Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology

CIVL 4750 Numerical Solu5ons to

Geotechnical Problems
Lecture 5: Slope Stability Analysis
with SLOPE/W

Jidong Zhao

 Last & This Lecture
•  Last lecture
–  2D FEM for seepage analysis

•  This lecture
–  Slope stability analysis
by SLOPE/W

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 2

 Landslide Hazards
•  Po Shan Road Landslide (1972, Killed 76 people)

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 3

 Po Shan Road Landslide

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 4

 Landslide Hazards
•  Panama Canal Landslide (1986)

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 5

 Landslide Hazards
•  La Conchita, CA, USA, Slump formed in 1995

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 6

 La Conchita Landslide (CA, USA 2005)

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 7

 La Conchita Landslide (CA, USA 2005)

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 8

 La Conchita Landslide (CA, USA 2005)

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 9

 2006 Philippines landslide

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 10

 Landslide Configura5on

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 11

 Landslide Types
•  Slope Failure types
–  Materials
•  Rock/soils
–  Velocity
•  Slow/Mod/Fast
–  Nature of mo[on
•  Falls
•  Topples
•  Slides
•  Spreads
•  Flow
–  Complex slides
–  Combined materials

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 12

 Sliding Failure

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 13

 Sliding Failure
1.  Rota[onal sliding
•  Having a concave rupture surface
•  Is most common in homogeneous soils
•  Engineers have largely focuses on analyzing
this type of slides (common)

2.  Transla[onal sliding

•  More o`en for rock slope

3.  Complex or composite slide

•  Usually slides are three dimensional in
character and may involve a combina[on
of types of movement; therefore are complex

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 14

 Cause of Landslide

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 15

 Cause of Landslide
Terzaghi divided landslide causes into two:
(1) Internal causes: Reduc[on in shear strength of the soil
•  Increased pore pressure (reduced effec[ve stress) (by rainfall, snowmelt)
•  Swelling/cracking of soil
•  Leaching/weathering/cyclic load
(2) External causes: Increase in developed shear stress
•  Load on top of slope
•  Water pressure in cracks at the crest of slope
•  Increased in soil weight due to increased water
•  Excava[on at the bodom of the slope
•  Drawdown of water level at the base of slope
•  Earthquake shaking

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 16

 Soil Strength
Mohr-Coulomb Failure Criterion

σ
τ
’

τ = f (σ ʹ)

cʹ

σʹ
CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 17
 Shear Strength
•  Long term stability analysis
–  Effec[ve stress parameters (consolidated drained
shearing tests)

•  Short term stability

–  Total stress parameters (for clays,
unconsolidated/consolidated undrained tests)

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 18

 Stability of Infinite Slope
•  Infinite slopes
–  For long slopes where the end effects on the sliding material can be
neglected.

Dry slope

Granular soils

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 19

 Infinite slope with seepage
Seepage through the soil and assume the
groundwater coincides with the ground surface.

Effec[ve unit weight of the soil

Saturated unit weight of the soil

Culmann’s method

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 20

 Finite Slopes
•  Modes of failures

Shallow slope failure

Slope failure Base failure

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 21
 Method of Slices
•  Reasons for using slices
–  The fric[onal shear resistance varies with both normal stress
and fric[onal angle
–  Cohesion may vary over depth
–  Pore water pressure usually not uniform for seepage analysis
–  Sliding surface may be more complicated
•  Circular
•  log spiral
•  Other types

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 22

 Ordinary Method of Slices
Dry case Wet case

Balance of moment; Neglect of inter-slice forces

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 23

 Ordinary Method of Slices
•  The method can be extended to slopes with layered soil.
•  The general procedure of stability analysis remains the same.

