Variability of N-SPT-Correlated Undrained Shear Strength of Alluvial Deposit in Doplang Region, Central Java, Indonesia

The need to better quantify the variability of soil shear strength and its relations with the factor of safety is increasing in Indonesia. However, this aspect has not yet been studied thoroughly. This paper presents an attempt to quantify the variability of undrained shear strength in relation with the factor of safety of an alluvial deposit in the Doplang region, Central Java, Indonesia. A relationship between the undrained shear strength, su, and N-SPT for the deposit was found as su = 3.4 N-SPT. The variability of the undrained shear strength was quantified utilizing the coefficient of variance, s/m (the sample standard deviation, s over the mean, m) of the N-SPT correlated undrained shear strength. The variability of the undrained shear strength was investigated for the soil near ground surface. The deposit had a value of s/m ranging from 0.15 to 0.25 near ground surface. The variation of s/m tended to follow normal and lognormal distributions. Relationships among the coefficient of variance, the probability of failure, and the factor of safety in terms of soil strength for normal and lognormal distributions were developed. For the value of s/m near ground surface, the relationship between the probability of failure and factor of safety was obtained

CHARACTERISTICS OF RAINFALL-INDUCED SLOPE INSTABILITY IN CISOKAN REGION, INDONESIA

A 25.5 km long access road has been constructed in a hilly area in Cisokan region. Several slope instabilities occurred during the rainy season, particularly at the end of heavy rainfall. A comprehensive study was performed to understand the characteristics of rainfall-induced slope instability. The study consisted of field observation, analyses of field and laboratory test data, and numerical analyses. The study revealed that in general there were two categories of slopes with instability characteristics: (i) slopes with a significant groundwater level increase during rainfall; (ii) slopes with an insignificant groundwater level increase during rainfall. In the first category, the slope instability was caused by a loss of matric suction and eventually the pore-water pressure, uw became positive as indicated by an increase of the groundwater level. In the second category, the slope instability was caused by a loss of matric suction without a rise in pore-water pressure, uw, to a positive magnitude. Two empirical curves of slope stability were developed as a preliminary guidance to assess slope stability during rainfall in the region