SWINBURNE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Science

BANK CREEP ANALYSIS PROJECT

Semester 2
2020

CVE40001 GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING

Student : WAN MUHAMMAD SYAFIQ BIN WAN AKIL

Student ID : 100082082
Lecturer : DR CHOO CHUNG SIUNG
Executive Summary

In Geotechnical Engineering, creep considerations are not restricted to slopes: all infrastructure
incorporated into the subsoil is also subject to creep. The intensity of the creep must be
understood for economic and practical design. It is crucial to analyse soil creep behavior for
geotechnical applications where long-term soil deformation is concerned. A clear
understanding of the relevant stress-strain-time relationships involved and a method of analysis
that can accommodate the selected constitutive relationships and accurately represent the slope
boundary conditions are needed to solve slope creep problems. Although the finite element
approach has been used for over thirty years in many areas of engineering practise, it has only
recently begun to be commonly used for geotechnical problem analysis. Water presence leads
to a reduction in soil shear strength since stress governs the strength characteristics of the soil.
Since stress governs the strength characteristics of the soil, water presence leads to a reduction
in soil shear strength. A meaningful way to increase the resistance to shear failure is to monitor
ground water in the slope region. Thus, in this analysis report, the analysis are be done base on
the assigned riverbank and soil profile and utilised the Geostudio engineering software as the
Finite Element Analysis (FEA) software to analyse and identify the slip failure of the soil creep
on assigned riverbank and soil profile.

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Table of Contents
Executive Summary ................................................................................................................... 2

1.0 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 4

2.0 Overview of soil creeps and FEA ................................................................................... 5

2.1 Overview of Soil Creep ............................................................................................... 5

2.2 The use of Finite Element Analysis (FEA) in assessing the stability of riverbank..... 6

3.0 Validation of FEA using Hand Calculations .................................................................. 7

3.1 The validation of hand calculations by using the Microsoft Excel ............................. 8

4.0 Characteristics of Soils ................................................................................................. 12

Idealisation of riverbank and soil profile ................................................................................. 14

6.0 Modelling Technique .................................................................................................... 15

6.1 Soil Parameter used in FEA analysis ........................................................................ 15

6.2 Modelling Stages ....................................................................................................... 16

6.3 Search Technique used in FEA Analysis .................................................................. 16

6.4 Hydraulic Conditions ................................................................................................ 17

6.5 Relevant Assumption and considerations ................................................................. 18

7.0 Riverbank Creep Analysis by using FEA (Geostudio software) .................................. 19

8.0 Discussion ..................................................................................................................... 20

9.0 Recommendation .......................................................................................................... 21

10.0 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 22

11.0 Reflection ...................................................................................................................... 23

12.0 References ..................................................................................................................... 24

Appendices ............................................................................................................................... 25

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1.0 Introduction

Currently, Sarawak state is well known for having a vast and complex network of rivers. There
is also still a growing need for the construction of road crossings, such as bridges, pipe trusses,
respectively. Due to the underlying very soft soils, especially the Quaternary soils located in
riverine areas, building such structures can be complicated. By using long spun piles, or steel
pipe piles, the necessary geotechnical ability for supporting such structures can be demanded.
Due to tidal variations, it is particularly prevalent on riverbeds, which can cause regular drying
and soaking cycles of the riverbank soils. These cycles are resulting in the riverbank soils being
regularly contracted and extended, resulting in soil creeping. Soil creep can lead to lateral loads
placed on the piles that support such structures, contributing to the creation of the pile's bending
moments.

In this analysis project, it is suggested that a bridge be developed across a river. On

piers that will be placed on stacked foundations, the bridge will be supported. Therefore, as a
geotechnical engineer, by testing the riverbank for soil creep phenomena, we are expected to
advise the structural engineering team mostly on the adequacy of the piled base at the riverbank.

Figure 1 The schematics of soil creeps and their effects (US Geological Survey, 2008)

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2.0 Overview of soil creeps and FEA
2.1 Overview of Soil Creep
Soil exhibits creep activity, in which soil deformation occurs in a state of constant productive
stress over time. Consideration is given to various potential reasons for the changing creep rate.
Soil creep deformation refers to processes in many areas and studies in geotechnical
engineering and continuously evolving in this field of engineering. In Geotechnical
Engineering, creep considerations are not restricted to slopes: all infrastructure incorporated
into the subsoil is also subject to creep. The intensity of the creep must be understood for
economic and practical design. It is crucial to analyse soil creep behavior for geotechnical
applications where long-term soil deformation is concerned.

