Geotechnical Approaches for Slope Stabilization in Residential Area

Abstract

Slopes in soils and rocks are found in nature and in-made structures. Highways, dams, levees, canals and stockpiles are constructed by sloping the lateral faces of the soil because slopes are generally less expensive than constructing the wall. Natural forces such as wind and water change the topography on Earth and other planets, often creating unstable slopes. In Malaysia, the number of slope failures includes existing slopes and newly completed slopes that caused damage and inconvenience to the public. Recently the landslide failures in Hulu Langat (2011) and Bukit Antarabangsa (2008) have been given due notice by the government to mitigate serious occurrence. As we live in tropic region and most landslides that occur during two monsoon seasons of Malaysia are induced by the high rainfalls and more than 80% of landslides are caused by man-made factors, mainly design and construction errors. [1].Whether it is slope in the design stage or an actual existing real slope which has shown instability, there are some causes of the instability which are indicated in the analysis or which have developed in practice. Many types of remedial and corrective measures for slope stabilization have been used in practice such as cut and fill solutions, rock and soil anchors, drainage, several types of drains (shallow, deep and trench), retaining wall and the use of geo grids in embankments. This study concerns the stability of natural man-made slopes and focus more to new and existing remedial techniques of slope protection. For this research the limitation of studies are observations on existing and new slopes remedial works in residential area at Perak District, Malaysia.