An Approach to Assess the Stability of Unsaturated Multilayered Coastal-Embankment Slope during Rainfall Infiltration

Abstract

This study aims to develop a simple but effective approach to investigate the stability of an unsaturated and multilayered coastal-embankment slope during the rainfall, in which a Random Search Algorithm (RSA) based on the random sampling idea of the Monte Carlo method was employed to obtain the most dangerous circular sliding surface, whereas the safety factor of the unsaturated slope was calculated by the modified Morgenstern–Price method. Firstly, two typical distributions of matric suction were illustrated and the associated methods for determining the strength parameters of unsaturated soil were developed. Based on this, the Morgenstern–Price method was further modified to calculate the safety factor, and RSA was adopted to locate the most dangerous sliding surface of the unsaturated multilayered coastal-embankment slope. Finally, the slope breaking process under rainfall infiltration was simulated through continuously searching the critical slip surfaces under different groundwater levels by RSA. The results indicated that the stability of the unsaturated embankment slope was gradually deteriorated with the increase of rainfall infiltration. It was also found that both of the distributions of the matrix suction (ua-uw) and the suction angle (φb) had significant effects on the safety factor of the embankment slope. Basically, linear distribution of (ua-uw) along the depth and linear relationship between φb and (ua-uw) should be adopted in assessing the stability of the unsaturated multilayered coastal-embankment slope.

Formulation of a Slope Protection Scheme for Senggarang Coastal Embankment Subjected to Tidal Assault

“…Coastal embankment is commonly used to property and safeguard human life from harsh environmental conditions like long-term wave loading, sea level rise, rainfall and storm [1]. One of the common problems faced at the embankment sites is erosion at the seaward slope.…”

Coastal Geohazard and Offshore Geotechnics

“…Their research suggests that coeval events (the strike-slip movement along the Red River Fault and the ridge jump of the South China Sea) in the Oligocene-Miocene boundary triggered the Baiyun-Liwan submarine slide. Zhu et al [16] developed a simple approach to investigate the stability of an unsaturated and multilayered coastal-embankment slope during the rainfall, in which a Random Search Algorithm (RSA) based on the random sampling idea of the Monte Carlo method was employed to obtain the most dangerous circular sliding surface, whereas the safety factor of the unsaturated slope was calculated by the modified Morgenstern-Price method. It was found that the fluctuation of the groundwater level has a significant influence on the location of the most dangerous sliding surface.…”

“…(2) evaluation of stability of marine infrastructures, including pipelines [6][7][8], piled foundation and bridge piers [9][10][11][12], submarine tunnel [13], and other supported foundations [14]; and (3) coastal geohazard, including submarine landslide and slope stability [15,16] and other geohazard issue [17,18]. More details of each contribution are summarized in the following subsections.…”

Efficient and Reliable Prediction of Dump Slope Stability in Mines using Machine Learning: An in-depth Feature Importance Analysis

“…traditional methods for slope stability analysis, such as limit equilibrium models and numerical modeling, have been effective but are often time-consuming and resource-intensive [3,4]. these methods have been applied in different parts of the world to analyze the impact of factors like rainfall on slope stability [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. however, these methods struggle when dealing with complex and uncertain situations involving a multitude of interrelated factors.…”

“…While these studies have contributed to our understanding of dump slope stability, they often focus on a limited set of parameters, neglecting crucial variables like weather conditions, blasting vibrations, and others [37][38][39][40]. in contrast to existing studies that often employ numerical modeling to understand the influence of rainfall on slope stability [6][7][8][9][10][11][12], this paper introduces machine learning to assess the stability of dump slopes in the presence of diverse external factors. A comprehensive analysis of 1620 cross-sections of existing dump profiles in indian mines was conducted.…”