Advanced analysis of road-slope stability in a brittle and faulted rockmass terrain by several techniques

Advanced reliability analysis of road-slope stability in a brittle and faulted rockmass terrain by several techniques is described in this paper. The proposed analysis integrates several classical methods for the analysis of slope stability. The methods include remote sensing technique together with kinematic analysis, Finite Element Method (FEM), and Finite Difference Method (FDM). The Sentinel-2B imaging techniques have classified most of the slopes as high susceptibility, most of these slopes have been observed to consist of active rockfalls. Furthermore, circular, toppling, planar, and wedges failures were denoted to be the most kinematic failures associated with the slopes. However, wedge failure was more pronounced than other kinematic failures. On the other hand, simulation of FoS and maximum displacement of the slope was conducted using FLACSlope. The simulation confirmed that the composition of the slopes contributes greatly to its FoS and rockmass displacement. Indeed, a slope with one rock unit was simulated to be stable with less rockmass displacement, however in a case of brittle and faulted rockmass the FoS was very low with extensive displacement simulated across the slope. The later simulation corresponds with the conditions of the current study. Finally, the influence of geological features was studied with varying stages of road construction. The simulations have shown a rapid increase in rockmass displacement generated by the joints as the stages of road construction progress. It appears that the brittleness, faulting, slope properties, and unsupported rockmass are the most contributing factors toward slope instability.

Automated summary

This paper describes an advanced reliability analysis of road-slope stability in a brittle and faulted rockmass terrain using several techniques, integrating classical methods and advanced simulation tools. The analysis revealed the significant influence of rockmass composition on slope stability and displacement, while identifying brittleness, faulting, slope properties, and unsupported rockmass as major factors contributing to slope instability.