

by its undrained strength, cu.

28 - THETA in radianti
 Limit Equilibrium – Method of Slices
The previous methods discussed do not depend on the distribution of
the effective normal stresses along the failure surface. However, if
the mobilized strength for a c-φ soil is to be calculated, this
distribution must be accounted for.

… this condition is usually analyzed by dividing the failing slope mass

into smaller slices and treating each individual slice as a unique sliding
block.

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 Method of Slices - Computation

… example slope: sand embankment over clay foundation – such

problems can be easily solved using spreadsheet calculations.

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Method of Slices - Computation

… example
computation for
ordinary
method of
slices.

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 Plane Sliding

Planar slides generally

involve a major discontinuity
of lengthy persistence. The
case of planar sliding is
unlike that of curvilinear
slip, in that it is
statistically determinate.

As such, we can calculate

the factor of safety
directly, for kinematically
feasible planes, by making
suitable assumptions to
render the problem two-
dimensional.

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 Plane Sliding – Kinematic Analysis
To consider the kinematic feasibility of plane instability, four necessary
but simple criteria are introduced:

(a) The dip of the slope must exceed the dip of the potential slide
plane;
(b) The potential slip plane must daylight on the slope plane;
(c) The dip of the potential slip plane must be such that the
strength of the plane is reached;
(d) The dip direction of the sliding plane should lie approximately
±20° of the dip direction of the slope.

kinematicly feasible not kinematicly feasible

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 Plane Sliding –
Kinematic Analysis

friction
cone

slope
face

daylight
envelope

… kinematic analysis of planar

stability using stereonet
constructions.

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Scivolamento planare
Scivolamento planare
 Scivolamento planare

(Hw=Zw)
Scivolamento planare
Scivolamento planare
Scivolamento planare
 Wedge Sliding

Wedge sliding can be extended from

plane sliding by considering sliding
along two planes simultaneously.

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 Wedge Sliding – Kinematic Analysis
To consider the kinematic feasibility of wedge instability, we need to
consider three criteria relating to the line of intersection:

(a) The dip of the slope must

exceed the dip of the line of
intersection of the two wedge
forming discontinuity planes;
(b) The same line of intersection
must daylight on the slope
plane;
(c) The dip of the line of
intersection must be such that
the strength of the two
planes are reached.

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 Wedge Sliding –
Kinematic Analysis

… kinematic analysis of wedge

stability using stereonet
constructions.

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Scivolamento per cuneo
Scivolamento per cuneo
 Wedge Sliding – Limit Equilibrium Analysis
Assuming that the direction of
sliding is parallel to the line of
intersection of the two sliding
planes, forces parallel to this
line and perpendicular to the
sliding planes can be resolved in
order to determine the factor of
safety.

18 - .
 Wedge Sliding – Limit Equilibrium Analysis
Consolidating these formulae
results in:

A direct insight into the

fundamental mechanism of wedge
instability is seen in the left-
hand side of this equation which
shows how the safety factor
varies with the sharpness of the
wedge (δ) and the verticality of
the wedge (β).

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 Toppling Instability
To final fundamental mechanical mode of
structurally controlled slope instability, involves
toppling failures. Toppling generally occurs in
two modes:

direct toppling – occurs when the centre of

gravity of a block lies outside the outline
of the base of the block, with the result
that a critical overturning moment
develops.

flexural toppling – occurs under certain

circumstances when a layered rock mass
outcrops at a rock slope, and the principal
stress parallel to the slope face induces
inter-layer slip which causes the intact
rock to fracture and the resulting blocks
to overturn.

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 Direct Toppling – Kinematic Analysis
The kinematic-based question in the case of direct toppling
is whether a block resting on an inclined surface will be
stable, or slide, or topple. The nature of direct toppling is
determined from considerations of the block geometry and
the angle of friction between the block and the surface on
which it is resting.

The resulting four categories of

equilibrium under these conditions are:

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 SCIVOLAMENTO
RIBALTAMENTO

Toppling
Toppling
 Direct Toppling –
Kinematic Analysis

… kinematic analysis of direct

toppling instability using stereonet
constructions.

22; (90°-PSIp) è l'inclinazione del polo del piano

Toppling
Toppling
 Flexural Toppling Instability
Remembering that the creation of a new excavation
surface results in the principal stresses being parallel
and perpendicular to the excavated face, the potential
for inter-layer slip is then dependent on the geometry
of the layers.

An analysis of instability will

include the given geometrical
parameters as well as the angle
of friction. In limit equilibrium,
these parameters can be utilized
to define a ‘geometrical factor
of safety’:

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