Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Shear strength of municipal solid waste for stability analyses

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Environmental Geology

Abstract

This paper investigates the shear strength of municipal solid waste (MSW) using the back analysis of failed waste slopes as well as field and laboratory test results. Shear strength of MSW is a function of many factors such as waste type, composition, compaction, daily cover, moisture conditions, age, decomposition, overburden pressure, etc. These factors together with non-standardized sampling methods, insufficient sample size to be representative of in situ conditions, and limited shear displacement or axial strain imposed during the laboratory shear testing have created considerable scatter in reported results. Based on the data presented herein, large shear displacements are required to mobilize the peak shear strength of MSW which can lead to displacement incompatibility between MSW and the underlying material(s) such as geosynthetic interfaces and foundation soils. The data presented herein are used to develop displacement compatible shear strength parameters for MSW. Recommendations are presented for modeling the displacement and stress dependent strength envelope in stability analyses.

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

Access this article

Log in via an institution

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

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bouzza A, Wojnarowicz M (2000) Stability assessment of an old domestic waste slope in Warsaw Poland. In: Proceedings of slope stability 2000, sessions of Geo-Denver 2000, ASCE Geotech. Special publication no.101, p 48–57

  • Caicedo B, Giraldo E, Yamin L, Soler N (2002) The landslide of Dona Juana landfill in Bogota. A case study. In: Proceedings of the fourth international congress on environmental geotechnics (4th ICEG), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 11–15 August 2002, pp 171–175

  • Dai S-H, Wang M-O (1992) Reliability analysis in engineering applications. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Del Greco O, Oggeri C (1994) Shear resistance tests on municipal solid wastes. In: Proceedings of 1st ICEG. BiTech Publishers, Edmonton

    Google Scholar 

  • Duncan JM (2000) Factor of safety and reliability in geotechnical engineering. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng ASCE 126(4):307–316

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dvinoff AH, Munion DW (1986) Stability failure of a sanitary Landfill. In: Fang HY (ed) International symposium on environmental geotechnology, pp 26–34

  • Edincliler A, Benson CH, Edil TB (1996) Shear strength of municipal solid waste: interim report—year 1. Environmental geotechnics research report 96-2, prepared for WMX Technologies, Inc., February, 65 pp

  • Eid H, Stark TD, Evans WD, Sherry P (2000) Municipal solid waste slope failure i: waste and foundation soil properties. J Geotechn Geoenviron Eng ASCE 126(5):397–407

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fernandez G, Hendron D, Castro A (2005) Pore pressure induced slide in municipal solid waste Dona Juana Landfill—Bogota, Colombia. In: Proceedings of the 16th international conference on soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering, vol 4, pp 2253–2256, Osaka, Japan

  • Gabr MA, Valero SN (1995) Geotechnical properties of municipal solid waste. Geotech Test J ASTM 18(2):241–251

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gabr MA, Hossain MS, Barlaz MA (2002) Review of shear strength parameters of municipal solid waste with Leachate recirculation. In: Proceedings of 2nd intercontinental landfill research symposia, October 13–16, 2002 in Asheville, NC

  • Gerber R (1991) CWS slide investigation report. (reference from Edincliler et al. 1996)

  • Gharabaghi B, Singh MK, Inkratas C, Fleming IR, McBean E (2006) Comparison of slope stability in two Brazilian municipal Landfills. Waste Management (submitted)

  • Gomes C, Lopes ML, Lopes MG (2005) A study of MSW properties of a Portugese landfill. In: Proceedings of international workshop on hydro-physico-mechanics of landfills, LIRIGM, Grenoble 1 University, France, 21–22 March 2005

  • Gonzalez-Garcia AJ, Espinosa-Silva A (2003) Dona Juana sanitary landfill catastrophic failure in 1997. In: Proceedings of the 12th Panamerican conference on soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering, June 22–26, Cambridge vol 2, pp 1353–1360

  • Grisolia M, Napoleoni Q, Sirini P, Tancedi G (1991) Geotechnical behaviour of sanitary landfill based on laboratory and in-situ tests. In: Proceedings of 15th conference of geotechnics of Torino, Società Ingegneri e Architetti in Torino (in Italian)

  • Grisolia M, Napoleoni Q, Tancedi G (1995) The use of triaxial test for characterization of MSW. In: Proceedings of Sardinia ‘95—5th international waste management and landfill symposium, Cagliari, Italy, vol II, pp 761–768

  • Harris JM, Shafer AL, DeGroff W, Hater GR, Gabr M, Barlaz MA (2006) Shear strength of degraded reconstituted municipal solid waste. Geotech Test J ASTM 29(2):1–8

