Scribd
Upload
184 views

Stability With Perched Water Table

1) A steady-state SEEP/W analysis was used to simulate long-term pore water pressure conditions in a slope with infiltration, resulting in a perched water table. 2) The SEEP/W results showed positive pore water pressures forming a perched water table zone within a lower permeability middle layer. 3) The pore water pressures from the SEEP/W analysis were used directly in a SLOPE/W stability analysis, with the critical slip surface crossing the zero pressure contour three times and a factor of safety of 1.564.

Uploaded by

Javier Andres Martinez Ortega
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
184 views

Stability With Perched Water Table

1) A steady-state SEEP/W analysis was used to simulate long-term pore water pressure conditions in a slope with infiltration, resulting in a perched water table. 2) The SEEP/W results showed positive pore water pressures forming a perched water table zone within a lower permeability middle layer. 3) The pore water pressures from the SEEP/W analysis were used directly in a SLOPE/W stability analysis, with the critical slip surface crossing the zero pressure contour three times and a factor of safety of 1.564.

Uploaded by

Javier Andres Martinez Ortega
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 5

Stability with perched water table

GEO-SLOPE International Ltd. | www.geo-slope.com


1200, 700 - 6th Ave SW, Calgary, AB, Canada T2P 0T8
Main: +1 403 269 2002 | Fax: +1 888 463 2239

Introduction
The objective of this example is to demonstrate how to use computed pore-water pressures from a
water transfer analysis in a SLOPE/W stability analysis. This steady-state water transfer analysis
creates a perched water table under long-term net infiltration of precipitation. This perched
condition is properly handled by using the water transfer results from SEEP/W and applying them
directly to the SLOPE/W analysis. This example illustrates a scenario where it is not possible to use a
piezometric line to establish the in-situ pore-water pressures.

Numerical Simulation
The problem configuration is depicted in Figure 1. The slope includes a less permeable layer in the
middle portion of the slope. A steady-state analysis was used to simulate the long-term pore-water
pressure conditions in the slope created by infiltration into the upland. The infiltration is simulated
using a unit flux (q) boundary condition of 3 x 10-5 m/day that is applied to the upland of the slope.
The slope has a potential seepage face boundary condition applied, with a zero pressure boundary
condition applied to the toe surface. An initial water table is applied to the domain along the
elevation of the toe or 10 m. The specified boundary conditions, particularly the imposed infiltration,
and the layer of material with low permeability can lead to the formation of a perched water table.

The hydraulic conductivity functions for each of the layers are shown in Figure 2. Both of the upper
and lower layers are represented using the same hydraulic conductivity function with a saturated
conductivity of 1 x 10-3 m/day. The middle, lower permeability layer is represented with a saturated
conductivity of 1 x 10-5 m/day. Volumetric water content functions are not required since it is a
steady-state analysis.

1
Figure 1. Problem configuration.

1.0e-03

1.0e-04
X-Conductivity (m/days)

Low
1.0e-05 permeability
K

1.0e-06
Upper and
lower soil K
1.0e-07

1.0e-08
0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100
Matric Suction (kPa)

Figure 2. Hydraulic conductivity functions.

The resulting pore-water pressures can be used in a SLOPE/W stability analysis by making the SEEP/W
water transfer analysis the parent of the SLOPE/W analysis and indicating that the pore-water
pressure conditions should come from the Parent Analysis (Figure 3). The SLOPE/W analysis uses the
Morgenstern-Price analysis method, with the slip surface regions defined using the entry-exit
method in the left to right direction (Figure 4). The Mohr-Coulomb material model is used to define
all three of the materials. Table 1 outlines the parameters used for each of the materials in the
stability analysis.

2
Figure 3. Using initial PWP conditions from the Parent water transfer analysis.

Figure 4. Entry-exit definition for the slope stability analysis.

Table 1. Mohr-Coulomb material properties for each of the layers.

Soil unit weight Phi Cohesion Phi B


Material
(kN/m3) (degrees) (kPa) (degrees)
Upper layer 18 25 5 15
Low permeable,
19 20 5 15
middle layer
Lower layer 20 26 10 0

Results and Discussion


The resulting pore-water pressure conditions for the water transfer analysis are shown in Figure 5.
The contours are drawn in such a way that only the zones with positive pore-water pressures are
displayed, which clearly shows the perched water table zone.

The infiltration enters the slope through an unsaturated zone. Once it reaches the perched saturated
zone, it migrates down and to the right. The water moves from the perched saturated layer by either
passing through the underlying unsaturated zone to reach the regional groundwater, or by exiting
the face of the slope. This example illustrates the influence of a natural slope’s stratigraphy on the
development of atypical pore water pressure conditions (e.g., perched water table) and exfiltration
along the slope face.

3
Figure 5. Perched positive ground water conditions.

The critical slip surface generated given these pore-water pressures is shown in Figure 6. The
simulated slip surface crosses the zero pressure contour three times. The factor of safety for the
most critical surface is 1.564.

Figure 6. Slip surface crossing the zero-pressure contour three times.

A plot of pore-water pressure along the slip surface produces the graph in Figure 7. The pore-water
pressure is negative at the crest of the slip surface, positive in the perched water table zone,
negative below the perched water table zone, and positive when the slip surface enters the natural
groundwater.

4
15

10
Pore-Water Pressure (kPa)

-5

-10

-15

-20
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Slice #

Figure 7. Pore-water pressure distribution along the slip surface.

Summary and Conclusions


This example illustrates the power of using computed pore-water pressure conditions from a steady-
state SEEP/W water transfer analysis in a SLOPE/W stability analysis. The only other way of
considering a perched water table, without using a water transfer analysis as the Parent Analysis, is
to use a spatial pore-water pressure function in SLOPE/W to define the pressure head conditions at a
series of points and then contour the data points. However, this is a more time consuming process.

You might also like