The importance of accounting vegetation on unsaturated slopes prone to rainfall-induced instabilities – a case study in Norway

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Piciullo ◽  
Vittoria Capobianco ◽  
Håkon Heyerdahl
Keyword(s):  
Slope Stability ◽  
Pore Water Pressure ◽  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Water Pressure ◽  
Railway Track ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Birch Trees ◽  
Transient Seepage ◽  
Pressure Regime ◽  
Steep Slopes

<p>In unsaturated steep slopes, the upper unsaturated zone may have a crucial role in the slope stability. In this work we studied a natural slope located adjacent to a railway track in Eastern Norway. Due to its steep inclination, the factor of safety should be always kept under observation. In addition, the climate in Norway is expected to become wetter and warmer, with increased snow melting. Thus the rainfall/snowmelt infiltration play an important role and needs to be monitored properly to avoid any failure. The slope is instrumented since 2016 and both volumetric water content (VWC) and the pore water pressure regime are monitored.</p><p>The modulus SEEP/W of the commercial software GeoStudio (GEO-SLOPE International, Ltd.) was used to model the transient seepage conditions of the slope for a 7-month monitoring period (from June 2019 to December 2019). Several analyses were carried out by changing the initial conditions and the boundary climate conditions of the slope. Regarding the initial conditions, two series of simulations were carried out, one with an initial calibration of the VWC distribution, another one without calibration, hence, by only locating the ground water table at a specific depth and by indicating the maximum negative head (as required by the model). The calibration, instead, consisted in starting the simulation considering a VWC distribution as closer as possible to the in-situ value.</p><p>For each series, a total of three simulations were carried out with different boundary climate conditions, respectively considering only rainfall/snowmelt (R), considering both rainfall/snowmelt and evaporation (Cl), and considering rainfall/snowmelt and evapotranspiration due to vegetation (V). Indeed, the slope is all covered by relatively dense vegetation, with shrubs and birch trees. For the simulations including evaporation and vegetation (Cl and V), the land-climate interaction boundary condition was adopted. Climate functions, such as the pairs temperature-time, relative humidity-time, wind speed-time, were obtained from a close meteorological station. The evaporation was determined by using the Penman-Monteith equation, including vegetation features in the case of vegetated slope. Preliminary results show that the initial calibration is important for the correct back-analyses of the measured data, and that the model is more accurate when accounting for climate boundary conditions and vegetation, which influence also the slope stability conditions.</p><div>The work has been part of the working package "Landslide triggered by hydro-meteorological processes" within the Center for Research-based Innovation (CRI) programme KLIMA2050 (), financed by the Research Council of Norway.</div>

scholarly journals The Hydromechanical Interplay in the Simplified Three-Dimensional Limit Equilibrium Analyses of Unsaturated Slope Stability

Geosciences ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 73
Author(s):  
Panagiotis Sitarenios ◽  
Francesca Casini
Keyword(s):  
Analytical Solution ◽  
Slope Stability ◽  
Slope Failure ◽  
Failure Modes ◽  
Pore Water Pressure ◽  
Limit Equilibrium ◽  
Water Pressure ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Stability Limit ◽  
Smooth Transition

This paper presents a three-dimensional slope stability limit equilibrium solution for translational planar failure modes. The proposed solution uses Bishop’s average skeleton stress combined with the Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion to describe soil strength evolution under unsaturated conditions while its formulation ensures a natural and smooth transition from the unsaturated to the saturated regime and vice versa. The proposed analytical solution is evaluated by comparing its predictions with the results of the Ruedlingen slope failure experiment. The comparison suggests that, despite its relative simplicity, the analytical solution can capture the experimentally observed behaviour well and highlights the importance of considering lateral resistance together with a realistic interplay between mechanical parameters (cohesion) and hydraulic (pore water pressure) conditions.

Analyses of groundwater flow and plant evapotranspiration in a vegetated soil slope

2013 ◽  
Vol 50 (12) ◽  
pp. 1204-1218 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.K. Leung ◽  
C.W.W. Ng
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Flow ◽  
Pore Water Pressure ◽  
Water Pressure ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Root Water Uptake ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Climatic Data ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Soil Slopes ◽  
Transient Seepage

Understanding seasonal hydrogeological responses of vegetated soil slopes is vital to slope stability because pore-water pressure (PWP) varies from positive values upon rainfall in wet seasons to negative values upon plant evapotranspiration (ET) in dry seasons. There are, however, few case histories that report seasonal performance of vegetated soil slopes. In this study, a vegetated slope situated in Hong Kong was instrumented to analyse (i) groundwater flow during rainfall in the wet season and (ii) effects of plant ET on PWP in the dry season. Two- and three-dimensional anisotropic transient seepage analyses are conducted to identify groundwater flow mechanism(s) during a heavy rainstorm. Through water and energy balance calculations, measured plant-induced suction is interpreted with plant characteristic and climatic data. During the rainstorm, substantial recharge of the groundwater table was recorded, likely due to preferential water flow along relict joints and three-dimensional cross-slope groundwater flow. During the dry season, the peak suction induced by plant ET is up to 200 kPa and the depth of influence is shallower than 200% of the root depth. For the range of suctions monitored, root-water uptake is revealed to have been restricted by suction not very significantly and was driven mainly by the climatic variation.