In the sense of soil mechanics, the term creep is related to Terzaghi's theory of one-dimensional
soil consolidation, which is based on the dissipation of excess pore water pressure. The creep
position assessment during the one-dimensional consolidation process is the crucial issue for a
precise settlement versus time forecast. Creep slide is gradual surface failures involving the
slope material's incremental downhill motion. Characteristics of creep movements are
noticeable displacement or bio-indicators such as trees that grow crooked. Seasonal freeze-
thaw cycles and inadequate properties of shear strength may trigger creep failure. Rotational
slide failure is typically described by a cross-sectional circular failure plane. This type of failure
usually leaves the soil, called the scarp, exposed. Typically, soil creep occurs during and after
rain. A significant correlation between the amount of rain and an increase in soil moisture is
the amount of creep induced by continuous rainfall. Active soil creeps occurred in the summer
only when rainfall led to significant changes in soil moisture and a near-saturated condition
that was most likely caused by soil shrink-swell action. Soil creep was caused by seasonal frost
in the winter, while mass transport was restricted due to the snow cover's protection. Soil creeps
down and accumulates at the bottom bottleneck section of the head hollow for the valley-head
slope, under which soil is compressed and forms a wavy landform. The lower end of the hollow
of the head becomes steeper and unstable progressively.

Fatahi, Behzad & Le, Thu & Lê, Minh & Khabbaz, Hadi. (2013) stated that analysing the soft
ground behaviors under embankments is a complex activity and is of great interest to
geotechnical engineers who practice them. The creep index's effect on the accumulation of
excess pore water pressures and the displacement of the earth under the embankment. It is
observed that the creep index increased both horizontal displacements and excess pore water

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pressures of the earth under the embankment. Therefore, the effects of soil creep should be
taken explicitly into account in the prediction of soil output under embankments.

2.2 The use of Finite Element Analysis (FEA) in assessing the stability of riverbank
A clear understanding of the relevant stress-strain-time relationships involved and a method of
analysis that can accommodate the selected constitutive relationships and accurately represent
the slope boundary conditions are needed to solve slope creep problems. Although the finite
element approach has been used for over thirty years in many areas of engineering practise, it
has only recently begun to be commonly used for geotechnical problem analysis. This is
possibly because there are numbers of complex geotechnical engineering-specific problems
that have only been addressed relatively recently. In geotechnical engineering, analysing the
stability of earth structures is the oldest form of numerical analysis. As for soil creep analysis,
the concept of discretising a possible sliding mass into slices was introduced.

According to GEO-SLOPE International Ltd. (2015), stability analyses are by far the
most common form of numerical analysis in geotechnical engineering even to this day. It is not
difficult to understand concepts associated with the slice method, and the techniques were
straightforward to apply in computer software. The simpler approaches can also be performed
on even a spreadsheet. Subsequently, shortly after the invention of computers, slope
stabilisation software became available. With its number of choices, when using applications
like SLOPE/W, it is also essential to look at more than just the safety aspect. SLOPE/W has
several tools to inspect the input data and analyse the outcomes, such as tools that allow you to
graph a list of various variables along the slip surface or for example, show the detailed forces
on each slice. To judge and be confident in the outcome, these types of resources are critical.

A converged solution does not have a slip surface (GEO-SLOPE International Ltd.
,2015). These arise when the slip surface solution does not converge. SLOPE/W uses an
iterative approach to solve the nonlinear safety formula factor until the safety factor connects
within such a defined tolerance. Convergence issues may be due to conditions with
unreasonable properties of soil capacity, unreasonably high concentrated point loads or
reinforcement pressures, unreasonable seismic coefficient, excessive presence of pore water
pressure. In a slope stability analysis, it is quite common that some of the trial slip surfaces
have a disability, especially when using a grid and radius slip surface where the search grid is
large, and the search radius is long relative to the overall slope. It merely means that many trial
slip surfaces are entering or exiting beyond the limits of the slope.

