Stability Analyses of Rock Slopes and Improvement Solutions: A Case of Muğla Bakıcak, Turkey
İnan KESKİN
*
Department of Civil Engineering, Geotechnical Division, Faculty of Engineering, Karabük University, Karabük, 78050, Karabük, Turkey.
Metehan Alp MEMİŞ
Saint Louis University, 1 N. Grand Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63103, USA.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
This study evaluates the overall stability of the rock slopes in Muğla Bakıcak and discusses how these slopes can be made safer with specific measures. In this context, the stability of the rock slopes in Muğla Bakıcak was investigated using various analysis methods. In the study, the different processes affecting the instability of rock slopes and the effect of these processes on rock mass strength were examined in detail. In particular, the effect of discontinuity characteristics on rock slope stability is discussed in detail in the study. The rock material constituting the rock slopes, engineering properties of the rock mass, discontinuity properties, and orientations were determined in the analyses. The stability of rock slopes was investigated by limit equilibrium analysis, finite element method, and kinematic analysis. As a result of kinematic analysis, it was determined that planar, wedge, and overturning-type instabilities are possible. To mitigate the identified failure risks, stabilization solutions including rock bolts, steel mesh, and shotcrete were recommended.
Keywords: Rock slope stability, rock mass strength, kinematic analysis, slope stability