The study on the development of saturation profile in soil slope

Abstract

This study was carried out to investigate the mechanisms involved in the development of saturation profiles in soil. A series of laboratory tests were conducted to monitor the saturation profiles in four types of soil under various rainfall conditions. The understanding in saturation profile is essential to predict the shear strength of soil, particularly for slope stability problem. The study showed that the saturation profile in soil could be effectively monitored through a fabricated soil column model. The effect of rainfall pattern on the saturation profile of coarse-grained soil is relatively insignificant. Conversely, the saturation profile in fine-grained soil could be significantly altered when the soil is subjected to a prolonged rainfall. It is believed that the findings from the present study could lead to better understanding of saturation profile in soil, and subsequently contributing efforts in mitigating rainfall-induced slope failure.