    Google Scholar 

  • Hendron DM (2006) Large landslide risks in solid waste facilities–Geotechnical Fundamentals Count. Geo-Strata magazine of the Geo-Institue, March/April 2006, pp 28–30

  • Hendron DM, Fernandez G, Prommer PJ, Giroud JP, Orozco LF (1999) Investigation of the cause of the 27 September 1997 slope failure at the Doña Juana landfill. In: Proceedings of Sardinia ‘99—7th International waste management and landfill symposium, 4–8 October 1999, Cagliari, Italy

  • Houston WN, Houston SL, Liu JW, Elsayed A, Sanders CO (1995) In-situ testing methods for dynamic properties of MSW Landfills. In: Proceedings of specialty conference on earthquake design and performance of solid waste landfills, Geotechnical Special Publication 54, ASCE, San Diego, CA, October, 1995, pp 73–82

  • Huvaj-Sarihan N, Stark TD (2008) Back analyses of landfill slope failures. In: Proceedings of 6th international case histories conference, 11–16 August 2008, Arlington, VA (accepted)

  • Isenberg RH (2003) Landfill and waste geotechnical stability. Presentation at US EPA Bioreactor Workshop, February 27–28, 2003, Arlington-VA

  • Itoh T, Towhata I, Kawano Y (2005) Mechanical properties of municipal waste deposits and ground improvement. In: Proceedings of the 16th international conference on soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering, Osaka, Japan, September, pp 2273–2276

  • Jessberger HL (1994) Geotechnical aspects of landfill design and construction. Part 2: material parameters and test methods. Geotechnical Engineering. Proc Instit Civil Eng 104:105–113

    Google Scholar 

  • Jessberger HL, Kockel R (1991) Mechanical properties of waste materials. XV Ciclo di Conferenze de Geotecnica di Torino, Torino, Italy, November 19–22

  • Jessberger HL, Kockel R (1993) Determination and assessment of the mechanical properties of waste materials. In: Proceedings Sardinia 93, 4th international landfill symposium, S. Margherita di Pula, Cagliari, Italy, October 1993, pp 1383–1392

  • Jones R, Taylor D, Dixon N (1997) Shear strength of waste and its use in landfill stability analysis. In: Proceedings of the conference on geoenviromental engineering, University of Wales, Cardiff, pp 343–350

  • Kavazanjian E, Matasovic N, Bonaparte R, Schmertmann G (1995) Evaluation of MSW properties for seismic analysis. In: Proceedings of specialty conference, geoenvironment 2000, ASCE geotech special publication no.46, vol 2, pp 1126–1141

  • Kavazanjian E, Matasovic N, Bachus RC (1999) Large-diameter static and cyclic laboratory testing of municipal solid waste. In: Proceedings Sardinia 99, 7th international waste management and landfill symposium, 4–8 October 1999, Cagliari, Italy

  • Kocasoy G, Curi K (1995) The Umraniye-Hekimbasi open dump accident. Waste Manage Res 13:305–314

    Google Scholar 

  • Kockel R, Jessberger H (1995) Stability evaluation of municipal solid waste slopes. In: Proceedings of the 11th ECSMFE (European Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering), vol 2, pp 267–272

  • Koelsch F (1993) The bearing behaviour of domestic waste and related consequences for stability. In: Proceedings of the 4th international landfill symposium, Sardinia ‘93, 11–15 October 1993, vol 2, pp 1393–1410, Cagliari, Italy

  • Koelsch F (2005) http://www.dr-koelsch.de/html/waste_mechanics.html

  • Landva AO, Clark JI (1990) Geotechnics of waste fill. Geotechnics of waste fills—theory and practice, ASTM STP 1070. In: Landva A, Knowles D (eds) American society for testing and materials. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pp 86–103

    Google Scholar 

  • Machado SL, Carvalho MF, Vilar OM (2002) Constitutive model for municipal solid waste. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng ASCE 128(11):942–951

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manassero M, Van Impe WF, Bouazza A (1996) Waste disposal and containment. Environmental geotechnics. In: Proceedings of 2nd international congress on environmental geotechnics, Osaka, Japan, 5–8 November 1996, vol 3, pp 1425–1474

  • Mazzucato A, Simonini P, Colomo S (1999) Analysis of block slide in a MSW landfill. In: Proceedings Sardinia 99, 7th International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium, Cagliari, Italy

