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Stability Assessment of Siwalik Rock Slopes — A Case Study from Dehradun Area, Uttarakhand, India

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Journal of the Geological Society of India

Abstract

This study presents a slope stability assessment of Siwalik rocks formations along an old, unpaved road connecting Dehradun to Thangaon village via Dunga village located in the Himalayan foothills. This road is a part of the proposed major road connecting Dehradun-Mussoorie. Hard rocks in the study area are medium-grained, massive sandstones composed of ∼100% quartz and less prone to weathering, while soft rocks are quartz-rich with ∼10% micaceous/argillaceous minerals, fine-grained, relatively laminated sandstones that are more prone to weathering. Joints are prominent in the hard and massive sandstones. Joint openings range from 0.5–1 mm to 2–3 cm. Rock mass rating and slope mass rating criteria along with kinematic analysis reveal that bedding, natural joint, and excavation faces are oriented such that ∼50% of locations have chances of wedge failure. Roads oriented in the NNW-SSE directions with ridges to the left are the most vulnerable to rock slides as evidenced by slope assessment. Natural joint orientations with respect to bedding strikes are unpredictable, as bed strike-parallel, strike-perpendicular, and strike-oblique joints are present at various locations. Most rock fall incidents happening during the monsoon implies extra water from the rains acts as failure catalyst. Based on the field observations, select remedial measures were suggested.

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Acknowledgements

SKK thanks University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun for facilitating this project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Petroleum Engineering, IIT ISM, Dhanbad, 826 004, India

    Sayantan Ghosh

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology Allahabad, Prayagraj, 211 004, India

    Saurabh Kumar & Hemant Kumar Pandey

  3. Department of Petroleum Engineering and Earth Sciences, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun, 248 007, India

    Sunil Kumar Khare

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  1. Sayantan Ghosh
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  2. Saurabh Kumar
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  3. Sunil Kumar Khare
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  4. Hemant Kumar Pandey
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Correspondence to Sunil Kumar Khare.

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Ghosh, S., Kumar, S., Khare, S.K. et al. Stability Assessment of Siwalik Rock Slopes — A Case Study from Dehradun Area, Uttarakhand, India. J Geol Soc India 98, 1737–1744 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-022-2245-1

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