SITI NURHUMAIRAH BINTI NE’EMAN

2016209654
PEC2214B1
FACTORS OF SLOPE FAILURE

Rock slump -A type of mass wasting that results in the sliding of coherent rock materials along
a curved surface and a portion of the mountain moves down a short distance.

-Earthquakes also trigger massive slumps.

-The speed of slump varies widely. Sudden slumps usually occur after earthquakes or heavy
continuing rains, and can stabilize within a few hours.

Soil slump - caused by clear cutting on unstable soils, and the sagging and rotational
movement of the mass of soil and rock is due in part to water infiltration and lubrication of clay-
rich soils below.

-Stream or wave erosion, road construction causing slumping. Rain provides lubrication for
the material to slide, and increases the self-mass of the material.

Rock slide- involve the displacement of material along one or more discrete shearing surfaces.

- Climate changes can cause rock slide to the area that has never experienced them.
- Occurs whenever gravitational pressure exceeds the affected slopes ability to resist its
pressure.
- An earthquake can cause large rockslides to happen.
- Can occur on large slopes of 50 m height and above where there are weaknesses.
Soil slide – gradual wearing away of the top layer of soils, either by water flow or wind.

Rockfall - quantities of rock falling freely from a cliff face.

-Rock slides with a volume under 100 cubic metres are called rock falls and only cause
incidental damage.

-Rock falls occur on all types of slope over 30 degrees where there are loose rocks.

- intact condition of the rock mass, discontinuities within the rockmass, weathering
susceptibility, ground and surface water, freeze-thaw, root-wedging, and external stresses.

Soil creep- the slow movement of soil down the slope.

- Causes by heaving that involves the expansion and contraction of rock fragments.
- Occurs during cycles of wetting and drying.
- As expansion occurs, particles move outward, perpendicular to the hillside. During
contraction, the particles move back toward the hillside, vertically, and end up slightly
downslope of where they began.
Earth flow - a downslope of fine-grained materials that have been saturated with water and
moves under the pull of gravity.

- Occurs by heavy rainfall, slow or very fast, depending on the amount of water present,
the angle of the slope, and other aspects of the terrain.

Debris flow –generated by soil slumps which occur during heavy rainstorms.

- Removal of Support. The erosion removes support from the base of the slope and can
trigger a sudden flow of debris.
- Volcanic Eruptions.
- Removing of vegetation that causes loss of support and accumulation of moisture.

Debris avalanche – a rapid flow of snow down a sloping surface.

- mechanical failure in the slab when the forces on the snow exceed its strength but
sometimes only with gradual widening (loose snow avalanche).
- Occurs in seismic activity.
- Loading conditions such as human or biologically related activities.

Lateral spread - landslides that commonly form on gentle slopes and that have rapid fluid-like
flow movement, like water.

- Earthquake shaking causes a mass of soil to lose cohesion and move relative to the
surrounding soil.
- Causes by cyclic mobility.
Subsidence -sinking of the ground because of underground material movement.

- earthquakes, soil compaction, glacial isostatic adjustment, erosion, sinkhole formation,

and adding water to fine soils deposited by wind.

Complex slide - failure which can be a landslide or rockfall that changes its initial
characteristics while moving downslope.

- Causes by intense rainfall.

- Frequently this is complemented with concentrated subsurface moisture flow called
percolines.