Numerical analyses and monitoring performance of residual soil slopes

Changes in the pore-water pressure of unsaturated soil slopes due to rainwater infiltration comprise a crucial factor which affects the shear strength of soils and may trigger slope failures. Two residual soil slopes in two main geological formations in Singapore, the Bukit Timah Granite and the sedimentary Jurong Formation, were fully instrumented. Real-time monitoring systems were developed to examine the pore-water pressure, the rainfall and the groundwater level of the slopes for over a year. The characteristics of the pore-water pressure distributions in both slopes during rainfall were highlighted and compared. The monitoring results indicate that the residual soil slope of the Bukit Timah Granite has a thicker unsaturated zone due to a deeper groundwater table than the residual soil slope of the sedimentary Jurong Formation. A higher permeability of the residual soil of the Bukit Timah Granite results in more rapid changes in negative pore-water pressure due to rainwater infiltration than the residual soil of the sedimentary Jurong Formation. Therefore, the residual soil slope of the Bukit Timah Granite differs from the residual soil slope of the sedimentary Jurong Formation in the changes in shear strength and the variations in the factor of safety during rainfall. The differing characteristics of the pore-water pressure responses during rainfall for these two residual soil slopes are analyzed in the present study based on the results of field measurements and numerical analyses.