Shear strength of municipal solid waste for stability analyses

This paper investigates the shear strength of municipal solid waste (MSW) using the back analysis of failed waste slopes as well as field and laboratory test results. Shear strength of MSW is a function of many factors such as waste type, composition, compaction, daily cover, moisture conditions, age, decomposition, overburden pressure, etc. These factors together with non-standardized sampling methods, insufficient sample size to be representative of in situ conditions, and limited shear displacement or axial strain imposed during the laboratory shear testing have created considerable scatter in reported results. Based on the data presented herein, large shear displacements are required to mobilize the peak shear strength of MSW which can lead to displacement incompatibility between MSW and the underlying material(s) such as geosynthetic interfaces and foundation soils. The data presented herein are used to develop displacement compatible shear strength parameters for MSW. Recommendations are presented for modeling the displacement and stress dependent strength envelope in stability analyses.     

Shear strength analysis of grouted coal waste materials to improve mine outslope stability: a laboratory analysis

Summary Slope stability problems exist within the Appalachian Basin as a result of the emplacement of coal mine waste materials on mine outslopes. Prevention or elimination of slope instability problems can be costly. In an attempt to test alternative methods of slope stabilization, the United States Bureau of Mines determined some physical characteristics and shear strengths of ungrouted and polyurethenegrouted samples of coal refuse, coal spoil and natural soils collected at a number of mine outslope sites in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The particle size distribution, per cent field porosity, per cent field water content and shear strengths of the materials were determined in the laboratory. Fifty drained direct shear strength tests were performed with the sample materials using a 0.06 m³ shear box. Tests were done at field moisture, 100% saturation and grout-infused conditions. Normal loads of 103 kN m^–2, 206 kN m^–2 and 416 kN m^–2 were used. The grout-infused tests generally showed strength increases. An infinite slope model was used to demonstrate the potential effectiveness ofin situ grouting for a variety of field slope conditions. This modelling suggests thatin situ grouting has the potential of stabilizing slopes of up to 35° at depths of 14 m for refuse material and 30° at depths of 5 m for spoil and soil materials. The validity of these increases in material strength by grout injection will require field testing for confirmation.     

Shear strength characterization of municipal solid waste at the Suzhou landfill, China

The current practice of slope stability analysis for a municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill usually overlooks the dependence of waste properties on the fill age or embedment depth. Changes in shear strength of MSW as a function of fill age were investigated by performing field and laboratory studies on the Suzhou landfill in China. The field study included sampling from five boreholes advanced to the bottom of the landfill, cone penetration tests and monitoring of pore fluid pressures. Twenty-six borehole samples representative of different fill ages (0 to 13 years) were used to perform drained triaxial compression tests. The field and laboratory study showed that the waste body in the landfill can be sub-divided into several strata corresponding to different ranges of fill age. Each of the waste strata has individual composition and shear strength characteristics. The triaxial test results showed that the MSW samples exhibited a strain-hardening and contractive behavior. As the fill age of the waste increased from 1.7 years to 11 years, the cohesion mobilized at a strain level of 10% was found to decrease from 23.3 kPa to 0 kPa, and the mobilized friction angle at the same strain level increasing from 9.9° to 26°. For a confinement stress level greater than 50 kPa, the shear strength of the recently-placed MSW seemed to be lower than that of the older MSW. This behavior was consistent with the cone penetration test results. The field measurement of pore pressures revealed a perched leachate mound above an intermediate cover of soils and a substantial leachate mound near the bottom of the landfill. The measurements of shear strength properties and pore pressures were utilized to assess the slope stability of the Suzhou landfill.     

