Continuous Slope Mass Rating Research Articles

Stability evaluation of hill cut slopes along national highway-13 near Hospet, Karnataka, India

The road networks are backbone of a nation for the economic growth and safe communication. A shortest road design shall always be encouraged, but in hilly terrain, railway crossings and road crossings are constraints for the highway designers. The same problem was faced while planning a new design of National Highway-13 near the Hospet city in Karnataka, India. To resolve that problem, a twin tunnel was proposed to overcome steep gradient, sharp curve and a railway crossing. The field investigation was carried out to measure the joint parameters, lithology and ground water condition to establish the tunnel and tunnel portal stability along with hill cuttings. In the present study, the basic rock mass rating (RMRBasic) and continuous slope mass rating (CSMR) of the slope outside tunnel portal were computed based on the field investigation for different rocks of Sandur schist belt viz. metabasics, phyllite/chlorite schist and banded iron formation. The support measures were proposed based on the computed CSMR.

Stability Analysis of Cut Slopes Using Continuous Slope Mass Rating and Kinematic Analysis in Rudraprayag District, Uttarakhand

In mountain terrains of Himalaya, road and highway networks play a vital role in remote areas for transportation, public network and all kind of socio-economic activities. The stability of rock slopes along the roads and highways is a major concern in these hilly regions. Any kind of slope failure may lead to disruption in traffic, loss of properties and lives/injuries as well as environmental degradation. The unplanned excavations of rock slopes for construction or widening purposes may undermine the stability of the slopes. The present study incorporates the stability analysis of road cut slopes along NH-109 which goes to holy shrine of Kedarnath. Slope failure is not only a phenomenon of rainy season but it has also been encountered even in dry season. The study area experiences high vehicular traffic especially from March to August due to pilgrims since it is the only road to Kedarnath. The distance of about 20 km between Rudraprayag and Agastmuni has been investigated. The continuous slope mass rating (CSMR) technique has been used for slope stability analysis at five different locations. CSMR is modification of original slope mass rating (SMR) proposed by Romana which is based on well established rock mass rating (RMR) technique. Kinematic analysis was also carried out to evaluate these sites for types of failure and its potential failure directions. The potentially vulnerable sites were identified. The results indicate that the CSMR technique may be exploited to assess the stability of rock slopes in the Himalayan territory.