Numerical modeling on the stability of slope with foundation during rainfall

Abstract

The movement of soil along a slope during rainfall can cause serious economic damage and can jeopardize human life. Accordingly, predicting slope stability during rainfall is a major issue in geotechnical engineering. Due to rainwater penetrating the soil, the negative pore water pressure will decrease, in turn causing a loss of shear strength in the soil and ultimately slope failure. More seriously, many constructions such as houses and transmission towers built in/on slopes are at risk when the slopes fail. In this study, the numerical simulation using 2D finite difference program, which can solve a fully coupled hydromechanical problems, was used to evaluate the effects of soil properties, rainfall conditions, and the location of a foundation on the slope instability and slope failure mechanisms during rainfall. A slope with a transmission tower located in Namyangju, South Korea was analyzed in this study. The results showed that the correlation between permeability and rainfall intensity had an important role in changing the pore water pressure via controlling the infiltrated rainwater. The foundation of the transmission tower was stable during rainfall because the slope failure was estimated to occur at the toe of the slope, and did not go through the foundation.