Reanalysis of a municipal landfill slope failure near Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Abstract

The March 1996 slope failure in a municipal solid waste landfill near Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, is reanalyzed using continuum-mechanics-based procedures implemented in the computer programs FLAC and FLAC3D. A failure mechanism, based on the field observations of the failure, is used for the analyses. The failure mechanism is also implemented in a limit-equilibrium-based slope stability analysis computer program, SSTAB2, to simulate the observed translational character of the failure. The reanalysis results (failure surface, factor-of-safety (FoS), and displacement) from the continuum models are in general agreement with the field data. The FoS values from SSTAB2, FLAC, and FLAC3D range in the expected order. Overall, the reanalysis results supplement previously reported failure analyses. This paper serves two functions: (1) it documents the results of reanalysis using a different (from the previously published) failure mechanism hypothesis for the 1996 landfill slope failure near Cincinnati, Ohio; and (2) it demonstrates the use of 2-D and 3-D continuum models to study: (i) onset of instability; (ii) failure surface geometry and location; and (iii) displacements associated with slope failures.Key words: municipal landfill, slope failure, numerical analysis, limit equilibrium, continuum mechanics, displacement.