缓慢复活型滑坡滑带土的蠕变性质与特征强度试验研究

锁儿头滑坡是甘肃省舟曲县城附近、体积约72.85×106 m3的一个巨型老滑坡。20世纪70年代末滑坡开始复活,至今一直处于缓慢活动之中,显示滑坡活动具有典型的蠕动特点。滑带力学特性是控制滑坡活动机制的关键因素之一,为了弄清该滑坡滑带物质的蠕变性质以及控制滑坡活动的强度指标,通过滑带土残余状态下的直剪蠕变试验,研究了滑坡滑带土的蠕变特性,比较了滑带长期强度和残余强度的关系。研究发现,滑带土蠕变特性与应力状态相关,滑带进入加速蠕变的临界剪应力和剪切速率均与正应力线性正相关。该滑坡应力状态指示其已具备进入加速蠕变的条件。残余状态下该滑坡滑带土的长期与残余强度基本等价,前者略大于后者,且增大量值与正应力有负相关关系。     

Assessment of a coastal landslide subjected to building loads at Sinop, Black Sea region, Turkey, and stabilization measures

The large landslides along the Black Sea shore in Turkey are well-known instability phenomena and responsible for considerable economic losses each year. The severity of the problem increased particularly in recent years as increased scarcity of land forced utilization of inherently unstable areas. In 1988, severe rainstorms at the city of Sinop on the Black Sea shore triggered ground movements on a gentle coastal slope subjected to building loads and caused extensive damage to buildings founded on the slope. Comprehensive investigations of the failure were carried out and used to establish a geotechnical model for the slide. The model allowed consideration of building loads and different groundwater conditions. In addition, the model studies were complimented by limit-equilibrium and finite-element stress analyses. The results indicated movements on a circular sliding surface through stiff clay. The toe of the landslide is located at the shoreline and remains active. The failure was probably initiated by rising groundwater level combined with surcharge loads imposed by buildings on the slope. Other contributing factors include sand extraction and coastal erosion. Remedial works are recommended involving a rockfill buttress at the toe of the slide and drainage improvements on the surface of the slope.     

Effect of spatial variability of shear strength on reliability of infinite slopes using analytical approach

This paper develops an analytical approach for reliability analysis of infinite slope stability in presence of spatially variable shear strength parameters. The analytical approach considers spatial autocorrelation of each parameter and cross-correlations between different parameters. It is robust, computational efficient and provides insight to the importance of spatial correlation scale on slope reliability analysis. This paper also explores the difference in continuous and discrete random fields and emphasizes the importance of fine discretization in relation to correlation scale. Finally, it shows that conditioning the stability analysis with information about trends and spatial data leads to reliability assessments with less uncertainty.     

Shear strength behaviour of polypropylene fibre reinforced cohesive soils

Soil reinforcement through the inclusion of oriented or randomly distributed discrete elements such as fibres has recently attracted increasing attention in geotechnical engineering. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of certain parameters (the strength properties of the fibre, the relative size of the fibres and grains, and the rate of shear) on the shear strength of polypropylene fibre reinforced cohesive soils. A series of consolidated drained or undrained direct shear tests were conducted on unreinforced and reinforced sandy silt and silty clay specimens. Two types of polypropylene fibres with different mechanical indices were used. The fibre content was varied between 0.3% and 1.1% by weight of dry soil. The test results revealed that the inclusion of fibres in soil significantly increases the shear strength. The attainment of the high shear strength is attributed to the micromechanisms involved in the fibre/soil interactions as studied through scanning electron micrographs. The results also showed that the reinforcement effect was more pronounced under undrained shearing conditions. An important outcome from the current work is that, from the data obtained, the strength of the reinforced soil composites is not practically affected by the fibre mechanical indices.     

滑带土强度特性研究现状

滑带土强度特性对滑坡稳定性研究和滑坡防治工程设计具有重要意义。通过回顾国内外一些代表性工作,总结了其主要研究内容、研究方法和成果。研究内容包括5种特征强度：峰值抗剪强度、残余抗剪强度、完全软化强度、滑坡启动强度、长期抗剪强度以及相应的微观结构特征;研究方法以现场与室内试验为主,理论分析和反演分析为辅;研究成果主要反映在各种特征强度及其相互关系、剪切引起的微观结构变化特征方面。重点介绍了残余强度研究成果,包括其影响因素和数值估算。最后指出了研究工作中应该加强的几个方面,如特殊滑带土的研究（如砾质滑带土）、新的测试技术和研究方法的发展以及反分析法的正确运用等。     

Role of slope stability in cumulative impact assessment of hydropower development: North Cascades, Washington

Two environmental assessments considered the potential cumulative environmental impacts resulting from the development of eight proposed hydropower projects in the Nooksack River Basin and 11 proposed projects in the Skagit River Basin, North Cascades, Washington, respectively. While not identified as a target resource, slope stability and the alteration of sediment supply to creeks and river mainstems significantly affect other resources. The slope stability assessment emphasized the potential for cumulative impacts under disturbed conditions (e.g., road construction and timber harvesting) and a landslide-induced pipeline rupture scenario. In the case of smallscale slides, the sluicing action of ruptured pipeline water on the fresh landslide scarp was found to be capable of eroding significantly more material than the original landslide. For large-scale landslides, sluiced material was found to be a small increment of the original landslide. These results predicted that hypothetical accidental pipeline rupture by small-scale landslides may result in potential cumulative impacts for 12 of the 19 projects with pending license applications in both river basins.     

Numerical simulation of the undrained stability of slopes in anisotropic fine-grained soils

The undrained stability of slopes in anisotropic fine-grained soils is studied in this paper using the finite element method (FEM). A constitutive model is presented, able to account for the observed variation of undrained strength with loading direction. The model is able to encompass the different strength distributions observed in normally, slightly overconsolidated and heavily overconsolidated soils. A series of stability analyses have been performed to explore the effect of the type of undrained strength anisotropy on the stability and failure mechanisms of slopes of different inclinations. In addition, a real case study of the failure of an underwater slope is analysed with the numerical approach presented. It suggests that, by considering undrained strength anisotropy, the failure can be satisfactorily explained.     

Factors influencing undrained strength of fine-grained soils at high water contents

Understanding the undrained strength of fine-grained soils has been of interest to geotechnical researchers from many practical considerations. In several civil engineering applications, water content of soil is quite high being near or above the liquid limit of soils, and understanding the factors responsible for imparting the strength of soil at high water contents is of great significance. Recently, it has been reported in the literature that the shear strength of soils at these limiting water contents has significant variation. However, the reasons and the factors that probably influence for this variation have not been reported in the literature. This experimental investigation is an attempt in the direction of understanding the reasons for the variation in the undrained strength at higher limiting water content, namely liquid limit considering the various influencing factors like clay mineralogy and fine-sand content present in soil used for determining liquid limit. The results from this study are quite revealing and have been explained based on the mechanisms controlling the undrained strength at liquid limit.     

区分毛细和吸附作用的非饱和土抗剪强度模型

基于对非饱和土中孔隙水毛细和吸附作用的区分,得到了一种机制明确的非饱和土抗剪强度模型。首先,假定两种非饱和土的特殊状态,即只存在毛细作用的理想毛细状态和只存在吸附作用的理想吸附状态。分别给出了这两种理想状态的抗剪强度模型,其中毛细作用的影响可表示为考虑气化过程的有效饱和度和吸力的乘积,吸附作用的影响可初步简化表示为表观黏聚力的最大值。其次,利用二元介质模型,认为非饱和土中土-水作用是由这两种理想状态的不同权重组合而成。通过气化概率分布函数,表示了实际非饱和土中两种理想状态的参与比重,建立了适用于较广吸力变化范围的非饱和土抗剪强度模型。最后,通过与试验结果及当前流行的模型拟合结果的对比,验证了所建立的模型的合理性。研究表明,在考虑吸力对非饱和土力学性质的影响时,应该区分吸力的不同作用。     

