Publication

The effect of pore water pressure distribution induced by rainfall infiltration on the failure of unsaturated soil slopes

Lyesse Laloui
2025

Abstract

Numerical analysis was performed based on the Material Point Method (MPM) to analyze the failure mechanisms of unsaturated slopes due to rainfall infiltration. A coupled hydro-mechanical finite element model was applied to solve the rainfall infiltration and slope instability, allowing the analysis to capture both the failure and post-failure mechanisms. Rainfall infiltrated into the surface of the slope and, when it encounters low permeability layers or impermeable layers, excess pore water pressure is formed. To examine the effect of the distribution of excess pore water pressure on the slope, the numerical analysis was conducted by varying the soil depth at the crest and toe portions of the slope. The results confirmed that pore water pressure was formed at areas with shallower soil depth. Depending on the location of the formed pore water pressure, the type of slope failure varied between progressive failure and retrogressive failure.

Official source

https://infoscience.epfl.ch/entities/publication/c4dca1f5-809d-4846-abad-72214a5259e5

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Lyesse Laloui
2025

Abstract

Official source

https://infoscience.epfl.ch/entities/publication/c4dca1f5-809d-4846-abad-72214a5259e5

About this result

Related concepts (32)

Infiltration (hydrology)

Infiltration is the process by which water on the ground surface enters the soil. It is commonly used in both hydrology and soil sciences. The infiltration capacity is defined as the maximum rate of infiltration. It is most often measured in meters per day but can also be measured in other units of distance over time if necessary. The infiltration capacity decreases as the soil moisture content of soils surface layers increases. If the precipitation rate exceeds the infiltration rate, runoff will usually occur unless there is some physical barrier.

Water table

The water table is the upper surface of the zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with water. It can also be simply explained as the depth below which the ground is saturated. The water table is the surface where the water pressure head is equal to the atmospheric pressure (where gauge pressure = 0). It may be visualized as the "surface" of the subsurface materials that are saturated with groundwater in a given vicinity.

Pore water pressure

Pore water pressure (sometimes abbreviated to pwp) refers to the pressure of groundwater held within a soil or rock, in gaps between particles (pores). Pore water pressures below the phreatic level of the groundwater are measured with piezometers. The vertical pore water pressure distribution in aquifers can generally be assumed to be close to hydrostatic. In the unsaturated ("vadose") zone, the pore pressure is determined by capillarity and is also referred to as tension, suction, or matric pressure.