Analysis and Design of an Underground Portal in Lateritic Soils

This paper presents a case study of the analysis and design of slopes for the portal of an underground crude oil storage cavern site. The site selected for the slope study is characterized by residual soils and granitic rock formations, located in the southwestern part of India. It is observed that in tropical residual soils, most hillslope failures are caused by rainfall and thus it is important to consider hydrological conditions when attempting to analyze the stability of slopes in such material. Combinations of shallow slopes with lower overburden and high steep hillslope with large overburden were considered in the present study along with varying combinations of lateritic soils and weathered rock formations. The paper discusses the various investigations carried out to define the geotechnical properties of lateritic soil and weathered rock, followed by numerical modelling and remedial measures adopted to ensure the stability of slopes during design and construction phase. Since analysis and design procedures for such residual soils are not well established, comprehensive geological and geotechnical investigations were carried out prior to numerical model development for carrying out finite element studies in order to ascertain long term stability of slopes under differing ground conditions. The results of the stability analysis indicated that slope under existing condition were potentially unstable under rainy conditions and specific supporting measures were planned to ensure stability. Several alternatives were examined for improving the stability of slope taking into consideration existing facilities, space available for mobilization of equipments and environmental conditions in reference to specific project requirements. The convergence pattern obtained from geotechnical monitoring using optical targets along the slopes did not showed any alarming movement for over a year.