Landslide Processes and

Triggering Mechanisms

Budijanto Widjaja, Ph.D

Jurusan Teknik Sipil
Universitas Katolik Parahyangan

15 Mei 2020
1
 Causes of Slope Failure

• Increase in Shear Stress

1. Surcharging slope (structures and fills at top)
2. Removal of lateral support (cuts and excavation
at toe, retarded slope failure)
3. Rapid change in water level adjacent to slope
(sudden drawdown)
4. Earthquake loading (increase in horizontal or
downslope driving forces)

2
 Causes of slope instability
Surcharge at top

Bedding plane
q
Toe cutting

3
 Order of sensitivity among influencing factors on
the stability of dip rock slopes (Richard et al, 1978)
The order of sensitivity among influencing
Height factors
of
slopes 1 2 3 4 5

10m θ c γ f pw

100m θ f c pw γ

1000m θ f pw c γ

Note：θ dip of weakness plane

c cohesion at weakness plane
f friction angle at weakness plane
pw pore water pressure
γ unit weight

4
 Retarded slope failure
Failure occurred sometime after slope cutting

Du = difference between ESP&(T-uo)SP

q -Dui u = difference between ESP&TSP

-Duf -ui
Kf
-uf
Retarded failure
ESP : effective stress path
(T-uo)SP
Ki
TSP : total stress path
u0

p
5
 Water flowing out from slope face

6 Rapid change in water level

 Causes of Slope Failure

• Decrease in Shear Strength

1. Increased pore water pressure (storm water
infiltration into slope, uncontrolled discharge of
water from drains, EQ induced pore water
pressure)
2. Presence of swelling clays (uptake of water with
loss of intrinsic cohesion) e.g., bentonite,
mudstone etc.
3. Weathering and physicochemical degradation
(ion exchange, hydrolysis, solutioning, etc)
4.
7 Progressive failure by shear strain softening
 Rainfall on a slope: Infiltration, Runoff, and Rising Ground Water Table
Rainfall
Rainfall

Wetting front
Short-
term/transient
Infiltration
Reduces Infiltration
suction & Surface runoff
Surface runoff
strength

Long- Perched water

Perched water table table

term

}
 Increases
pore water Erosion
Erosion
Rise in water table

Geological
conditions

8
 Landslip debris on
Concentrated overflow 1 roads and footpaths.

New large cracks or

ground subsidence
in slopes, retaining
2 walls or along road
pavements.
Objects, such as mud, rocks,
fragments of concrete/brick and
uprooted vegetation falling from 3
slopes and retaining walls.

Sudden change in colour (from

clear to muddy) of water flowing
from slopes or retaining walls. 4

Concentrated water overflowing

5
onto slopes and retaining walls.
9
Potentially dangerous signs of slopes along hillside road
Cement or concrete
surface of slopes
bulging or being
dislodged or signs of
soil erosion underway.
6

9 Sudden increase in seepage

over an extensive area of a
slope or retaining wall.
Breaking of catchwaters,
7
serious overflow from
catchpits or drains.

Flooding of water in hilly

areas.
8
10
Potentially dangerous signs of slopes along hillside road
 Progressive slope
failure

Softening

Residual strength
Residual strength
11
e e
 The processes involved in slope
movements comprise a continuous
series of events from cause to
effect. (Varnes, 1978)

Although it seems to be better to remove

the cause from the event, it can not
always be done.
In some cases, it may be more
economical to repair the effects of a
landslide than to remove the cause.
12
 Large scale landslide
– needs to find out the causes

Small scale landslip

– repair the effect

13
 Large scale landslide
– needs to find out the causes

Water seeping out from the debris

14
 River

Active
sliding area
•四彎

Detour Route

River

Large scale landslide at mountain road

15
阿里山公路
Profile of a large scale landslide

Sliding area = 50 hectare, depth = 80 m

N8

N7

N3
N2

100m
200m

16
 施工起點
往阿里山
第七彎 T0-2A C-11B C-2B
(40m) (40m)
C-2A C-3
(80m) (30m)
E-A
CCD C-12A 新設集水管10支
T0-1 C-12B (40m) L=50m,∮=50mm
(40m) 雨量計/濕度計
T0-2B C-2
(31m) 施工終點
往嘉義 路權界 第六彎
E-B
C-1
(34.5m)

新設集水井 W-2
W-1 集水井 直徑3.5m,深19.5m

流向
新設排水管,L=55m,∮=100mm

排水
C-9 出口設置陰井,並排至既有排水溝
(100m)
新設集水管10支
L=50m,∮=50mm

崩 坍 區
Landslide area
C-5A
(80m)
新設集水井 W-1
新設排水管,L=60m,∮=100mm 直徑3.5m,深20.5m
出口設置陰井,並排至既有排水溝
排水 溝
新設 D3排水
管

向
排水方
排至

C-7A
新設排水管
(60m)
排至D3排水溝
集水井

H-1
橫向集水管

Current remedial measures used in 五彎仔 landslide

便道測量控制點位置圖 集水井

17
Drainage wells & horizontal drains
C-10
(80m)
18
Drainage well
 Effluent from horizontal drains
19
 For a mountain road like this, we can either
fix the effects or reroute it. But it will be
almost impossible or not worthy to remove
20 the causes.
 Checklist of Landslide Causes
(TRB 247)
1. Geological causes
a. Weak materials b. Sensitive materials
c. Weathered materials d. Sheared materials
e. Jointed or fissured materials
f. Adversely oriented mass discontinuity (bedding, etc.)
g. Adversely oriented structural discontinuity (fault, unconformity,
contact, etc.)
h. Contrast in permeability (e.g. interlayed sandstone/mudstone)
i. Contrast in stiffness (stiff, dense material over plastic
materials)
21
 Checklist of Landslide Causes
(TRB 247)
2. Morphological causes
a. Tectonic or volcanic uplift
b. Glacial rebound
c. Fluvial erosion of slope toe
d. Wave erosion of slope toe
e. Glacial erosion of slope toe
f. Erosion of lateral margins
g. Subterranean erosion (solution, piping)
h. Deposition loading on slope or its crest

