Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
405-407, 1996
Pergamon
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Technical Note
Kinematic Analysis of Active/Passive Wedge Failure Using
Stereographic Projection
C. P. N A T H A N A I L t
?Centre for Research into the Built Environment, The Nottingham Fig. 3. Geologicalscenario favourablefor active/passivewedge failure
Trent University, Burton Street, Nottingham NG1 4BU, U.K. in folded strata.
405
406 NATHANAIL: TECHNICAL NOTE
+20
%
Azimuth of
dedgn slope
-20 -20
Instability criteria:
1 loweredge of active wedge dips steeper than lower edge of passive wedge, V~
2 lower edge of passive wedge daylights in lower face and dips less than friction angle, q)
scenario is where one surface, say the lowest, is a bedding superimposed on to a stereographic projection of the
plane and the other two are persistent joints. In the case poles to discontinuities. Three criteria need to be ful-
of tightly folded strata, the fold limbs can form the outer filled. First, the lower edge of the active wedge (sur-
boundaries of the wedges while crushed material in the face 1 in Fig. 1) should dip more steeply than that
core of the fold can form the inter-wedge surface (Fig. of the lower wedge (surface 2 in Fig. 1). Second,
2). Where a fault cuts bedding at a high angle, bedding surface 2 should daylight in the lower face of the
on either side of the fault may form the outer boundaries slope and dip at an angle less than the shearing re-
of the wedges and the fault plane their inter-wedge sistance (otherwise plane failure of the passive wedge
surface (Fig. 3). is kinematically feasible). Third, the plane separating
the two wedges should dip steeply into the slope. If
this plane were dipping steeply out of the face, then
a non-circular failure of the passive wedge alone
KINEMATIC FEASIBILITY O F ACTIVE/PASSIVE
would be possible and the method of analysis pro-
WEDGE FAILURE
posed by Janbu [11] should be used. For the criteria
A stability assessment overlay, similar to those pro- to be fulfilled, poles must lie within each of the three
posed by Matheson [10] for other failure modes, is shaded areas in Fig. 4.
proposed to evaluate the kinematic feasibility of ac- Figure 5 shows a potential active/passive wedge failure
tive/passive wedge failure (Fig. 4). The overlay is in a quarry slope. The two wedges are separated from the
NATHANAIL: TECHNICAL NOTE 407
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