•  Note that
•  When applying the FS equa[on, the values of φ’ and c’ will not
be the same for all slices

OMS is normally too

conserva[ve

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 24

 Example

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 25

 Bishop’s Simplified Method
Bishop Method:
Consider horizontal interslice forces
Need trial & error procedure, can
be done by computer

(dry)

(seepage)

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 26

 Bishop’s Simplified Method
Bishop Method:

Equilibrium in vertical direction:

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 27

 Bishop’s Simplified Method
Bishop Method:

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 28

 Other Methods
–  Planer transla[onal surface for infinite slope
•  Culmann’s method
–  Circular surface:
–  Ordinary method of slices (Fellenius’s method)
–  Bishop’s simplified method of slices
–  Spencer’s method
–  Morgenstern’s drawdown solu[on
–  Noncircular surface:
–  Michalowski’s method
–  Janbu’s method
–  Morgenstern-Price’s method
–  Other more rigorous methods

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 29

 Janbu’s Method
•  A slip surface of arbitrary shape may have difficulty to find a
single point through which the force components act to form
the moment equa[on.
•  Generalized method of slices applicable to arbitrary non-
circular failure surface
•  Built on the success of Bishop’s method
•  Janbu’s simplified method of analysis is similar to Bishop’s
method, except it sa[sfies only horizontal force equilibrium
rather than moment equilibrium.

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 30

 Janbu’s Simplified Method
From Bishop’s analysis:

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 31

 Janbu’s Simplified Method
p
1 sec α n
FS s = p ∑ ( cʹbn + (Wn − unbn ) tan φ ʹ )
n =1 mα ( n )
∑W
n =1
n tan α n

•  The equa[on is solved itera[vely,

using the same method as for
Bishop’s method.

•  Due to some inaccuracies in the

results the itera[on method, Janbu
(1973) proposed an empirical
correc[on to the itera[on results.
FSs(corrected ) = f0 FSs

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 32

 Morgenstern-Price Method
•  Consider both force and moment equilibriums
•  No assump[on is made regarding inclina[on or point of
applica[on of resultants and these are determined as part of
the solu[on, but assume an empirical func[on for inter-slice
forces

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 33

 Morgenstern-Price Method

Morgenstern and Price (1965) based their solu[on on the summa[on of

tangen[al and normal forces to each slice. The force equilibrium equa[ons
were combined and then the Newton-Raphson numerical technique was
used to solve the moment and force equa[ons for the factor of safety and Lambda.
CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 34
 Assump5ons
ORDINARY INTERSLICES FORCES NEGLECTED

BISHOP NO INTERSLICE SHEAR FORCES

JANBU CORRECTION FACTOR IS USED TO

ACCOUNT FOR INTERSLICE SHEAR
FORCE
MORGENSTAN- DIRECTION OF THE INTERSLICE FORCES IS
PRICE DETERMINED USING AN ARBITRARY
FUNCTION

SPENCER RESULTANT INTERSLICE FORCES ARE OF

CONSTANT ANGLE OF INCLINATION
CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 35
 Equa5ons of Sta5cs Sa5sfied

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 36

 Comparison of Different Methods

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 37

 Recommended factor of Safety
(From GeoSlope Manual, for 10 year-return rainfall)
New Slopes
Risk to Human Lives
Risk to Economic Loss
Very Low Low High
Very Low >1.0 1.2 1.4
Low 1.2 1.2 1.4
High 1.4 1.4 1.4

