Investigation of rock slope stability under pore-water pressure and structural anisotropy by the discrete element method

Abstract

Nowadays, with the increasing population and the severe shortage of space, the general preference is to construct buildings with deep and semi-deep excavations. However, when changing the material from soil to rock, the stability conditions and its analysis are noticeably affected. In rock slopes, there are weak levels with different directions and density which form different patterns of failure. In this paper, a case study on the static stability of a rock slope caused by an excavation up to the depth of 15m has been investigated considering the structural anisotropy effects due to the presence of rock joints, blocks and the pore water pressure. The main challenge is the existence of rock jointed materials with water seepage through them. In order to collect data for some single joints, the structural geology analysis has been carried out by using the stereonet grid strategy in DIPS and statistical software. Finally, the static and hydrostatic analysis have been performed based on site investigation using the Discrete Element Method and the results indicate that the rock slope in the static state of stability is important to be considered due to both the hydraulic flow and discontinuities.