Unsaturated Seepage and Fluid-Solid Coupling Analysis of Rainfall Infiltration of Slope

2011 ◽  
Vol 255-260 ◽  
pp. 3488-3492
Author(s):  
Bao Lin Xiong ◽  
Jing Song Tang ◽  
Chun Jiao Lu
Keyword(s):  
Pore Water ◽  
Unsaturated Flow ◽  
Pore Water Pressure ◽  
Water Pressure ◽  
Rainfall Infiltration ◽  
Medium Permeability ◽  
Stability Of Slope ◽  
Transient Seepage ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Unsaturated Seepage

Rainfall is one of the main factors that influence the stability of slope. Rainfall infiltration will cause soil saturation changing and further influence pore water pressure and medium permeability coefficient. Based on porous media saturation-unsaturated flow theory, the slope transient seepage field is simulated under the conditions of rainfall infiltration. It is shown that change of pore water pressure in slope soil lag behind relative changes in rainfall conditions. As the rainfall infiltrate, unsaturated zone in top half of slope become diminution, the soil suction and shear strength reduce, so stabilization of soil slope is reduced.

scholarly journals Boulder Pickup by Tsunami Surge

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (05n06) ◽  
pp. 1941006
Author(s):  
Samuel Harry ◽  
Margaret Exton ◽  
Harry Yeh
Keyword(s):  
Pore Water Pressure ◽  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Scale Effects ◽  
Traditional Approach ◽  
Water Pressure ◽  
Free Surface Flow ◽  
Surface Flow ◽  
Flow Conditions ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Impact

Study of boulder transport by tsunamis is challenging because boulder size, shape, and composition vary greatly; furthermore, flow conditions, topography, and initial conditions are generally unknown. To investigate the mechanism of boulder pickup, experiments of tsunami-like flow past spherical boulders partially buried in a sediment bed are conducted. The experiments are performed in a large centrifuge facility to reduce scale effects and the corresponding dynamic similitude is discussed. The traditional approach to determine boulder pickup is adapted for the case of a half-buried spherical boulder. The adapted model predicts that the boulders are transported, but does not accurately predict the timing of pick up. To investigate the difference in pickup timing, two physical phenomena are discussed: pore-water-pressure dissipation in the soil, and the impact of the free-surface flow on hydrodynamic forces. For a spherical shaped boulder, vertical forces (i.e. buoyant and lift forces) are critical for the initiation of boulder pickup. It was found that spherical boulders that are three-quarter buried in the soil are not transported, even when exposed to flow conditions that would otherwise predict transport.

Study on Slope Instability Disciplinarian on the Condition of Rainfall

2013 ◽  
Vol 353-356 ◽  
pp. 654-658
Author(s):  
Nan Tong Zhang ◽  
Xiao Chun Zhang ◽  
Hua Rong Wang ◽  
Chen Yan
Keyword(s):  
Slope Stability ◽  
Tensile Stress ◽  
Rainfall Intensity ◽  
Pore Water Pressure ◽  
Water Pressure ◽  
Road Construction ◽  
Slope Instability ◽  
Slope Surface ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Break Zone

Slope stability is one of the problems of road construction which should be faced with and solve. Rainfall can reduce the shear strength of slope soil and raise the underground water level which can lead to increase slope soil pore water pressure. The influence of rainfall infiltration on slop is mainly to change the slope seepage field, increase dynamic and hydrostatic water load on the slope soil and decrease of soil shear parameters. More abundant rainfall of typhoon area could make the road slope stability more fragile. Based on Matoushan Mountain along 104 state roads in Taizhou city, Zhejiang province, slope instability disciplinarian on the condition of rainfall is studied using the method of numerical simulation in this paper. As the results, when the rainfall intensity was 0.006 m/h and continuous rain was in 24 hours, the slope surface compressive stress tends to zero which began to appear tensile stress area on the condition of self-weight. And when the rainfall intensity was 0.01 m/h and continuous rain was in 24 hours, the large area of the slope surface was tensile stress area which means to appear break zone in slope surface and likely to landslide at the same time.

Analyses for the stability of potash tailings piles

1993 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 491-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Delwyn G. Fredlund ◽  
Zai Ming Zhang ◽  
Karen Macdonald
Keyword(s):  
Slope Stability ◽  
Pore Water ◽  
Pore Water Pressure ◽  
Limit Equilibrium ◽  
Water Pressure ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Equilibrium Analysis ◽  
Limit Equilibrium Analysis ◽  
Dissipation Model ◽  
The Stability

The stability of potash tailings piles is investigated using a pore-water pressure generation and dissipation model together with a limit equilibrium analysis. It is found that a shallow toe failure mode is generally the most applicable and that the stability may be influenced by pore-water pressure migration below the pile. It is suggested that field studies would be useful in evaluating stability in the toe region of the pile. Key words : potash tailings, slope stability, pore pressure dissipation, solutioning.

True Shear Parameters of Saturated Clays

1973 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 652-663
Author(s):  
A. Sridharan ◽  
S. Narasimha Rao
Keyword(s):  
Stress Level ◽  
Pore Water Pressure ◽  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Water Pressure ◽  
Triaxial Compression ◽  
Compression Tests ◽  
Strength Parameters ◽  
Test Procedures ◽  
Stress History ◽  
Triaxial Compression Tests

Ever since Hvorslev proposed a failure criterion incorporating intrinsic parameters, several test procedures have come into practice to determine these ‘true’ strength parameters. Several consolidated undrained triaxial compression tests with pore water pressure measurement were conducted on both montmorillonite and kaolinite clays and the results were analyzed using different existing methods. All the methods through which the data were analyzed fail to assign any unique true strength parameters. Even a particular method yields different values depending upon the initial conditions (stress history, water content) of the sample and stress level during testing. It has been reasoned that these variations are due to the probable differences in fabric between the samples which are involved in various methods. There seems to be a unique linear relationship between tan [Formula: see text] and Cc/pe irrespective of the sample state, stress level, and stress history in both undisturbed and remolded conditions for all the procedures adopted.

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