Influence of rain infiltration on the stability of compacted soil slopes

Stability analyses for a homogeneous compacted embankment were undertaken considering infiltration of water into the embankment. The analyses include several different practical scenarios: (i) saturated condition, (ii) ponding (or runoff) along with saturated condition, (iii) short term analysis for unsaturated conditions, and (iv) long term analysis for unsaturated conditions. The appropriate shear strength parameters of the compacted soil required for analyzing different practical scenarios were determined using conventional and modified triaxial shear apparatus. The results of the study show that typically shallow circular failures above water front occur due to infiltration rather than the conventional infinite slope type failures. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.