The development of a physically based warning system for rainfall-induced slope failures requires a comprehensive understanding of the failure process. A set of laboratory-scale soil slopes was subjected to instability, through three different modes of raising water level, to clarify the process of failure initiation. Hydrologic responses of the model slopes to the saturation process were recorded by volumetric soil moisture content sensors. The results of model tests show that failures of the model slopes were essentially initiated by the development of an unstable area near the slope toe, upon the formation of the seepage area, with shallow noncircular sliding being the dominant failure mode. The volumetric moisture content of the slope region where localized failures initiated was noted to reach a nearly saturated value. However, the major portion of soil slopes involved in overall instability was still in an unsaturated condition. Based on the observed moisture content response of the model slopes, a ...

Surface Rupture and Geotechnical Features of The July 2, 2013 Tanah Gayo Earthquake

Mitigation of landslide hazard requires the knowledge of landslide run-out distance. This paper presents the application of slope stability analysis and center of mass approach to predict the run-out distance of a rotational landslide model with different soil types. The Morgenstern-Price method was used to estimate the potential sliding zone and volume of landslide material. The center of mass approach used a simple Coulomb friction model to determine the run-out distance. Results of the slope stability analysis showed that the soil unit weight can influence the depth of sliding zone, and the volume of unstable material. The slope model of silty sand and gravel would have the largest volume of unstable mass. From the Coulomb friction analysis, this slope model has higher run-out distance and velocity than other slope models. Thus, the run-out distance will be influenced by soil type and the dimension of unstable soil mass.