A Case Study of Volcanic Soil Embankment Failure Triggered by Soil Softening Due to Water Infiltration and Water Seepage in Bandar Lampung, Indonesia

In the development of residential facilities in contoured areas, cut-and-fill work is often required. For cost savings, fill works around the volcanic area usually use local material which is dominated by volcanic product material. Volcanic material is not suitable for embankment because the soil material is non-durable due to loss of the cementation bonds during water infiltration, so it is vulnerable to experiencing soil softening and can cause slope failure. To gain further understanding, a comprehensive study about volcanic embankment failure in Bandar Lampung—Indonesia was carried out. This study comprises site observation, field data collection, laboratory testing, and numerical modeling using finite element method for the slope reinforcement analysis. In the end, this study aims to provide a better understanding of the volcanic embankment failure mechanism and the method of slope reinforcement for volcanic embankment failure.