Failure Analysis of a Highway Dip Slope Slide

AbstractThis paper presents numerical modeling work as part of a forensic investigation on a catastrophic roadside slope failure in Taiwan. It includes three stages of numerical modeling analysis of the failure slope. Two-dimensional (2D) limited equilibrium analysis numerical modeling is first carried out to check the original design. A series of parametric studies are then introduced to investigate the influences of controlling design factors on slope stability. Finally, three-dimensional (3D) finite-element difference analysis is conducted to further examine possible failure scenarios and the failure states. As a result of this study, the failure mechanism and triggering factors were possibly verified via the numerical analyses. The purpose of the presented study hopefully introduces the applications of numerical modeling in similar forensic investigations, as well as appropriate means of adapting numerical modeling in a forensic investigation.