Stabilization of a natural embankment for an apartment building

A safer slope has to be constructed for an almost vertical embankment of height 20.5 feet that carries a very long (into the paper) three-story wooden apartment building of width 50 feet (Figure 2). The outer wall of the building is to be at a minimum distance of 10.25 feet from the edge of the finished embankment. 

Soil properties of embankment  

Use the posted SPT profiles

Groundwater conditions to be considered:

(1) Dry

(2) Submerged

Use an Excel spreadsheet to program the Bishop’s simplified method of slices (with 5 slices) for analysis of slope, toe and base failures.

Verify the safety factor with

1. Taylor’s chart with assumptions
2. Commercial software (GEOSLOPE – student version).

Other requirements:

Cost estimate

Method of construction

Format:

• Cover letter and Introduction of the design problem (0.5 point)
• Data used in the analysis using the format adopted by Geotech. companies (0.5 point)
• Stability analysis for
  • Slope failure (1 point)
  • Toe failure (1 point)
  • Base failure (1 point)
• Verification with Taylor’s chart (2 points)
• Verification with commercial software (2 points)
• Drainage provisions (0.5 point)
• Cost of estimate (0.5 point)
• Method of construction (0.5 point)
• Design conclusion (0.5 points)

Standard penetration test profile (raw data)