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Landslide analysis of unsaturated soil slopes based on rainfall and matric suction data

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Abstract

Shallow slope failures that occur as a result of a decrease in matric suction after water infiltration from intense rains (unsaturated soil conditions) are the main causes of slope instability in tropical and subtropical regions. This study analyzes the occurrence of shallow landslides in a highway cutting of residual soil originating from aeolian sandstone. Characterization of failure mechanisms and stability analyses have been carried out in different scenarios and supported by surface and subsurface investigations, instrumentation and monitoring of rainfall, matric suction, and water level, field tests, and laboratory tests. The results indicate that the reduction in matric suction induced by rainwater infiltration is the triggering mechanism of slope failure. Conventional slope stability analyses and analyses incorporating unsaturated seepage models present results compatible with the hydrological and geotechnical data collected in the study. On the basis of these analyses, and considering the frequent rainfall events in the study area, a critical geometric configuration is proposed for the triggering of landslides in highway cutting slopes of residual soils of aeolian sandstone.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Brazilian research funding agencies FAPESP (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo) and CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geotechnics, University of São Paulo, São Carlos School of Engineering, São Paulo, Brazil

    Oswaldo Augusto Filho

  2. Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil

    Mariana Alher Fernandes

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  1. Oswaldo Augusto Filho
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  2. Mariana Alher Fernandes
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Correspondence to Oswaldo Augusto Filho.

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Augusto Filho, O., Fernandes, M.A. Landslide analysis of unsaturated soil slopes based on rainfall and matric suction data. Bull Eng Geol Environ 78, 4167–4185 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-018-1392-5

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