Slope Failure

Slope failure occurs when gravitational forces exceed the frictional resistance of the material resting on the slope - mass movement Whether a slope will fail or remain stable is based on two forces: 1. Magnitude of the driving force: Driving forces promote downslope movement of material. The primary driving force is gravity. So movement is dependent on the mass & density of the material involved and the slope angle.
2. Magnitude of the resisting force: Resisting forces deter movement. Controlled by frictional resistance and response to imposed stress of the material resting on the slope (shear strength).

What controls downslope mass movements?

Ratio of driving forces to resisting forces is called factor of safety (FS) Sum of resisting forces

FS =

Sum of driving forces

If FS = 1, the forces are exactly balanced, If FS > 1, the slope is stable If FS < 1 the slope is unstable

DRIVING FORCES
Gravity: Slope angle, climate, slope material, and water contribute to the effect of gravity. Mass movement occurs much more frequently on steep slopes than on gentle slopes.

Water plays a key role in producing slope failure. Water erodes the base of slopes, removing support, which increases slope angle. Water can also increase the driving force by loading, i.e., (weight).

RESISTING FORCES
Resisting forces act opposite to driving forces. The resistance to downslope movement is dependent on the shear strength of the slope material.
Shear strength is a function of cohesion (ability of particles to attract and hold each other together) and internal friction (friction between grains within a material). Chemical Weathering (interaction of water with surface rock and soil) slowly weakens slope material (primarily rock), reducing its shear strength, therefore reducing resisting forces. The shear strength of the slope material is also decreased by increasing the pore water pressure (increased amount of water).

Forces acting on a block at rest

Newtons Third Law: To every action (applied force) there is an equal and opposite reaction (force).

Fgravity = Fnormal
Fgravity = Mass x g = Mass of Block x 9.81m/s2

Slope Failure
If a force is applied to the block, it must overcome friction in order to move

Fresistance Fn Fresistance (Fr)= Fn x Cf Cf is the coefficient of friction which depends on surface roughness When sliding begins: Cf =
Fr Fn

= tan (friction angle)

Friction is dependent on the material surfaces

Angle of Internal Friction

If the friction that resists movement is not along a plane, but instead between the grains, this is internal friction. Failure occurs when the angle of internal friction is exceeded.

For most practical purposes, the angle of internal friction is equivalent to the angle of repose.

Driving & Resisting Forces

= 30

Driving & Resisting Forces

= 45

Driving & Resisting Forces

Physical Characteristics of materials

Definitions: Stress is a force applied to a surface area and strain is any deformation or change in shape or volume of a material caused by application of stress

Driving forces on a hillslope: Shear stress

Resisting forces on a hillslope: Coulomb Equation