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3.0 Validation of FEA using Hand Calculations
In this project, the students have been tasked to validate the soil creep by using hand
calculations first before proceeding to valid the hand calculation by utilising the FEA software,
which is Geostudio 2021. In this part, the students are asked to divide the soil into twelve slices
as we are trying to compare the hand calculation with the SLOPE/W analysis done by
Geostudio. The Microsoft Excel has been used for hand calculation part to improve the
accuracy of the calculations. The drawing for the soil creep later drawn in a graph paper and
divide into 12 slices, and all the required information to calculate the safety of factors are
tabulated in table form by using the Microsoft Excel. Few parameters have been used in the
hand calculations as been listed below.

Parameters used in hand

Descriptions
validation
Slice, n The number of slices in the soil

bn (m) The width of each slices

Hn,avg above water (m) The average height of slice above water table

Hn,avg below water (m) The average height of slice below water table
Indicating the weight,
Wn (kN/m)
Formula : Wn=bn x H x 𝜸𝜸
c (kPa) Cohesion of soil

Ø (degree) Angle of friction in degree

αn (degree) Average angle in degree

The approximate length of failure surface of the slice,
Ln (meter)
Formula : Ln=bn/cos αn
uavg (kPa) The average of pore water pressure

Resisting Moment Formula : cLn + (Wn cosαn - uavgLn) tan Ø

Overturning Moment Formula : Wn sin αn

𝜸𝜸 (kN/m) Unit weight of dry soil

𝜸𝜸𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔 (kN/m) Saturated unit weight of the soil

Table 1 The parameters been used in Hand Calculations

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3.1 The validation of hand calculations by using the Microsoft Excel

Vdry= 16 Vdry= 16.8

Upper Sandy CLAY Lower Sandy CLAY
Vsat= 19 Vsat= 19.4

Resisting Moment Overturning Moment

No. of Slices bn(m) Hn-Above Hn-Below c ∅ ꭤ Wn ΔLn u
cΔLn+(wncosa-uΔLn)tan ꭤ wn sin ꭤ
1 1.27 0.4 0.8 15 17 -17 28.2 1.328 8 24.93 -8.26
2 1.27 0.8 1.6 15 17 -9 56.5 1.29 16 30.06 -8.84
3 1.27 1.2 2.5 15 17 -4 87.2 1.27 25 35.96 -6.08
4 1.27 1.8 2.9 15 17 2 109.9 1.27 29 41.36 3.83
5 1.27 2.2 3.4 15 17 10 130.7 1.29 34 45.29 22.70
6 1.27 3.0 3.3 15 17 16 145.3 1.32 33 49.19 40.05
7 1.27 3.0 3.0 15 17 18 137.9 1.34 30 47.89 42.62
8 1.27 3.0 2.3 15 17 26 120.7 1.41 23 44.42 52.90
9 1.27 3.0 1.6 15 17 30 103.4 1.47 16 42.21 51.71
10 1.27 3.0 0.6 10 14 39 75.4 1.63 6 28.51 47.47
11 1.27 2.5 0 10 14 46 50.8 1.83 0 27.08 36.54
12 1.27 1.2 0 10 14 61 24.4 2.62 0 29.14 21.33
Total 446.05 295.99

FS = 1.507

Table 2 The hand calculations of FS by using Microsoft Excel

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Sample Hand Calculations
Slice number 1 has been selected for sample hand calculations.
Information provided in tutorial 5.10 diagram includes:
1. bn(meter) =1.27m
2. Hnavg above water (meter) =0.40m
3. Hnavg below water (meter) =0.80m
4. αn (degree) =−17°
5. 𝛽𝛽 = 41°

Information provided by the Question 5.10 in Geotechnical Engineering tutorial includes:

1. c (kPa) = 15kPa
2. Ø (degree) = 17°
3. Ƴ = 16.8 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘/ 𝑚𝑚3
4. Ƴ(saturated) = 19.4 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘/ 𝑚𝑚3
5. 𝛼𝛼𝑛𝑛 (𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑) = −17°

