Abstract
Slope stability analysis of both natural and engineered slopes has changed significantly during recent years with a gradual transition from simple limit equilibrium analyses to the frequent application of numerical modelling. Case histories are presented illustrating the use of numerical modelling to examine the influence of groundwater and coupled hydro-mechanical processes on deep-seated slope failure mechanisms. The application of limit equilibrium and finite-element methods is discussed with respect to the continuum mechanics of soil and debris slopes. Preliminary analyses of the Usoi landslide dam and a shallow soil slide from Switzerland are presented as examples. Although such techniques may be applied to rock slopes, in most cases it is more efficient to utilize discontinuum-based techniques, such as the distinct-element method, in order to simulate the influence of groundwater on the deformation of jointed rock masses. The use of distinct-element modelling to illustrate the efficacy of remedial groundwater drainage on rock slope stability is clearly illustrated using a case study from southern Switzerland.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Alford, D. and Schuster, R.L. (2000) Introduction and summary, in Usoi Landslide Dam and Lake Sarez: An Assessment of Hazard and Risk in the Pamir Mountains, Tajikistan (ISDR Prevention Series N o 1). United Nations, New York, NY, pp. 1–18.
Bonzanigo, L., Eberhardt, E. and Loew, S. (2000) Interpretation of the effects of a drainage adit in a deep creeping slide mass, in E. Bromhead et al.(eds.), Proceedings of the 8th International Symposium on Landslides, Cardiff. Thomas Telford, London, pp. 151–156.
Bonzanigo, L., Eberhardt, E. and Loew, S. (2001) Hydromechanical factors controlling the creeping Campo Vallemaggia landslide, in M. Kühne et al. (eds.), International Conference on Landslides – Causes, Impacts and Countermeasures, Davos. Verlag Glückauf, Essen, pp. 13–22.
Coggan, J.S., Stead, D. and Eyre, J.M. (1998) Evaluation of techniques for quarry slope stability assessment, Transactions of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, Section B 107, 139–147.
Collins, B.D. and Znidarcic, D. (2004) Stability analyses of rainfall induced landslides, Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering 130, 362–372.
Crosta, G. and di Prisco, C. (1999) On slope instability induced by seepage erosion, Canadian Geotechnical Journal 36, 1056–1073.
Eberhardt, E. (2006) From cause to effect – Using numerical modelling to understand rock slope instability mechanisms, in Evans et al. (eds.), Landslides from Massive Rock Slope Failure. NATO Science Series IV, v. 49, Springer, Dordrecht, 85–101.
Eberhardt, E., Thuro, K. and Luginbuehl, M. (2005) Slope instability mechanisms in dipping interbedded conglomerates and weathered marls – The 1999 Rufi landslide, Switzerland, Engineering Geology 77, 35–56.
Fannin, R.J. and Jaakkola, J. (1999) Hydrological response of hillslope soils above a debris-slide headscarp, Canadian Geotechnical Journal 36, 1111–1122.
Fredlund, D.G. and Krahn, J. (1977) Comparison of slope stability methods of analysis, Canadian Geotechnical Journal 14, 429–439.
Freeze, R.A. and Cherry, J.A. (1979) Groundwater. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Geo-Slope (2003) Geo-slope office: Slope/w, seep/w, quake/w. Geo-Slope International Ltd., Calgary, AB.
Hanisch, J. and Söder, C.-O. (2000) Geotechnical assessment of the Usoi landslide dam and the right bank of Lake Sarez, in Usoi Landslide Dam and Lake Sarez: An Assessment of Hazard and Risk in the Pamir Mountains, Tajikistan (ISDR Prevention Series N o 1). United Nations, New York, NY, pp. 23–42.
Hart, R.D. (1993) An introduction to distinct element modeling for rock engineering, in J.A. Hudson (ed.), Comprehensive Rock Engineering: Principles, Practice & Projects, Vol. 2. Pergamon Press, Oxford, pp. 245–261.
Hungr, O. (2000) Analysis of debris flow surges using the theory of uniformly progressive flow, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 25, 483–495.
Iverson, R.M. (1997) The physics of debris flows, Reviews in Geophysics 35, 245–296.
Ives, J. and Pulatova, G. (2000) Human geography/demography, in Usoi Landslide Dam and Lake Sarez: An Assessment of Hazard and Risk in the Pamir Mountains, Tajikistan (ISDR Prevention Series N o 1). United Nations, New York, NY, pp. 83–86.
Johnson, K.A. and Sitar, N. (1990) Hydrologic conditions leading to debris-flow initiation, Canadian Geotechnical Journal 27, 789–801.
Louis, C. (1976) Introduction à l’hydraulique des roches, Ph.D. Thesis, Paris.
Okunishi, K. and Okimura, T. (1987) Groundwater models for mountain slopes, in M.G. Anderson and K.S. Richards (eds.), Slope Stability – Geotechnical Engineering and Geomorphology. Wiley, New York, NY, pp. 265–285.
Paddington, S. (2004) The characterization of drainage related landslides on gentle-over-steep forest terrain in the Interior of British Columbia, M.Sc. Thesis, Simon Fraser University, Canada.
Patton, F.D. and Deere, D.U. (1971) Geologic factors controlling slope stability in open pit mines, in C.O. Brawner and V. Milligan (eds.), Stability in Open Pit Mining. American Institute of Mining Engineers, New York, NY, pp. 23–48.
Sangrey, D.A., Harrop-Williams, K.O. and Klaiber, J.A. (1984) Predicting groundwater response to precipitation, Journal of Geotechnical Engineering 110, 957–975.
Schuster, R.L. (2000) A worldwide perspective on landslide dams, in Usoi Landslide Dam and Lake Sarez: An Assessment of Hazard and Risk in the Pamir Mountains, Tajikistan (ISDR Prevention Series N o 1). United Nations, New York, NY, pp. 19–22.
Simons, N., Menzies, B. and Matthews, M. (2001) A Short Course in Soil and Rock Slope Engineering. Thomas Telford Publishing, London.
Sultan, H.A. and Seed, H.B. (1967) Stability of sloping core earth dams, Journal of Soil Mechanics and Foundations Division, ASCE 93, 45–67.
Valley, B., Thuro, K., Eberhardt, E. and Raetzo, H. (2004) Geological and geotechnical investigation of a shallow translational slide along a weathered rock/soil contact for the purpose of model development and hazard assessment, in W.A. Lacerda et al. (eds.), Proceedings of the 9th International Symposium on Landslides, Rio de Janeiro. A.A. Balkema, Leiden, pp. 385–391.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank their collaborators in the various projects presented in this paper, especially Benoît Valley and Prof. Simon Loew (ETH Zurich, Switzerland), Dr. Luca Bonzanigo (Geolog.ch, Switzerland) and Prof. Kurosch Thuro (Technical University of Munich, Germany). This work has been supported in part by the National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Eberhardt, E., Stead, D. (2011). Incorporating the Effects of Groundwater and Coupled Hydro-Mechanical Processes in Slope Stability Analysis. In: Evans, S., Hermanns, R., Strom, A., Scarascia-Mugnozza, G. (eds) Natural and Artificial Rockslide Dams. Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences, vol 133. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-04764-0_20
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-04764-0_20
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-04763-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-04764-0
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)