Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, SI, 9E Das/Sobhan
15.7 Analysis of Finite Slopes with
Circular Failure Surfaces—General
Modes of Failure
• A slope failure occurs when the
surface of sliding intersects the
slope at or above its toe as
shown in Figure 15.10a
• The failure circle is a toe circle
if it passes through the toe of the
slope
• If it passes above the toe of the
slope, it is considered a slope
circle
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Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, SI, 9E Das/Sobhan
Modes of Failure of Finite Slope
• Under certain circumstances, a
shallow slope failure can
occur, as shown in Figure 15.10b
• A base failure occurs when the
surface of sliding passes at some
distance below the toe of the
slope
• The failure circle in the case of
base failure is called a midpoint
circle
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Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, SI, 9E Das/Sobhan
Types of Stability Analysis Procedures
• Various procedures of stability analysis can be divided into
two general classes:
Mass Procedure
In this case, the mass of the soil above the surface of sliding
is taken as a unit. This procedure is useful when the soil is
assumed to be homogeneous
Method of Slices
The soil above the surface of sliding is divided into a number
of vertical parallel slices. The stability of each slice is
calculated separately. This is a versatile technique which
accounts for nonhomogeneity of soils, pore water pressure,
and the variation of normal stress along the failure surface
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Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, SI, 9E Das/Sobhan
15.8 Mass Procedure—Slopes in
Homogeneous Clay Soil with 𝜙 = 0
• To perform the stability
analysis, we choose a trial
potential curve of sliding
• For the case of critical
circles, the developed
cohesion may be
represented in a
nondimensional form:
𝑐𝑑
=𝑚
𝛾𝐻
𝑚 is the stability number
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Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, SI, 9E Das/Sobhan
Mass Procedure—
Slopes in
Homogenous Clay
Soil with 𝜙 = 0
• Figure 15.12 gives the value
of the stability number, 𝑚,
for various slope angles, 𝛽
• Figure 15.12 is only valid for
slopes of saturated clay in
undrained conditions (𝜙 = 0)
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Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, SI, 9E Das/Sobhan
Mass Procedure—
Slopes in Homogenous
Clay Soil with 𝜙 = 0
• For 𝛽 > 53∘ , the critical circle
is always a toe circle
• Figure 15.13 & Table 15.1
give the location of the
center of these critical toe
circles
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Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, SI, 9E Das/Sobhan
Mass Procedure—Slopes in Homogenous
Clay Soil with 𝜙 = 0
• For 𝛽 < 53∘ , the critical circle may be a toe, slope, or
midpoint circle
• This depends on the depth function, 𝐷:
Vertical distance from top of slope to firm base
𝐷=
Height of slope
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Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, Eighth Edition SI
Das/Sobhan
Example 15.5
𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃/2= DC/r
𝐻𝑐𝑟
sin 𝛼 =
𝐴𝐶
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Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, Eighth Edition SI
Das/Sobhan
Example 15.5 continued
𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃/2= DC/r
𝐻𝑐𝑟
sin 𝛼 =
𝐴𝐶
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Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, Eighth Edition SI
Das/Sobhan
Example 15.5 continued
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Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, Eighth Edition SI
Das/Sobhan
Example 15.6
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Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, Eighth Edition SI
Das/Sobhan
Example 15.6 continued
𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑚 𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑒
𝐷=
ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒
(15.48)
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0.9
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