Influence of hydraulic conductivity of tension crack on the stand-up time of unsupported vertical trenches in unsaturated soils
Bhagya B Mayadunna, Won Taek Oh
In the proceedings of: GeoSaskatoon 2023: 76th Canadian Geotechnical ConferenceSession: Unsaturated Soils
ABSTRACT: It is well known that tension cracks have an adverse impact on the stability of a slope since it reduces the resistance to slope failure due to the decrease in slip surface. In addition, when rainfall infiltrates into a tension crack, the strength of a soil in the vicinity of a tension crack significantly decreases, which leads to sudden failure in a slope. However, limited studies have been undertaken to investigate the influence of rainfall infiltration into tension cracks on the stability of unsupported trenches in unsaturated soils. In the present study, a series of numerical analyses are conducted to estimate the stand-up time of unsupported vertical trenches excavated in an unsaturated glacial till (i.e., Indian Head till). Tension cracks were simulated by adopting two different approaches: i) material with zero strength and its own hydraulic conductivity function and ii) void space. Stand-up times obtained with these two approaches are compared and the results are discussed.
Submit a Data Update Form for this paper
Please include this code when submitting a data update via other methods: GEO2023_182
Access this article:
Canadian Geotechnical Society members can access to this article, along with all other Canadian Geotechnical Conference proceedings, in the Member Area. Conference proceedings are also available in many libraries.
Cite this article:
Mayadunna, Bhagya B, Oh, Won Taek (2023) Influence of hydraulic conductivity of tension crack on the stand-up time of unsupported vertical trenches in unsaturated soils in GEO2023. Ottawa, Ontario: Canadian Geotechnical Society.
@inproceedings{Mayadunna_GEO2023_182,
author = {{Mayadunna, Bhagya B}, {Oh, Won Taek}}
title = {Influence of hydraulic conductivity of tension crack on the stand-up time of unsupported vertical trenches in unsaturated soils }
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 76th Canadian Geotechnical Conference}
year = {2023}
organization = {The Canadian Geotechnical Society},
address = {Ottawa, Canada} }
title = {Influence of hydraulic conductivity of tension crack on the stand-up time of unsupported vertical trenches in unsaturated soils }
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 76th Canadian Geotechnical Conference}
year = {2023}
organization = {The Canadian Geotechnical Society},
address = {Ottawa, Canada} }