The weight,Wn:
𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊 = (𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 × 𝐻𝐻 × 𝛾𝛾)
𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊 = (1.27 𝑚𝑚 × 0.4 𝑚𝑚 × 16.8 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘/ 𝑚𝑚3 ) + (1.27 𝑚𝑚 × 0.8 𝑚𝑚 × 19.4 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘/ 𝑚𝑚3 )
Wn = 28.2 kN/ m

The approximate length of failure surface of the slice, Ln:

𝑏𝑏𝑛𝑛
𝐿𝐿𝑛𝑛 =
𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 αn
1.27𝑚𝑚
𝐿𝐿𝑛𝑛 =
cos (17)
Ln = 1.328 m

The average of pore water pressure, uavg:

𝑢𝑢𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 = 𝐻𝐻𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤 (𝑚𝑚) × 𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢 𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤ℎ𝑡𝑡 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤

𝑢𝑢𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 = 0.8 𝑚𝑚 × 10 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘/ 𝑚𝑚3

uavg = 8 kN/ m2 or 8 kPa

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Resisting Moment,
𝑐𝑐𝐿𝐿𝑛𝑛 + (𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝛼𝛼𝛼𝛼 − 𝑢𝑢𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝐿𝐿𝑛𝑛 ) 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 Ø

= (15 𝑘𝑘𝑁𝑁/ 𝑚𝑚2 × 1.328 𝑚𝑚) + (28.2 𝑁𝑁/𝑚𝑚 cos (−17) − (8 𝑘𝑘𝑁𝑁/ 𝑚𝑚2 × 1.328𝑚𝑚)) tan (17)
= 24.93 kN/ m

Overturning Moment:
𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊 sin (𝛼𝛼𝛼𝛼)
= 28.2 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘/𝑚𝑚 sin (−17)
= −8.28 kN/ m

Safety Factor, FS:

= 𝑇𝑇𝑜𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅 𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀 / 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂 𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀
= 446.05 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘/ 𝑚𝑚
295.99 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘/ 𝑚𝑚
= 1.50

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Figure 2 The result of FEA analysis using Geostudio 2021

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4.0 Characteristics of Soils
Soils are structural and functional components of ecosystems which are terrestrial which
island-based. Through the interaction of geological, climatic and biotic influences, soils are
formed by different geological processes. The process of soil formation is prolonged. It usually
takes thousands of years to create thin layers of soil. Soil, for all living things, is the essential
source of creation Deep soil is built over unconsolidated, clayey sedimentary deposits, and
shallow soils would be in regions underlain by chalk or limestone. plant growth and
productivity, deeper soil horizons may be significant, particularly in warmer moisture-limited
forests and woodlands where trees and shrubs exhibit deep rooting profiles that extend into
substrates of weathered bedrock. The standard practice is the calculation of mineral soil
thickness with soil penetration techniques using the bore hole process. In this analysis report,
based on the assigned borehole, there are few considerations have been applied for soil
characterization including:

1. The number of soil material are limited to three located in the borehole report.
2. The boundaries for horizontal and vertical of soil profile are considered with advisable
2 to 3 time height of the slope and 4 to 5 time of width of slope for vertical boundary.
As the height of my slope is 6m and the width of slope is 33m, therefore, the horizontal
boundary was set and used up until 18m depth of the soil.

First Layer Soil

Very soft & Soft soil

c = 3 kN/m
∅ = 21.5°
𝛾𝛾 = 16 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘/𝑚𝑚
Second Layer Soil
Firm Soil
c = 2 kN/m
∅ = 28.0°
𝛾𝛾 = 16 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘/𝑚𝑚

Figure 3 The classification of soil based on depth and borehole 2

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 Figure 4 The first layer of soil characteristics
As we can see from the figure above, the depth of the first layer are limited until 10.5m depth
of the soil. The classification of the soil along the depth of 10.5m including:

i. Very soft medium grey CLAY

ii. Very soft grey SILT with traces of decayed wood
iii. Very soft grey slightly sandy CLAY
iv. Soft grey slightly sandy SILT
For the first layer, it is assumed that the very soft and soft CLAY/SILT are lump together as
they has same number of cohesion and frictional angle and also soil strength as been mention
in CVE20003 Geomechanics lecture note. “Very soft” are classified as the low undrained shear
stress than “soft” thus, for the soft SILT are lump together I first layer and noted as CLAY
since they have same soil properties.For depth 10.5m to 18.0 meter, there are presence of Firm
SILT as we can observed in the figure below.

