Skip to main content
Log in

Effect of rock fragments on pore water pressure and slope stability at a hillslope

  • Research Articles
  • Published:
Journal of the Geological Society of India

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of rock fragments on pore water pressure and safety factor of a slope. The study was conducted using computer software SEEP/W and SLOPE/W for a slope with and without rock fragment in order to get value for the pore water pressure and safety factor of the slope. The study also been carried out on the rock fragment characteristics such as position (top, middle and bottom) and size (large, medium and small) to find out the effects of rock fragments on hydrologic response and slope stability. The results show that the rock fragments obstruct water flow on the slope and increase the pore water pressure. However, higher pore water pressure can cause the slope to become less stable. These indicate that the safety factor for the slope with rock fragment is lower than slope without the rock fragment. The results also showed that pore water pressure and seepage flow response are affected by different position of the rock fragment. At a lower position of the rock fragments, the pore water pressure is the highest. Therefore, the safety factors are smaller compared to other rock positions. On the other hand, the results show that the pore water pressure and safety factor of the slope are less influenced by the size of rock fragments.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bishop, A.W. (1954) The use of the slip circle in the stability analysis of slopes. Geotechnique, v.5, pp.7–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cerda, A. (2001) Effects of rock fragment cover on soil infiltration, interrill runoff and erosion. European Jour. Soil Sci. v.52, pp.59–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Descroix, L., Viramontes, D., Vauclin, M., Barrios, G.J.L. and Esteves, M. (2001) Influence of soil surface features and vegetation on runoff and erosion in the Western Sierra Madre (Durango, Northwest Mexico). Catena, v.43, pp.115–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Figueiredo, T. and Poesen, J. (1998) Effects of surface rock fragment characteristics on interrill runoff and erosion of a silty loam soil. Soil and Tillage Res., v.46, pp.81–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fioravante, V., Ghionna, V.N. and Pedroni, S. (1997) Centrifuge modelling of a geogrid reinforced foundation on soft cohesive soil. Proc. Internat. Conf.e Geosynthetics Asia, pp.65–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • GEO-SLOPE INTERNATIONAL LTD. (2004) Seep/W user’s guide for finite element seepage analysis. GEO-SLOPE International Ltd., Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guo, T., Wang, Q., Li, D. and Zhuang, J. (2010) Effect of surface stone cover on sediment and solute transport on the slope off fallow land in the semi-arid loess region of Northwestern China. Jour. Soils Sediments, v.10, pp.1200–1208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hung, K.C., Kosugi, K., Lee, T.H. and Misuyama, T. (2007) The effects of rock fragments on hydrologic and hydraulic responses along a slope. Hydrological Processes, v.21, pp.1354–1362.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Katra, I., Lavee, H. and Sarah, P. (2008) The effect of rock fragment size and position on topsoil moisture on arid and semi-arid hillslopes. Catena, v.72, pp.49–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kosugi, K., Uchida, T. and Mizuyama, T. (2004) Numerical calculation of soil pipe flow and its effect on water dynamics in a slope. Hydrological Processes, v.18, pp.777–789.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valentin, C. (1994) Surface sealing as affected by various rock fragment covers in west africa. Catena, v.23, pp.87–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yair, A. and Lavee, H. (1977) Trends of sediment removal from arid scree slopes under simulated rain storms experiments. Hydrol. Sci. Bull, v.23, pp. 379–391.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Muhammad Mukhlisin.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Mukhlisin, M., Naam, S.I. Effect of rock fragments on pore water pressure and slope stability at a hillslope. J Geol Soc India 86, 337–343 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-015-0320-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-015-0320-6

Keywords

Navigation