Infiltration effects on stability of a residual soil slope

Many slope stability studies have indicated that the infiltration of rainwa ter into a slope decreases the stability of the slope. However, the difficu lty of quantifying the effect of rainwater infiltration on slope stability still exists. It would be advantageous to know what percentage of rainfall enters a slope as infiltration and how much this infiltration decreases the stability of a slope. Numerical models were used to study how infiltration into a slope varied with respect to rainfall intensity and how this infilt ration affected the stability of the slope. A numerical study revealed that the amount of infiltration was highest at the crest of a slope. A case stu dy revealed that it was difficult to quantify the amount of infiltration oc curring in a slope with the numerical model. The numerical model was, howev er, able to illustrate the effect of infiltration on slope stability throug h the combined use of seepage and slope stability analyses. (C) 2000 Publis hed by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.