Figure 5 The classification of soil for second layer

For this depth, the soil is classified as fined grained soil SILT as it contained the Firm grey
slightly sandy SILT and Firm medium grey sandy CLAY. These soils are lump together as the
firm SILT and CLAY got cohesion of 2 kPa and 28° angle of friction. Thus, this layer are
counted as the second layer in the SLOPE/W analysis later.

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Idealisation of riverbank and soil profile

Figure 6 The idealisation of riverbank topography and soil profile

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6.0 Modelling Technique
6.1 Soil Parameter used in FEA analysis
Based on the border of soil creep that been calculated, the overall depth of the soil borehole
that will use is until a depth of 18 m. From the borehole report, we can observe in the assigned
borehole 8, and there are listed the classification of soil. However, for this analysis, we will
only select the parameters for three horizontal layers in the assigned soil profile, as shown in
Figure X above. The parameters have been obtained by referring to CVE 40001 Geotechnical
Engineering notes and been used for the FEA analysis. The parameters that been used are listed
in layers form respectively, as shown below.

First Layer:

c = 3 kN/m
∅ = 21.5° Very Soft CLAY
𝛾𝛾 = 16 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘/𝑚𝑚

Second Layer:
c = 3 kN/m
∅ = 21.5° Soft SILT
𝛾𝛾 = 16 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘/𝑚𝑚

Third Layer:
c = 2 kN/m
∅ = 28.0° Firm sandy SILT
𝛾𝛾 = 16 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘/𝑚𝑚

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6.2 Modelling Stages
In modelling stages, the procedures that implemented to produce soil creep analysis modelling
utilising the Geostudio software including:
1) The soil layers in the assigned borehole are defined that to be included in the Geostudio
software
2) The effective strength parameters for respective layers are obtained and determined
according to soil classifications.
3) The width and height of the soil riverbank slope are measured based on riverbank soil
profile report.
4) The vertical and horizontal boundary for the FEA analysis are determined and set where
for the vertical boundary, it should be 4 to 5 time of the height of slope and the
horizontal boundary should be 2 to 3 times the height of the slope.
5) The vertical and horizontal boundary then been modelled in the FEA analysis which is
Geostudio and the soil creep soil should be located at the centre of the boundary.
6) The search technique are applied on the model to identify the slip surface shape. In this
assignment, Entry and Exit technique have been used in FEA analysis.
7) The Geostudio was run and the Factor Safety was generated by the Geostudio software
together with the slip surface shape of the slope.

6.3 Search Technique used in FEA Analysis

For this soil creep analysis, the Entry-Exit method has been applied in the FEA analysis as this
technique usually used to determine the size and location of the slip circles. The entry-exit
procedures allow prescribing the entry point of slip circles and the exit point of slip circles.
The technique helps to assess the slip circles that we want to concentrate on. The position of
the entry zone at the slope crest and the exit zone along the slope or at the slope toe zone has
been selected for the bank creep project. The SLOPE/W connects a point along the entry area
with a point along the exit area to create a line in the Geostudio software. The positions of
these radius points are governed by SLOPE/W so that the circle is not a straight line (infinite
radius), and the angle of entry of the slip circle on the crest will not be greater than 90 degrees
(undercutting slip circle).

16
The technique steps that been applied in the Geostudies are including:
1) The two points on the entry and exit zone on flat surface are connected with a chord.
2) The normal line was draw to the chord at the midpoint of a straight line.
3) The maximum possible radius was defined. The circle is not a straight line as it has
infinite radius and angle of entry slip circle on the soil crest will not be greater than 90
degrees.
4) The distance along the bisector was divided from the circle to the chord.
5) The slip circle was produced by the SLOPE/W in Geostudio software. In situations
where the bedding of weaker materials regulates the slip surfaces, the radius
specification in the Entry and Exit system may be helpful.

