Engineering Commons^™

Development Of An Excel Model To Evaluate The Stability Of Slopes, Bradley Davis

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This objective of this study is to determine a method or tool for taking given slope stability parameters and quickly and effectively determining the factor of safety against sliding of fully softened slopes. This study evaluates the effects of soil and geometric parameters of common slopes, and models these properties in a hypothetical model. The methodology is based on a parametric analysis using the Spencer’s Method of Slices limit equilibrium analysis used in the computer program Slide2. A parametric analysis is performed to determine which soil and/or geometric properties have a high influence on slope stability. The parametric analysis is …

A New Look At Landslides Of The Vermilion And Echo Cliffs, Northern Arizona, Conor M. Watkins, J. David Rogers

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Vermilion and Echo Cliffs form a nearly continuous escarpment more than 160 km long within the Colorado Plateau physiographic province of North America. The cliffs overlie the Marble Platform in northern Arizona and are located along the Colorado River, just upstream of the Grand Canyon. Large rotational block landslides mantle the erosional escarpment along most of its extent. Although these landslides have been noted for over 100 years, their likely origin has never been explained. Landslide failure surfaces appear to be influenced by the Petrified Forest Member of the Triassic Chinle Formation, a shale layer containing smectite clay weathered …

Effects Of The Soil Spatial Variability On Pipelines, Jose Luis Espinosa Mendez

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Pipelines are the safest and most efficient way to transport large volumes of oil and gas from extraction fields, to refineries, industry and home consumption. Extensively used to transport fluids over long distances, pipelines may pass through terrain features exposed to geohazards. The performance of buried pipelines in areas subjected to ground displacements constitute a criterion for design, assessment and management of gas pipelines, to ensure public, environment and property safety in a cost-effective manner. Modern surveying and sampling techniques allow for better geotechnical characterization of ground movements and the variability of the soil properties with confidence. The statistical data …

Analysis Of Shear-Strength In Weathered Shale Strata Along A Highway Slope Failure Site In Northwest Arkansas, Olivia Overton

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Slope failures cost millions of dollars per year to repair and can be deadly. Accurate modeling of slope conditions, including soil parameters, water table locations, and depth to bedrock, are essential to determining the overall stability of a slope. This project is a continuation of the work completed in 2019 by a former University of Arkansas researcher, Vanessa LeBow. LeBow RocScience used Slide2 modeling software to model two highway embankment slopes in Northwest Arkansas that experienced slope movement to determine whether increased use of geophysical data could increase the accuracy of slope stability models. A parametric study of shear strengths …

Incorporating Geophysical Data In Slope Stability Modeling For Two Slopes In Arkansas, Vanessa Lebow

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Slope failures in the United States alone cause millions of dollars in damage to infrastructure, threaten national monuments, create environmental hazards, and take an average of 25-50 lives a year. With the inevitable construction that occurs on slopes, it is imperative that the slopes be properly designed which requires a thorough understanding of slope grade, subsurface soil conditions, soil strength parameters, water table locations, and depth to bedrock across the entire site. The preferred method of data collection would be to use borings and other in-situ methods; however, sometimes due to cost constraints or site accessibility only a very limited …

Numerical Analysis Of Leakage Through Defective Geomembrane Liners In Embankment Dams, Sarper Demirdogen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Placing a geomembrane liner in the core of a dam is an alternative construction technique to traditional clay core types. This study aims to assess the performance of such internal geomembrane sealing systems in an earthen dam. Two-dimensional (2D) numerical analysis was performed to evaluate leakage through defective seams within an earthen dam. Five possible applications of internal geomembrane systems were initially modeled to locate the zero-pressure lines in an earthen dam. Then, another application where the geomembrane is placed on the upstream face was modeled to compare the upstream and internal geomembrane systems. The results of this study show …

A New Technique For Modeling The Geomorphology Of A Slow Moving, Soft-Slope Landslide Using Terrestrial Lidar, Nathan Bradley Rohrbaugh

Masters Theses

"Soft slope movement is a big problem whether it involves an engineered slope, one that is near infrastructure, or both. Active landslides that fail slowly sometimes allow ample time to affect remedial works. In order to plan effective remedial works, there needs to be a model of the entire geometry of the slide. This thesis describes a new approach to evaluate the morphology of slope geometry using Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data obtained from simple targets strategically positioned on a slide body. The data was gathered in three-month intervals over a period of one year to allow enough time …

Determining Rockfall Volumes In Three Sites Along Habs Mountain Road In Southwestern Saudi Arabia, Using Lidar Technology, Abdullah Ayed Al-Otaibi

Masters Theses

"The rugged elevated topography is a characteristic feature of the western and southwestern regions of Saudi Arabia. Few arterial roads connect the scattered villages of these regions to major cities, such as Habs Road in Jazan region. Rock fall poses a serious hazard to people, property and animals along the rock cuts of this road. Although no traditional Rockfall studies have previously been applied to this road, accessibility and rock formation shape and structure variability influenced the choice of using Terrestrial Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) technology to calculate the volume of rockfall at selected sites along this road.

