Finite Element Modeling for Rock Slope Stability Assessment in North-Eastern India
摘要
The unfortunate occurrences of landslides have been a matter of serious concern in the hilly terrains of the north-eastern regions of India. The vulnerable road-cut slopes along the crucial National Highway 06 connecting Assam and Meghalaya witness several such mass movements that endanger the lives of the people apart from detrimental effects on the infrastructures and transportation. In this study, a jointed rock slope in that region composed of sandstone and weathered shale has been analyzed. Kinematic analysis has revealed high chances of wedge sliding between two distinct joint sets. Finite element modeling has been performed, which has revealed the slope to be marginally stable with a critical strength reduction factor (SRF) of 1.02. To visualize the vulnerable zone in the slope model during any probable failure, the shear strength reduction search area (SSR search area) has been used to analyze only a part of the model. The critical SRF obtained then was 0.96, signifying that part of the model to be unstable with the maximum displacement of 1.55 cm.