6.4 Hydraulic Conditions

As can be observed in the soil profile, there are presence of tides at slope creep. The standard
rise and fall of the waters of the ocean are known as tides. Water rises slowly across the sea
along the coasts, and then gradually falls again. It is at high tide that the water has been
increased to its maximum level, covering most of the sea. It is at low tide that the water sinks
to its lowest level. From the soil profile, the high tide is located slightly above the ground
surface which at elevation of +3.64mRL and the low tide located at the toe of riverbank which
is -2.85 mRL at sea level. There is also the presence of the water table on lane which is located
1meter depth from ground surface. An external water level drawdown typically impairs the
stability of a slope. The presence of hydraulics in the soil due to high and low tides together
with water table has provided movement in the soil slowly increase the pore water pressure
gap. The motion is caused by adequate shear stress to create permanent deformation, but too
small to induce shear failure. As a result of rapid water-level transitions, porous pressure gaps
and facing significant increase gradients are likely to occur. Such pore-pressure gaps, combined
with a decreased or completely lost supporting water load, can result in reduced stability of the
slope, thus lead to soil creep.

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6.5 Relevant Assumption and considerations
In analyse the soil creep, the assumptions and consideration need to be considered as we want
to ensure that the factor safety is more than one. The parameter of variables have been
considered as the probabilistic analysis by SLOPE/W in Geostudio is then performed on the
critical slip surface. This variable input parameters emulate the expected probability of failure.
For the parameter variability in SLOPE/W, the consideration for the soil creep analysis are
listed including:

1) Material parameters, including unit weight, cohesion and frictional angles for the
different material strength models.
2) The very soft and soft CLAY/SILT have same cohesion and frictional angles which is
3 kN/m and 21.5° respectively.
3) The condition of pore water pressure in the soil slope.
4) The water level is located 1m below the ground surface.
5) The horizontal and vertical coefficients.
6) The equilibrium moment is totally independent of the shear interslice.
7) To overcome the nonlinear factor of safety equations, the limit equilibrium method of
slices includes iterative techniques.
8) In SLOPE/W, mathematical angles from the positive x-coordinate axis are described in
a counter-clockwise direction. A rise of zero means the horizontal position to the right,
an angle of 90 degrees means the vertical direction upwards; a degree of 180 degrees
implies the horizontal direction throughout the negative direction of the x-coordinate,
and so on.

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7.0 Riverbank Creep Analysis by using FEA (Geostudio software)

Figure 7 The soil Creep Analysis by using Geostudio

As we can observe from the soil creep analysis by using Geostudio, we can see that the safety factor for the assigned soil profile and borehole
emulate the safety factor of 1.393 with the lowest value of safety factor of 1.393. Thus, we can conclude that there are o zone in the soil are prone
to failure as all of the slip circles have Factor of Safety (FS) more than 1.

19
8.0 Discussion

After done the FEA analysis by using the Geostudio, the Factor of Safety of the soil profile is
more than 1.0 which mean there are no soil creeps failure happened to the soil profile. Under
the definition "shear strength" forces resisting motion down the slope are classified and involve
frictional resistance and cohesion among the components of the materials forming the slope.
The slope and movement of the slope-forming materials will fail if the shear stress acting
parallel to the slope is greater than the sum of the forces holding the slope-forming materials.
Whenever a slope's safety factor is less than 1.0, its failure can be expected. However, in the
FEA analysis, there are no safety factors less than 1 with the minimum safety factor of 1.393
has indicated that the soil creep failure is not happened to the soil profile in the nearest time.
Slope failures have many variable characteristics, such as the area and volume involved,
the length of the perimeter and flow direction, distance, angle of slope, the cover of vegetation,
and the type of material forming the slope. A common requirement of anticipated slope failure
is the creation of cracks and any increase in their rate of widening. A fair indicator of imminent
collapse is also the appearance of and rises in, ground subsidence or upheaval. In modern years,
the causes and impacts of slope failures, as well as their practical corrective steps, have been
analysed and studied in detail. However, it should be noted that these failures exhibit very
variable characteristics and any attempt to characterise them is often only approximate and
incomplete.