Software …

Geotechnical Report For Appalachian Community Health And Disaster Readiness: Interprofessional Practice, Ali Leib

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

A Study Of The Impacts Of Freeze-Thaw On Cliff Recession At The Calvert Cliffs In Calvert County, Maryland, Bonnie Elizabeth Zwissler

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

The Calvert Cliffs, which form much of the western coastline of the Chesapeake Bay in Calvert County, Maryland, are actively eroding and destabilizing, resulting in a critical situation for many homes in close proximity to the slope's crest. Past studies have identified that where waves directly interact with the toe of the slope, wave action controls cliff recession; however, where waves do not regularly interact with the slope toe, the past work identified that freeze-thaw controls recession. This study investigated the validity of this second claim by analyzing the recession rate and freeze-thaw behavior of six study sites along the …

Variation Of Geotechnical Strength Properties With Age Of Landfills Accepting Biosolids, Kishore Pinapati

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The solid portion of waste disposal, known as Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) can be landfilled. Landfilling has proved to be a safe, sanitary and economical method of disposal. A by-product from wastewater treatment plants called biosolids is sometimes co-disposed along with MSW in landfills. Recent work at the University of Central Florida has focused on the behavior of the mixture of MSW and biosolids. As an increased amount of waste accumulates in these landfills, it creates a new problem – the geotechnical stability of landfills. In current literature, classical geotechnical testing methods have been followed to find the strength properties …

Slope Stability Analysis Of Class I Landfills With Co Disposal Of Bios, Mrutyunjay Vajirkar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Land filling provides a major, safe, and economical disposal route for biosolids and sludges. With an expanding world, the demand for larger and higher capacity landfills is rapidly increasing. Proper analysis and design on such fills have pushed the boundaries of geotechnical engineering practice, in terms of proper identification and assessment of strength and deformation characteristics of waste materials. The engineering properties of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) with co-disposal of biosolids and sludges with regards to moisture characteristics and geotechnical stability are of utmost importance. Significant changes in the composition and characteristics of landfill may take place with the addition …

Engineering Properties, And Slope Stability And Settlement Analysis Related To Phosphate Mine Spoil Dumps In Southeastern Idaho, Richard Ellsworth Riker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The engineering properties of waste spoil from phosphate mines in Southeastern Idaho were determined through field and laboratory testing. The testing included compaction tests, grain size analysis, powder x-ray defraction tests, permeability tests, compression tests, triaxial and direct shear strength tests, and nutrient analyses. Based on these tests, the slope stability and settlement characteristics of phosphate spoil dumps were investigated.

The study showed that the foundation is an important component of the stability of a spoil dump. Hypothetical examples were used to illustrate possible modes of foundation failures. Such failures might occur when weak foundation soils exist or when there …

Effects Of Water On Slope Stability, Tommy C. Hopkins, David L. Allen, Robert C. Deen

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

A brief state-of-the-art review of the effects of water on slope stability and the techniques for analysis is presented. The effective stress principle and basic considerations of slope stability, including design factors of safety, are discussed briefly. The derivations and effects of seepage forces and rapid drawdown on effective stress are also presented. Various conditions of external loading produce changes in effective stress. These changes are discussed and limiting conditions which should be analyzed are mentioned.

Limitations of total stress analyses are discussed in detail. It appears that, for soils having a liquidity index of 0.36 or greater (normally consolidated), …

The Creep Response Of Cohesive Soils: A Method Of Design Using Rheological Strength Parameters, David L. Allen

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The creep response of four remolded soils and undisturbed soils from two landslide sites is presented. A method for obtaining the yield stress of soil from creep test data is presented and discussed. "Viscosity diagrams", showing the location of the yield stress is approximately 50 percent of peak stress, were obtained from conventional triaxial tests. There is more scatter in data from undisturbed soils than in data from remolded soils. Mohr's failure envelopes, constructed from yield stress data, give internal friction angles having values from approximately five to ten degrees. Strength data, calculated indirectly from peak relaxation modulus, are also …

Settlement Of Highway Bridge Approaches And Embankment Foundations, Bluegrass Parkway Bridges Over Chaplin River, Tommy C. Hopkins

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The report examines the cause of a differential settlement between the highway approach embankments and bridge decks and abutment tilting at a bridge site located on the Bluegrass Parkway in Kentucky. The site contains several design, construction and maintenance features and soil types that are typical of many bridge sites in Kentucky. The approach embankments are side-hill fills. The approach pavements have settled several inches and have been patched on numerous occasions. Each of the four abutments give the appearance of having tilted backward toward the backfill. However, closer examination shows that the abutments have moved laterally toward the bridge …

Slope Stability Analysis: A Computerized Solution Of Bishop’S Simplified Method Of Slices, Steve M. Yoder, Tommy C. Hopkins

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

A computer program based on Bishop's simplified method of slices (1954) and capable of analyzing the slope stability of a multilayered soil mass is described. The computer program was specifically developed for analyzing the slope stability of highway bridge approach embankments; however, it can be applied to a broad spectrum of practical slope configurations and bearing capacity problems. Details of the use, applications, and accuracy of the program are presented. Important features of the computer program include a grid type, search operation for locating the critical shear surface and a ledger printout of the forces acting on each individual slice. …