Exis[ng Slopes
Risk to Human Lives

Very Low Low High

>1.0 1.1 1.2

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 38

 GEO-Slope: Slope/W

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 39

 Grid & Radius Method
Defined by
GRID
three grid
corners

RADIUS
Specify GRID of
circle centers and a
range of radii

Radii defined by either specifica[on of

radius or tangent lines

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 40

 Full Specified Slip Surface

AXIS OF
ROTATION

SLIP SURFACE

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 41

 Block Specified Slip Surface
AXIS OF
ROTATION

GRID
GRID

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 42

 SLOPE/W Example

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 43

 SLOPE/W Example

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 44

 SLOPE/W Example
BISHOP

JANBU

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 45

 SLOPE/W Example

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 46

 SLOPE/W Example

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 47

 .FAC
3=METHOD 1280=NO. OF SLIP SURFACES 5=NO. OF RADII 1=SIDE FUNCTION TYPE
SLIP X- Y- ITERATION FACTOR OF SAFETY
NO. COORD. COORD. RADIUS NO. LAMBDA (MOMENT) (FORCE)
==============================================================================
641 19.000 20.600 12.600 1 0.0000 1.787 1.969
641 19.000 20.600 12.600 4 0.0000 1.889 1.716
641 19.000 20.600 12.600 6 0.3565 1.899 1.899
642 19.000 20.600 14.350 1 0.0000 1.764 1.974
642 19.000 20.600 14.350 5 0.0000 1.911 1.708
642 19.000 20.600 14.350 6 0.3141 1.916 1.919
643 19.000 20.600 16.100 1 0.0000 1.633 1.848
643 19.000 20.600 16.100 5 0.0000 1.825 1.614
643 19.000 20.600 16.100 7 0.2805 1.829 1.838
644 19.000 20.600 17.850 1 0.0000 1.523 1.749
644 19.000 20.600 17.850 5 0.0000 1.761 1.538
644 19.000 20.600 17.850 7 0.2553 1.765 1.774
645 19.000 20.600 19.600 1 0.0000 1.436 1.676
645 19.000 20.600 19.600 5 0.0000 1.717 1.479

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 48

----------------------------------------
| SUMMARY OF MINIMUM FACTORS OF SAFETY |
----------------------------------------
MOMENT EQUILIBRIUM: FELLENIUS OR ORDINARY METHOD
23.0000=X-COOR. 17.0000=Y-COOR. 16.0000=RADIUS 1.248=F.S. 420=SLIP#
MOMENT EQUILIBRIUM: BISHOP SIMPLIFIED METHOD
24.3333=X-COOR. 21.8000=Y-COOR. 19.0500=RADIUS 1.461=F.S. 744=SLIP#
FORCE EQUILIBRIUM: JANBU SIMPLIFIED METHOD (NO fo FACTOR)
23.0000=X-COOR. 15.8000=Y-COOR. 14.8000=RADIUS 1.284=F.S. 340=SLIP#
MOMENT AND FORCE EQUILIBRIUM: MORGENSTERN-PRICE METHOD
24.3333=X-COOR. 21.8000=Y-COOR. 19.0500=RADIUS 1.465=F.S. 744=SLIP#

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 49

 .FRC
SL# L_Load_X L_Load_Y A_Load_X A_Load_Y P_Load_X P_Load_Y A_Modifier
==============================================================================================
1 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 1.0000e+000
2 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 1.0000e+000
3 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 1.0000e+000
4 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 1.0000e+000
5 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 1.0000e+000

SL# Weight Pore_Water Alpha Force Fn. Seismic_F Seismic_Y Pore_Air Phi_B
===========================================================================================================
1 2.2745e+001 0.0000e+000 5.9924e+001 1.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000
2 3.9880e+001 0.0000e+000 5.5114e+001 1.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000
3 5.4359e+001 0.0000e+000 5.0833e+001 1.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000
4 1.6220e+001 0.0000e+000 4.8292e+001 1.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000
5 6.3618e+001 3.5529e+000 4.6020e+001 1.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000
6 7.0290e+001 1.0205e+001 4.2592e+001 1.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000