22
i. Vegetation removal (by forest fire, drought)
 Checklist of Landslide Causes
(TRB 247)
3. Physical causes
a. Intense rainfall
b. Rapid snow melt
c. Prolonged exceptional precipitation
d. Rapid drawdown (of floods and tides)
e. Earthquake
f. Volcanic eruption
g. Thawing
h. Freeze-and-thaw weathering
i. Shrink-and-swell weathering
23
 Checklist of Landslide Causes
(TRB 247)
4. Human causes
a. Excavation of slope or its toe
b. Loading on slope or its crest
c. Drawdown (of reservoirs)
d. Deforestation
e. Irrigation
f. Mining
g. Artificial vibration
h. Water leakage from utilities
24
 Farming on the slope
25
- Irrigation & vegetation removal
 Koi fish
ponds

EQ induced landslide

26 Fish cultivation on slope

 Some remarks on landslide causes
• Removal of lateral support either by nature
or by human is probably the most common
of all factors leading to instability.
• Water has been implicated as either the
primary or a major controlling factor in 95%
of all landslides.
• Drainage and diversion measures are
among the most effective means of
preventing and/or controlling slope failure.
27
 Remarks by Ralph Peck (1967):
If there is no evidence of old
landslides in an area, then it is fairly
unlikely that moderate construction
activity will start a new one.
On the other hand, if old landslides
abound, then it is quite likely that even
minor construction operations will
activate an old slide or lead to a new
28
one.
 Prof. Krizek

Prof. Osterberg

Prof. Liao Prof. Peck

29
Istanbul, August 2001
 Landslide Triggering Mechanisms:
• Intense Rainfall
• Rapid snowmelt
• EQ shaking
• Water level change
• Volcanic eruption

30
(Drawdown of reservoirs)
 Slope Stability Predictions:
• Limit equilibrium analysis
Study the major factors influencing the
shear stress and shear resistance of a slope.
Equilibrium of forces and moments

• Deformation analysis
Numerical model is needed for the deformation
analysis. Deformation of a natural slope is not as critical
as the building protection in urban construction.
31
 For Limit Equilibrium Analysis:

• A failure surface or mechanism is assumed.

• The shearing resistance required to equilibrate
the failure mass is calculated by means of statics.
• The calculated shearing resistance required for
equilibrium is compared with the available shear
strength (Factor of Safety).
• The mechanism or slip surface with the lowest
factor of safety is found by iteration.

32
 2-D rotational
slope failure

3-D rotational
slope failure

33
 Translational
slope failure

Shallow land slip

Dip slope landslide

Lincoln Community

Retaining wall

Tie-back anchors

34
Dip slope landslide
 Translational Slope Failure
happens at:
• Loose weathering material overlying an
inclined bedrock contact
• Inclined planes of stratified dip slope and
underlain by stronger strata
• Bedrock slopes covered with colluvium
• Slopes made of cohesionless soil (i.e.,
sand)
35
36
(c)2001 Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license.

Infinite slope stability model

 Rainfall infiltration induced shallow landslip
Rainfall
Slope surface

-o ff
Run
o n zw
n fi l trati
I

W=
gtzw

Water
flow
tn Failure surface
nt
ti n g fro sn
We
t b
uw

37
 back
 Profiles for RIP test (resistivity image profiling)
38
 Low electric resistivity
– high water content
High electric resistivity
– low water content

39
Result of RIP test
 Lincoln
Community

Planar type
slope failure
40
 Planar failure plane with some anchor
tendons remained on it – Lincoln Community
41
 •The number of tie-back anchors
installed in the Lincoln Community is
under designed due to not taking into
account the ground water pressure
along the sliding surface.
• A grip failure between strands and
wedge at the anchor head was found.
As a result, tie-back anchors were
unable to hold back the sliding rock
mass.
42
 Anchor disc

Strands Wedges

Bearing plate

43 Anchor head
 Worn-out wedges of tie-back anchor
at Lincoln community
44
 Shoot out of anchor strands at
45
Lincoln Community (type I)
 Requirements of a slope stability
analysis:
• Accurate description of slope geometry
• Reliable soil properties (c, f, g)
• Correct definition of external loads
• Correct description of slope hydrology
(phreatic surface, seepage conditions, etc.)
• Correct method of analysis

46
 Remarks on slope stability analysis:
• The factors required by slope stability analysis are
sometimes difficult to observe in practice.
• Some common methods of analysis do not
rigorously meet all requirements for static
equilibrium.
• Uncertainty involved in properly choosing the soil
or rock parameters (e.g., shear strength of soil)
• It is a useful method for assessing slope hazard
and designing remedial measures.
47
 Shear strength (s) of soil
or unconsolidated rock:

s = c + s tanf s = c’ + s’ tanf’

48
 Remarks on total/effective
stress analysis:
• A total stress analysis does not need
to determine the groundwater pressure
distribution in a slope.
• An effective stress analysis requires
the effective shear strength parameters
be used and groundwater pressure
distribution be known.
49
50
Slope stability chart (f=0o) (Janbu, 1968)
 Toe circle Slope circle

51 Deep circle
52 Stability chart for infinite slopes (Duncan et al, 1987)
Stability chart for f=0o and cu with depth
53
54
55