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Academic Lectures
CE Seminar Series with Dr. Ning Lu
Department / Organization: Civil Engineering
Role of Non-linear Failure Behavior in Shallow Landslides - Fri 10/10 11:00 AM MZ 108
Who: Dr. Ning Lu
What: Civil Seminar series, Dr. Lu will give his seminar titled, Role of Non-linear Failure Behavior in Shallow Landslides.
Where: Marquez Hall 108
When: October 10, 2025 at 11:00 AM MST
Abstract:
Conventional slope stability analysis employs a linear failure envelope, i.e., the Mohr-Coulomb (M-C) for soil strength. However, there is ample evidence that for some soils the shear strength is nonlinear where the total stress is lower than ~100 kPa or within ~5 m in depth from the ground. The authors present an analysis on the effect of the nonlinearity of the failure envelope in slope stability of shallow soils where the total stress is less than 100 kPa. A power law failure envelope by Lade is utilized to capture the nonlinearity and analyze the difference in shear strength between the linear and nonlinear failure in shallow slope environment. The results indicate that the shear strength defined by the nonlinear model is always smaller than the shear strength defined by the M-C at shallow depths where the mean effective stress is less than 100 kPa. The overestimation by the M-C criterion in shear strength can be significant; the difference can reach 40 kPa, and the relative error can reach 85%. A case study including laboratory hydromechanical property and soil shear strength at low normal stress, site hydromechanical monitoring and numerical modeling is conducted. The study compares a shallow landslide occurred in Puerto Rico.....