  • Merry SM, Kavazanjian E, Fritz WU (2005) Reconnaissance of the July 10, 2000, Payatas Landfill Failure. J Perform Constructed Facilities ASCE 19(2):100–107

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Milanov V, Corade JM, Bruyat-Korda F, Falkenreck G (1997) Waste slope failure analysis at the Rabastens landfill site. Sardinia 97. In: Proceedings 6th international landfill symposium, vol 3, pp 551–557. Cagliari, Italy

  • Oweis IS, Khera RP (1998) Geotechnology of waste management, 2nd edn. PWS Kent, Boston, 472 p

  • Pelkey SG (1997) Geotechnical properties of municipal solid waste. M.Sc. thesis, University of New Brunswick

  • Pelkey SG, Valsangkar AJ, Landva A (2001) Shear displacement dependent strength of municipal solid waste and its major constituent. Geotech Test J ASTM 24(4):381–390

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richardson GN, Reynolds RD (1991) Geosynthetic considerations in a landfill on compressible clays. In: Proceedings of geosynthetics ‘91, vol 2, Vancouver, BC, Canada, Industrial Fabrics Association International, St Paul, MN

  • Siegel RA, Robertson RJ, Anderson DG (1990) Slope stability investigation at a landfill in Southern California. Geotechnics of waste fills—theory and practice, ASTM STP 1070. In: Landva A, Knowles D (eds) American society for testing and materials. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pp 259–284

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh S, Murphy BJ (1990) Evaluation of the stability of sanitary landfills. Geotechnics of waste fills—theory and practice, ASTM STP 1070. In: Arvid L, David K (eds) American Society for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pp 240–258

  • Stark TD, Choi H (2004) Peak v. Residual interface strengths for landfill liner and cover design. Geosyn Int J Ind Fabrics Assoc Int (IFAI) 11(6):491–498

    Google Scholar 

  • Stark TD, Eid HT (1994) Drained residual strength of cohesive soils. J Geotechn Eng ASCE 120(5):856–871

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stark TD, Eid HT, Evans WD, Sherry P (2000) Closure to “municipal solid waste landfill slope failure i: foundation and waste properties”. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng ASCE 127(9):812–815

    Google Scholar 

  • Stark TD, Eid HT, Evans WD, Sherry P (2001) Closure to “municipal solid waste landfill slope failure i: foundation and waste properties”. J Geotechn Geoenviron Eng ASCE 127(9):812–815

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor DP (1995) Strength testing of domestic waste by plate bearing and shear box tests. MS dissertation. University of Derham School of Engineering

  • Thomas S, Aboura AA, Gourc JP, Gotteland P, Billard H, Delineau T, Gisbert T, Ouvry JF, Vuillemin M (1999) An in situ waste mechanical experimentation on a French Landfill. In: Proceedings Sardinia 99, seventh international waste management and landfill symposium, Cagliari, Italy

  • Van Impe WF (1998) Environmental geotechnics: ITC 5 Activities, state of art. In: Proceedings, 3rd international congress on environmental geotechnics, vol 4, pp 1163–1187, Lisbon, Portugal

  • Vilar OM, Carvalho MF (2004) Mechanical properties of municipal solid waste. Geotech Test J ASTM 32(6):1–12

    Google Scholar 

  • Withiam JL, Bushell TD, Germann HW (1995) Prediction and performance of municipal landfill slope. In: Proceedings of specialty conference geoenvironment 2000, Geotechnical Special Publication 46, vol 2, pp 1005–1019. ASCE, New Orleans, LA

  • Zekkos (Zeccos) DP (2005) Evaluation of static and dynamic properties of municipal solid waste. Ph.D. thesis, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley

  • Zekkos DP, Bray JD, Riemer MF, Kavazanjian E, Athanasopoulos GA (2007) Response of municipal solid-waste from Tri-Cities Landfill in triaxial compression. In: Proceedings Sardinia 2007, eleventh international waste management and landfill symposium. S. Margherita di Pula, Cagliari, Italy; 1–5 October 2007

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 205 N. Mathews Ave., Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

    Timothy D. Stark & Nejan Huvaj-Sarihan

  2. School of Civil Engineering and Mechanics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1037 Luoyu Road, 430074, Wuhan, China

    Guocheng Li

Authors
  1. Timothy D. Stark
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Nejan Huvaj-Sarihan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Guocheng Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Guocheng Li.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Stark, T.D., Huvaj-Sarihan, N. & Li, G. Shear strength of municipal solid waste for stability analyses. Environ Geol 57, 1911–1923 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-008-1480-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-008-1480-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation