In this study the stabili ty and stress distribution of anisotropic jointed rock slopes under external loading were examined. The influence of joint orientation and mechanical characteristics on the engineering behaviour of jointed rock slopes were included in the investigation. A total of four physical models were developed by using blocks of light-weight concrete and gypsum mortar to simulate intact rocks and joints respectively. The models were built within a confining frame such that plane strain conditions were maintained throughout the experiments. The stress-strain relationship and the strength of the model blocks were determined from laboratory tests. An empirical equation was established to represent the strength envelope of the model material and rocks in general. The normal and shear properties of the model rock JOints were examined, and were described by mathematical expressions in order to facilitate the numerical studies. Results from the physical modelling studies showed that localised failure regions were induced and three types of failure modes were identified. The stability and stress distribution wi thin the models were found to be significantly influenced by the properties and system of the jointing. Two computer programs were developed based on the Finite Element Method and Coupled Finite-Boundary Element Method in order to simulate the behaviour of jointed rock masses and assessments of their application were made in comparison with the physical modelling results. A special finite joint element was developed to incorporate the non-linearity and anisotropy behaviour of rock joints. The finite element program was successfully executed and gave reasonable results in which the principal stress distributions were generally in agreement with those obtained from the physical models. The finite-boundary element program on the other hand introduced boundary incompatibility in the system and therefore led to divergency.

This Master's thesis deals with the issue of rock face stability on the natural heritage site of Stře- šovické skály. The author has documented the rock face of the Cretaceous sandstones in aim to identify e unstable stones, blocks or whole parts of the rock face and potentially destabilizing trees or shrubs. The area of interest was divided into 8 sections that have been separately described and measured. Four rock samples have been macroscopically described, surface hardness has been also measured in the field in order to verify technical parameters of the Cenomanian sandstones, forming the rock terrace. The strike and slip of fractu- res was measured with a geological compass. The results of these measurements were then drawn in stereo- graphic projection using the Openstereo 0.1.2 software. The field exploration has shown that the hazard of rock failure is considerably high in several do- cumented profiles. Finally, the author recommended measures that should be taken to reduce the risk with regard to the fact that the area under investigation is a natural heritage site, so that extensive remediation is not possible.

The geometric alteration of slopes is a reality that can be observed in several districts of the Peruvian capital. The construction of houses, roads, and other infrastructure can produce some slope instability and cause tragic events. Thus, a stability analysis was carried out for a slope located in the San Juan de Lurigancho district, specifically in the Virgen de Fátima sector. Therefore, for the present investigation, two models were made with the help of Phase2 software to identify the resistance reduction factors (SFR), which is a finite element-based program. To start the analysis, possible failures were identified, demonstrating that the slope does not present any possibility of failure. For the first model, we worked with a dip of 30° and identified an SFR = 19.26 for static conditions and an SFR = 9.66 for pseudo-static conditions. For the second model, we worked with a dip of 55°, this change in slope geometry shows a possible wedge failure, according to the kinematic analysis. Also, an SFR = 0.89 was identified for static conditions and an SFR = 0.48 for pseudo-static conditions. The results show very considerable changes and are due to the geometry of the slope, the presence of discontinuities, and the participation of seismic forces.

Construction of rock slopes is needed in many civil work projects. It is for example very common in road and railway cuts, but other applications include excavation for tunneling or building foundations, where perhaps sensitive constructions are present in the immediate vicinity. In Sweden the majority of the rock is hard crystalline bedrock of relatively good quality, and the fracture orientation have a large effect of the stability of the rock slope.If the geology is not properly considered for when the design of the slope is carried out, it can result in slope failure, with severe consequences. This applies especially if the rock slope is high, but unwanted effects like increased excavation and construction costs, could occur also in smaller slopes if the risks are not identified and managed. However, it is difficult to standardize design of rock slopes in fractured hard crystalline rock because of the uncertainties and variations in the geological conditions during the design phase.Rock mass characterization systems like Rock mass rating, RMR (Bieniawski 1989) and the Qsystem (Barton, Lien och Lunde 1974) are commonly used to describe the general rock mass quality. Whilst a good rock mass quality is generally easier to construct in, stability problems do occur due to structural geology in rock slopes even in good rock mass quality. The application of these systems in rock slopes can be problematic as they do not describe the geometry of the slope and how the fractures daylight in the slope face. Instead, stereonets can be used to visualize this, but fracture parameters of large importance for stability (persistence, roughness and alteration) are traditionally not presented in a stereonet analysis. Additionally, these parameters and the structural geological conditions can be difficult to predict and can vary significantly over short distances, why it can be difficult to forecast and predict failure in the design face.Slope instability due to large sliding and wedge failures have been observed in a large number of slopes in crystalline rock, and a standard method for design of rock slopes is lacking. This has given rise to the research question of how best to describe rock mass conditions, how to design slopes in crystalline rock and how to manage these risks during construction.To investigate this, three rock slopes where large failure had occurred were selected for the case study and were mapped, characterized and analyzed. The results from the case study showed that all rock slopes investigated had in common that failure had occurred along fractures of large persistence. This highlights the importance of evaluating the geology in the correct scale and suggest that lineament studies and other elevation based interpretation are perhaps more useful than previously thought. It also came to light that the planning and design process is inflexible which in many cases lead to large risks being overlooked or left unnoticed.A flow chart for risk classification was produced and suggested for aid in decision making aiming at simplifying project management of rock slopes, as well as aiding in visualization of the risk that rock slopes can be associated to.

[pt] Movimentos de terra em encostas frequentemente causam grandes prejuízos econômicos, ambientais, sociais e, com freqüência, perda de vidas humanas. O mecanismo que desencadeia o processo de movimentação geralmente ocorre em períodos de chuvas intensas, principalmente nas encostas com pouca cobertura vegetal ou naquelas que sofreram mudanças recentes na topografia, geralmente pela execução de cortes. Neste trabalho foram realizadas análises de estabilidade da um trecho da encosta da BR-376, que liga as cidades de Curitiba a Joinville no km 55+800 do oleoduto OSPAR da Transpetro. Em 1995, cortes executados para duplicação da rodovia provocaram instabilidade em certa área da encosta. Em janeiro de 1997, durante um período de fortes chuvas, um novo escorregamento da porção inferior do talude provocou a ruptura do muro existente e uma série de escorregamentos sucessivos, que chegaram a atingir a faixa dos oleodutos. Diante desse cenário, utilizou-se primeiramente o programa de elementos finitos PLAXIS para as análises de estabilidade e posteriormente, a fim de comparação, o programa Slope/W e Sigma/W. Para as análises no PLAXIS foi utilizado o hardening soil model para o solo, com os parâmetros sendo determinados através de ensaios triaxiais com amostras obtidas de dois blocos de solo coletados das encosta. Os efeitos da movimentação da encosta no oleoduto OSPAR foram analisados por programa 3D de elementos finitos, dando-se ênfase às tensões e deformações para se a fim de verificar a integridade do duto. / [en] In densely populated urban areas, landslides generally cause large economic, social and environmental damages as well as, quite frequently, the loss of human lives. The main triggering factor for soil slope failures is the occurrence of heavy rainfalls and the most affected slopes are those with little vegetal covering or that had suffered recent changes in topography, generally due to the execution of cuts and excavations. In this work, stability analyses of a soil slope located at km 55+800 of the Transpetro’s OSPAR oil pipeline were carried out In 1995, the works for the duplication of the BR-376 highway, connecting the cities of Curitiba and Joinville, caused some instability in certain area of the soil slope. Later, in January 1997, during a period of heavy rainfall, a new landslide near the slope toe provoked the failure of the existing retaining wall and triggered a series of successive slides that reached the protected area were the oil pipeline was buried. In order to better understand the mechanics involved in this process, numerical analyses were carried out using the computational programs Slope/W, Sigma/W and Plaxis v.8. The soil behavior was simulated considering the hard soil model, whose constitutive parameters were estimated from triaxial tests. The influence of soil movements on the OSPAR oil pipeline were investigated through a 3D finite element analysis, with emphasis on stress and strain distributions in order to check the pile line structural integrity.

The cut slopes at a segment between Km 25+600 and 26+000 of the Antalya-Burdur Breakaway-Korkuteli State Road to be newly constructed have slope instability problems due to the existence of highly jointed limestone. The purpose of this study is to investigate the engineering geological properties of the units exposed at three cut slopes, to assess stability of the cut slopes, and to recommend remedial measures for the problematic sections. In this respect, both field and laboratory studies have been carried out. The limestone exposed at the cut slopes are beige to gray, fine grained, fossiliferous, and highly jointed. It has two joint sets and a bedding plane as main discontinuities. The kinematic analysis indicates that planar failure is expected at Km: 25+900. Limit equilibrium analysis show that the cut slopes with bench have no slope instability problems except rockfalls which endanger the traffic safety. In this thesis it is recommended to covering the cut slope with wire mesh and fibre reinforced shotcrete

[pt] São abordados alguns aspectos relativos à execução de análises probabilísticas em projetos de geotecnia. Apresenta-se um resumo dos conceitos de probabilidade e estatística, utilizados ao longo do trabalho. Descreve-se uma metodologia para a obtenção dos dados necessários à análise probabilística, incluindo a quantidade e a localização de amostras, o cálculo das médias e variâncias dos parâmetros do solo e a quantificação das incertezas relativas a estes valores. Apresenta-se o procedimento de execução dos três métodos probabilísticos mais utilizados em geotecnia com ênfase especial para o Método do Segundo Momento de Primeira Ordem. São executadas análises probabilísticas considerando, separadamente, variações de altura e inclinação de um talude de mineração sob condições drenadas. Avalia-se também a aplicação da metodologia de análise probabilística em situações não-drenadas, através da análise da estabilidade de um quebra-mar sobre argila mole. / [en] Some aspects about probabilistic analysis of stability in geotechnical engineering are studied in this thesis. A summary about basic concepts of probability and statistics used along this work is presented. The methodology for obtaining the data needed for probabilistic analysis is described, including quantity and localization of samples, computation of mean and variance of soil properties and determination of uncertainties about these values. The procedures of three probabilistic methods which are useful in geotechnics are presented, with special emphasis on the first order second moment method (FOSM). Probabilistic analysis are made considering independent changes of height and inclination of a mine slope under drained conditions. The application of probabilistic analysis of a breakwater above a soft clay deposit under undrained conditions is also presented. / [es] Se abordan algunos aspectos relativos a la ejecución de análisis probabilístico en proyectos de geotecnia. Se presenta un resumen de los conceptos de probabilidades y estadísticas, utilizados a lo largo del trabajo. Se describe una metodología para la obtención de los datos necesarios para el análisis probabilístico, incluyendo la cantidad y la localización de las muestras, el cálculo de las medias y variancias de los parámetros del suelo y la cuantificación de los errores relativos a estos valores. Se presenta el procedimientode ejecución de los tres métodos probabilísticos más utilizados en geotecnia con énfasis especial para el Método del Segundo Momento de Primer Orden. Se realizan análisis probabilísticos considerando, separadamente, variaciones de altura e inclinación de un talud de mineración en condiciones drenadas. También se evalúa la aplicación de la metodología de análisis probabilística en situaciones no-drenadas, a través de el análisis de la estabilidad de un quebra olas sobre arcilla blanda.

[pt] Na abordagem determinística compara-se o método do equilíbrio limite com o método dos elementos finitos na análise 2D da estabilidade de taludes em solo, determinando-se o valor do fator de segurança para vários exemplos de aplicação. No método dos elementos finitos quantifica-se a região da potencial superfície de ruptura que se comporta sob extensão, analisando-se a ocorrência de anisotropia de resistência ao longo da potencial superfície de deslizamento para situações envolvendo diferentes tipos de solo, ângulos de inclinação do talude e sequências de escavação. Conclui-se que o efeito da anisotropia é pouco significativo quando o ângulo de atrito do solo exceder a 10 graus. Por outro lado, devido à crescente aplicação da abordagem probabilística na prática da engenharia geotécnica, foram realizadas análises de confiabilidade de taludes empregando os métodos de Monte Carlo, do hipercubo latino e o método das estimativas pontuais alternativas, comparando-se os diferentes resultados obtidos e discutindo as principais vantagens da aplicação destes métodos. / [en] In the deterministic approach the limit equilibrium method and the finite element method are compared for 2D analysis of soil slope stability, calculating the value of the safety factor in several numerical examples. In the finite element method the region of soil under strain extension is determined and the occurrence of strength anisotropy is investigated along the potential sliding surface for situations involving different types of soil, angles of slope inclination and excavation sequences. It is concluded that the effect of the anisotropy is negligible when the angle of friction is higher than 10 degress. Moreover, due to the increasing application of the probabilistic approach in the practice of geotechnical engineering, some reliability analyses were carried out using the Monte Carlo method, the Latin hypercube method and the method of alternative point estimates, comparing their different outputs and discussing the main advantages of their application in the analysis of soil slope stability problems.

[pt] Neste trabalho se faz uma análise numérica da influência da temperatura na estabilidade de um talude em rocha. Com esta finalidade, analisou-se um escorregamento de rocha que ocorreu na cidade do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, no ano 2009. Nos estudos feitos, depois do escorregamento, por parte de Geo-Rio (Geo-Rio, 2009) não se encontrou nenhuma evidência de algum fator desencadeante, como água subterrânea, pluviosidade, sobrecarga na crista do talude, que poderia haver desencadeado o escorregamento; por tal motivo se fez a consideração de que o fator desencadeante poderia ser a flutuação da temperatura na rocha. Chavez (Chavez, 2007) fez um trabalho experimental para avaliar a influência das oscilações térmicas na estabilidade de um maciço rochoso, isto ajudou para determinar as equações de variação da temperatura, e assim poder definir as condições de contorno para a modelagem. A modelagem se faz no software 3DEC (3 Dimensional Distinct Element Code) (Itasca, 2007). O software representa o meio descontínuo através de uma montagem de blocos, esta característica é de utilidade, já que pode representar, de forma aproximada, as geometrias dos blocos que escorregam. O método numérico que utiliza o 3DEC é o método de elementos distintos ou discretos. Na análise foi feita em duas etapas, na primeira a temperatura do modelo se mantem constante, e na segunda a temperatura do modelo varia respeito ao tempo. Dentro destas duas etapas também foi mudado o ângulo de atrito. Os resultados obtidos indicaram que quando se tem flutuação da temperatura, com alta frequência, e um menor valor de ângulo de atrito, se geram as condições para que aconteça o escorregamento do talude. / [en] This research made a numerical analysis of the influence of the temperature on the stability of the rock slope. For this purpose, it analyzed a landslide of rock that occurred in the Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, in 2009. The studies made by Geo-Rio (Geo-Rio, 2009) after the landslide, did not find any evidence of a triggering factor, such as underground water, rainfall, overload on the top of the slope, which could be triggered the slipping; therefore was done the consideration that the triggering factor could be the fluctuation of the rock temperature. Chavez (Chavez, 2007) made an experimental study to evaluate the influence of the temperature fluctuation on the stability of the rock mass; this helped to determine the equations of the variation of the temperature, and be able to define the boundary conditions for the numerical model. The modeling was done in 3DEC software (3 Dimensional Distinct Element Code) (Itasca, 2007). The software represents the discontinuous medium such as assemblage of discrete blocks; this feature is useful because it can represent, approximately, the geometries of the slide blocks. The numerical method that 3DEC uses is the discrete element method. The analysis was done in two stages, the first stage the temperature model keeps constant, and in the second stage the temperature of the model varies with respect to time. In these two stages was also changed the angle of friction. The results indicated that when one has fluctuation of the temperature, with high frequency, and slow value of the angle friction are generated the conditions for that the slope slipping.

The development of an interactive computer model for managing geologic hazards databases is vital and long overdue. As highway rockslopes continue to age and become more unstable and earthen dams are subjected to ever increasing flood events, a more proactive management system is required in order to provide timely information to planners and emergency personnel on demand. In recent years, deaths have occurred associated with both highway rockslides and earthen dam failures in southwest Virginia. In February 1991, a rockfall event occurred on Route U.S. 11 in the City of Radford, VA, which resulted indirectly in a highway accident and fatality. The incident made all parties aware that rockfalls from aging highway roadcuts within the city limits pose some threat to the motoring public (Watts et al., 1996). Additionally, in June 1995, the Timberlake dam in Lynchburg, VA, failed due to flash flooding from intense summer storms. Two people died on highways downstream of the dam, even though emergency personnel were on the scene. The lack of organized critical information about the dam, its downstream flood inundation zone, and its emergency action plan contributed to the tragedy. The outcome of the ensuing litigation is pending. In the case of the City of Radford, a user-friendly interactive database containing structural stereonet analysis, digital images, hazardous slope conditions, and maintenance records would provide a proactive approach to rockslope maintenance by allowing the slopes to be ranked in terms of geologic and traffic conditions. Appropriate remediation measures can then be taken in the most cost-effective manner. In the case of the Timberlake dam failure, a database containing critical information about the dam, its upstream watershed characteristics, downstream flood inundation zones, and emergency action plan could have been accessed by state geologists and emergency dispatchers. Appropriate measures could have been taken to deal with the event as it was unfolding. / Master of Science