有荷干湿循环条件下不同膨胀土抗剪强度基本特性

针对膨胀土分布区公路边坡常浅层坍滑现状,选取南、北方3种典型膨胀土样,模拟干湿循环并计及边坡破坏时滑面的上覆压力,改变常规试样吸湿及施剪条件开展试验研究,以获得较符合实际的膨胀土抗剪强度及其衰减规律。结果表明：不同上覆压力对膨胀土抗剪强度的影响为荷载越大其强度绝对衰减率越小;用双直线能较好表征其抗剪强度线特征,强度指标c、? 宜按高、低应力段分别获取;随干湿循环次数增加,c值呈指数函数衰减,是造成边坡浅层坍滑的主要原因;? 值随作用次数增加虽有减小趋势,但降幅不大;通过控制基本相同的试验条件,实测得3种膨胀土的最终抗剪强度均降至某一幅值范围。研究结论为解读膨胀土坡为何多浅层坍滑提供了有价值的信息。     

Case history of controlling a landslide at Panluo open-pit mine in China

Controlling of landsides safely and economically is a great challenge to mine operators because landslides are major geological problems especially in open-pit mines. In this paper, a case history at Panluo open-pit mine is presented in detail to share the experiences and lessons with mine operators. Panluo open-pit mine is located in the southwestern Fujian province of China. It is the largest open-pit iron mine in the Fujian province and was planned in 1965 and is in full operation from 1978. In July 1990, an earthquake of magnitude 5.3 in Taiwan Strait and big rainstorms impacted the mine slope, causing tension cracks and rather large-scale failures, and forming a U-shaped landslide. Total potential volume was estimated to be up to 1.0 × 10⁶ m³. This directly threatened the mine production. In order to protect the mine production and the dwellers’ safety around, a dynamic comprehensive method was implemented including geotechnical investigations, in-situ testing and monitoring, stability analysis, and many mitigation and preventive measures. These measures slowed down the development and further occurrence of the landslide. The results showed that the landslides were still active, it was slowed with the control measures and moved rapidly with rainfall and mining down. However, no catastrophic accidents occurred and the pit mining was continued till it was closed at the elevation of 887 m in 2000. As a successful case of landslide control at an open-pit mine for 10 years, this paper reports the controlling measures in details. These experiences of landslide control may be beneficial to other similar mines for landslide control.     

粒状材料的强度与变形

颗粒破碎的特征表明,颗粒破碎具有分形特征,是影响粒状材料变形与强度的主要因素,根据颗粒破碎的分形模型可以建立粒状材料的变形与强度理论。假定粒状材料是均匀的D维分形体,由此导出粒状材料的抗张强度公式,并用来估算颗粒在给定压力下的破碎几率。颗粒破碎增加了单位体积颗粒的表面积,即颗粒的比表面能量增加,根据颗粒破碎过程中的能量守恒导出粒状材料一维压缩变形的表达式。     

临近基坑既有建筑物地基的抗剪强度指标取值问题

基坑开挖不仅改变了半无限空间体边界条件,卸载时还会引起周围地层移动,导致既有建筑物地基承载力的附加损失。在临近基坑既有建筑物地基承载力计算中,其抗剪强度参数的选取有别于斜坡上地基计算参数的常规取值方法。通过探讨临近基坑既有建筑物地基抗剪强度指标的取值问题,建议以地基土的完全软化强度与残余抗剪强度的平均值作为临近基坑既有建筑物地基抗剪强度指标,并据此估算了临近基坑既有建筑物地基承载力。所得结果与斜坡上地基承载力的试验值和理论解对比分析后显示出其具有一定的合理性。所建议的抗剪强度指标取值方法,还有待于试验的进一步验证。     

