Friday, December 29, 2017

Factors Affecting Leading To The Failure Of Slope Stabilization

By Joseph Evans


It is important for a slope to be in stable condition in order to avoid the many different dangers that may come about as a result of a faulty slope. Slope stabilization is the ability of a hill to withstand undergoing movement. Stabilization is handled or dealt with by geologists. Due to their vast knowledge of what is contained below the surface of the earth, they can tell the stability of a gradient on sight.

A slope cannot be stable if it is constantly experiencing soil erosion. This is because it will not be complete. It will be weak as it loses the soil each time the wind blows. The erosion is not only a disadvantage to the gradient but to the people around it too. The soil is carried towards them, and it interferes with their livelihood by for example getting into the water.

Rainfall may also cause a lot of failure to the gradient. This is because, like erosion, it will affect the residents near the gradient. Due to disappearance in the soil, the rocks are bound to get loose. The rain water will, in turn, push them downhill where they may destroy home steads, injure, or kill the people and the livestock.

Earthquakes are one of the most dangerous causes of failure. They are usually as a result of tectonic plates colliding in the ground. An earthquake happening in an area with an unstable slope will have deadly effects. The material on the gradient will come raining down maybe in form as a land slide which is bound to claim lives and destroy property.

There are activities like an excavation. These involve machinery being drilled into the ground and messing with the rock arrangement. A rock may get drilled into half and result in the collapsing of a whole section of the hill. It may cause further damage by causing discontinuities and planes of weakness which only need a little movement to come crashing down.

There is the factor of external loading. This refers to all the material on the hill that adds weight to it. People may be living on a gradient, or recreational centers may be built on a hill as long as it is not too steep. This plus the weight of the people may wear out the hill eventually. Once it cannot withstand any more pressure, it gives out and collapses.

A change in the topographical nature of a gradient may lead to it failing. Topography is the natural terrain of the land. The gradient may have had a vegetation at some point, but people with their own different interests cleared the vegetation. This would have changed the original form, and there will be consequences. This can be avoided by keeping the slopes as natural as possible.

The geometry of the slopes is a highly contributing factor. Short gradients are much safer and less steep compared to tall ones. There are roads built around slopes, and the tall slopes are likely to have the danger of rocks falling on the vehicles. Shorter grades have more gravity levels.




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