FIELD STRESS PATH SIMULATION OF RAIN-INDUCED SLOPE FAILURE. PROCEEDINGS OF THE ELEVENTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SOIL MECHANICS AND FOUNDATION ENGINEERING, SAN FRANCISCO, 12-16 AUGUST 1985

Special laboratory triaxial test procedures were developed to simulate the field stress path of a soil element along a potential failure surface in a fill slope subjected to rainwater infiltration. Such an element will usually be in an unsaturated state with a negative pore pressure (suction). When rainwater enters the slope, the pore pressure will increase while the total stress remains essentially constant. Modelling of this process was accomplished by conducting dead load tests on compacted specimens of a volcanic residual soil with specified initial conditions. Five dead load tests on saturated specimens and ten tests on unsaturated specimens, preconditioned to a specified suction, were carried out. In all but one test, failure was generated by increasing the pore pressure; in the remaining test the specimen was sheared by decreasing the cell pressure. The data obtained from these tests, although limited, permit some insight into the relationship between the mode of failure (i.e., dilatant or compressive) and the placement conditions of a fill. They should be useful for the design of fill slopes for which compressive volumetric strain behaviour during rain infiltration should be avoided. For the covering abstract of the conference see IRRD 287689. (TRRL)

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/9061915643
• Corporate Authors:

  AA Balkema

  P.O. Box 1675
  Rotterdam,   Netherlands  BR-3000
• Authors:
  • Brenner, R P
  • TAM, H K
  • Brand, E W
• Publication Date: 1985

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 991-996
• Serial:
  • Publication of: Balkema (AA)
  • Publisher: AA Balkema

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Conferences; Failure; Fills; Mathematical models; Pore water pressures; Rainfall; Residual soils; Slope stability; Static loads; Stresses; Triaxial shear tests
• Old TRIS Terms: Stress path
• Subject Areas: Geotechnology; Highways;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00466330
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
• ISBN: 90 6191 564 3
• Files: ITRD, TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 31 1988 12:00AM