粗粒料湿化变形后的抗剪强度分析

采用大型三轴仪,对双江口坝壳粗粒料进行了不同围压、不同应力水平的湿化试验研究,并对湿化变形后的抗剪强度进行了分析。各个湿化应力水平下的抗剪强度指标近似相等,其c值在风干态和饱和态之间,更接近于饱和态值,而? 值也有相同规律,其值较固结排气剪略有降低,更接近于饱和态的摩擦角。     

Displacement properties of landslide masses at the initiation of failure in quick clay deposits and the effects of meteorological and hydrological factors

This study aimed to identify displacement properties of landslide masses at the initiation of failure and factors that affect the landslides activities in areas where quick clay is found. We set up a research site in a quick clay deposit area in Norway and monitored the displacements of landslide masses and meteorological and hydrological factors for a long period of time using an automatic monitoring system. The system collected data for two landslides that occurred at the site from the start of their movement until their ultimate collapse.

The two landslides that were monitored showed definite secondary and tertiary creep stages before they collapsed. One of the landslides moved from the secondary stage to the tertiary creep stage when another landslide occurred nearby. The tertiary stage of this landslide showed reconstruction of short primary, secondary, and tertiary creep stages. These phenomena suggested that (1) the stress at the end of the landslide mass was released during the nearby landslide, and (2) a new stress distribution was formed in the landslide mass. The critical strain differed for 14 times between the two landslide masses we monitored. The difference was likely attributable to the difference in the contents of quick clay, which shows small critical stress against slope failure, as well as topological factors.

Our analyses of the effects of hydrological and meteorological factors on landslides showed that the precipitation of 3 and 10 days before six slope failures as the final stages of the landslides that had occurred in the research area was no different from the mean precipitation of periods that showed no slope failure, suggesting that precipitation had no direct effects on the collapse of the landslide masses. On the other hand, the traveling velocities of the landslide masses during the secondary creep stage, which was prior to their collapse, were affected by the water content of the soil and precipitation (and the amount of snowmelt water), but was little correlated with the pore-water pressure of the quick clay layer. We also found that the presence of snow cover scarcely affected landslide movements.     

高陡边坡滑坡体黄土的强度特性研究

黄土台塬是黄土地区典型的地貌特征,塬边多为高陡边坡,极易发生崩塌和滑坡地质灾害。位于陕西境内泾河以南的黄土塬－泾阳南塬为典型的高陡黄土边坡,其崩塌、滑坡地质灾害频繁发生,自东南向西北的大小滑坡形成了延绵约30 km的滑坡群。对泾阳南塬滑坡群进行分析,以其中一规模较大的近年滑坡--东风滑坡为例进行了实地考察、现场测量,对滑坡体后缘和前缘的黄土进行了一系列的室内物理和力学性质试验。分析了高陡黄土边坡滑坡的发生过程和破坏机制,由颗粒分析和湿陷性试验得出滑坡体前后缘土体的湿陷液化特征。分析了不同含水率对强度参数的影响,并对比分析了原状黄土和重塑黄土的强度参数和结构性,验证了重塑饱和黄土的应力-应变关系和体应变-轴应变关系与邓肯-张模型符合较好,为高陡黄土边坡稳定性分析强度参数的合理选取提供了参考     

基于滑带强度参数动态演化的滑坡稳定性研究

基于滑带应力状态分析和室内试验,提出了基于滑带强度参数动态演化的滑坡稳定性评价方法,并将应力状态作为评价滑面力学参数的主要指标,以合理地反映滑面强度状态对滑坡稳定性的影响。通过室内试验,获得了滑面强度参数与工程性状、力学参数之间的量化关系,在该基础上,通过数值计算,对滑面的力学参数和滑坡的稳定性进行三维计算。计算结果表明,利用提出的方法能较好地反映出滑带强度参数的空间分区特征。同时,对工况变动情况下滑带的强度参数进行量化取值,并对滑坡的稳定性进行动态计算,提出的计算方法更能体现出滑坡力学参数与稳定性的动态变化过程。