M-P_Method_Fm= 1.465 Applied_Lambda= 0.3294

SL# Normal_M ShearMob Phi_Angle Cohesion SideLeft ShearLeft SideRight ShearRight
================================================================================================
1 1.9365e+001 -1.0632e+001 2.0000e+001 5.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 0.0000e+000 -1.1658e+001 3.8400e+000
2 3.6610e+001 -1.4196e+001 2.0000e+001 5.0000e+000 1.1658e+001 -3.8400e+000 -3.3809e+001 1.1136e+001
3 5.0271e+001 -1.7109e+001 2.0000e+001 5.0000e+000 3.3809e+001 -1.1136e+001 -6.2176e+001 2.0480e+001
4 1.4966e+001 -4.8702e+000 2.0000e+001 5.0000e+000 6.2176e+001 -2.0480e+001 -7.0151e+001 2.3106e+001
5 5.5358e+001 -2.4503e+001 2.5000e+001 1.0000e+001 7.0151e+001 -2.3106e+001 -9.3058e+001 3.0651e+001
6 6.2332e+001 -2.4151e+001 2.5000e+001 1.0000e+001 9.3058e+001 -3.0651e+001 -1.1752e+002 3.8708e+001
7 6.7813e+001 -2.3900e+001 2.5000e+001 1.0000e+001 1.1752e+002 -3.8708e+001 -1.4205e+002 4.6790e+001
8 7.2146e+001 -2.3707e+001 2.5000e+001 1.0000e+001 1.4205e+002 -4.6790e+001 -1.6559e+002 5.4543e+001
9 7.5562e+001 -2.3546e+001 2.5000e+001 1.0000e+001 1.6559e+002 -5.4543e+001 -1.8734e+002 6.1706e+001
10 7.8222e+001 -2.3399e+001 2.5000e+001 1.0000e+001 1.8734e+002 -6.1706e+001 -2.0669e+002 6.8079e+001

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 50

 SLOPE/W Example
HEIGHT ORDINARY BISHOP JANBU M-P
3 1.51 2.10 1.77 1.97
3.5 1.50 1.95 1.64 1.81
4 1.47 1.95 1.63 1.80
4.5 1.19 1.71 1.44 1.57
5 0.82 1.48 1.24 1.34

FUNCTION NO WATER WITH WATER

CONSTANT 1.40 1.23
HALF SINE 1.40 1.24
CLIPPED SINE 1.40 1.23
TRAPEZOID 1.40 1.23

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 51

 SLOPE/W Example
Exit angle

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 52

 SLOPE/W Example

Block specifica[on of
slip surface

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 53

 Incorpora5on of Pore Pressure
•  PORE PRESSURE OR PORE PRESSURE COEFFICIENT DIRECTLY
•  PORE PRESSURE COEFFICIENT FOR EACH SOIL TYPE
•  PORE PRESSURE CONTOUR FROM SEEP/W

SEEP/W

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 54

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 55
 SLOPE/W Example

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 56

 SLOPE/W Example

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 57

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 58
 Connec5on with Finite Elements
•  SIGMA/W & SEEP/W
–  STRESSES
–  PORE PRESSURE
•  STABILITY FACTOR FOR EACH SLIP SURFACE
–  MOBILIZED SHEAR FORCE
–  AVAILABLE SHEAR RESISTANCE
–  NOT LIMIT EQUILIBRIUM ANALYSIS
•  LOADINGS
•  INITIAL CONDITIONS
–  INITIAL STRESSES
–  COMPACTION STRESS
•  CHANGES IN BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
–  EXCAVATION
–  FILL
•  ELASTIC VERSUS ELASTO-PLASTIC ANALYSIS
CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 59
 Other Features & Limita5ons
•  STRUCTURAL ELEMENT
•  ANISOTROPIC STRENGTH
•  PROBABILISTIC ANALYSIS
•  SEISMIC ANALYSIS
Limita5ons
POINTS 1000
LINES 50
SOIL TYPE 50
PRESSURE CONTOUR 50
PIEZOMETRIC LINE 50
POINTS IN A GEOMETRY, PIEZOMETRIC, CONTOUR OR FULLY 50
SPECIFIED SLIP SURFACE
PORE WATER POINTS (HEADS, PRESSURE OR COEFFICIENTS) 50
NUMBER OF SLICES 150
CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 60
 Summary
•  Slope Analysis Basics
•  Methods for Slope Stability Analysis
•  SLOPE/W Features
•  Tutorials using SEEP/W & SLOPE/W
•  Next lecture
•  Con[nuum mechanics and soil cons[tu[ve models
•  Preparing for the mid-term

CIVL 4750 | Lecture 5 | HKUST 61