The effects of water on planar features in compound slopes
E. Bane Kroeger
Southern Illinois University, Department of Mining and Mineral Resources Engineering, Carbondale, IL, United States
Plane failure in rock and soil slopes is usually caused by the intersection of a discontinuity plane with a slope face. Typically, discontinuities are weaker than the surrounding intact material and provide a surface along which movement can occur. When designing a stable slope, it is often desirable to find the most critical conditions for a particular slope configuration and base the final slope design around those conditions. The worst case for most dry slopes usually includes a tension crack at a location determined by the slope geometry. The worst case for saturated slopes typically has a tension crack at the slope crest, providing the deepest tension crack, and a fully or partially dammed discontinuity. This paper focuses on plane failure analyses of compound slopes using limit equilibrium techniques. It provides new equations to calculate the position of a tension crack, water forces, and stability factor in compound slopes. The results of a compound slope and water pressures are illustrated through several examples.
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