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9.0 Recommendation
In soil slope creep analysis, water has a detrimental influence on the ability of the soil
to withstand shearing, contributing to slope failure. A rise in pore pressure contributes to a
reduction in productive stress. Since stress governs the strength characteristics of the soil,
water presence leads to a reduction in soil shear strength. A meaningful way to increase the
resistance to shear failure is to monitor ground water in the slope region. Drainage is indeed a
fundamental way of reducing the volume of water on the slope. Many features of drainage
designed to improve the stability of the slope. Drains provide a direction from the possible slide
area for water to flow out and increase the soil shear strength. Some techniques to regulate
water in the slope region are surface drains, trenches, horizontal drains, and drainage wells.
The amount of water intrusion into slope material is restricted by surface drains. After
infiltration, trenches drain, and wells are used to divert water; their design differs significantly
by the form of project.
Most of re-profiling the soil has some common recommendations during the analysis.
The most effective stabilisation tool is the regulation of water, and groundwater sensitivity
directly relates to the angle of friction of the soil. The surface cover is yet another means of
stabilising slopes. By diverting water, mitigating the impact of erosion, and providing
stabilising forces for the upper layer of a slope, adequate soil cover may avoid drainage-related
instability. Popular approaches to slope stabilisation by ground cover are vegetative cover, rip-
rap, adequate fill, and buttressing. It is widespread and an easily applied technique to use
vegetation as ground cover. Plant roots extract soil water, minimising the impact of pore
pressure and reducing the probability of surface failure. The vegetation's roots also provide the
surface with mechanical reinforcement.

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10.0 Conclusion

This soil creep analysis project addresses criteria identified for slope stabilisation
recommendations. To assist engineers with slope stabilisation problems, the used data from the
target audience, traditional engineering testing practises, and comparative analysis. Since the
increase in water levels poses significant risks and problems in terms of environmental values,
including activities, plants and animals, these are typically the most highlighted and studied
concerns. On the other hand, soil creep is usually more frequently considered as more unwanted
by engineers focused on slope stability. The changes in the water level relative of influence on
slope stability. With two water levels at different elevations where the soil is theoretically
related, there will be gradients leading to possible inflows. Besides, in any porous materials,
possible water paths are undoubtedly present, and even flow through any volume of soil
contributes to the erosion of fine-grained fractions. The slope creeps found in the volume of
the ground where the running water is present.
Water presence leads to a reduction in soil shear strength since stress governs the
strength characteristics of the soil. A meaningful way to increase the resistance to shear failure
is to monitor ground water in the slope region by drainage. The regulation of water and
groundwater sensitivity is the most effective stabilisation tool is the regulation of water,
directly relates to the angle of friction of the soil. The slope and movement of the slope-forming
materials will fail if the shear stress acting parallel to the slope is greater than the sum of the
forces holding the slope-forming materials. Whenever a slope's safety factor is less than 1.0,
its failure can be expected.

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11.0 Reflection

By doing this soil creep analysis by using Finite Elements Analysis (FEA) utilising the
Geostudio have really improve my understanding and increase my knowledge in using the
engineering software to analyse the soil creeps in more knowledgeable manner. I always had
the greatest respect for Dr Choo, who taught me not by telling me the solution, but by showing
me that either I knew it already or I could find it myself. Adopting a simple clarification of a
question and getting on with the day was easy and addictive. Still, I came to see that authentic
learning stemmed only from the communication of the curious mind and the thoughtful
instructor who was careful enough not to provide the answer but the direction to the solution.
Initially, I am having a problem with the hand calculations for validation in tutorial
5.10, together with the difficulties in using the software due to my laptop, suddenly lag and
turn off by itself. It is frustrated at that time as a laptop are essential especially to Final Year
students as they are involved in Final Year Research Project and also for this analysis
assignment. The students are required to use the engineering software, which is Geostudio for
hand validation and also analyse the soil creeps slope based on the assigned soil profile and
borehole. However, with the detail guidance from Dr. Choo in lecture video and during tutorial
session together with help from my fellow friends, I was able to solve the hand validation
calculations. During preparing this report also have taught me that time management are
essential in our life to reduce the task project delay and ensure that the assignment is submitted
on due dates. Like this semester, I am taking four units, and time management plays a vital role
as it helps me keep on track with the assignment dues.
What I can conclude here is that when the process of slow and gradual fracture or yield
of a soil mass is under extreme stress, the soil creeps. The fundamental for each cycle of rising
and pullback respectively is undoubtedly the same as separated for these shifts when it applies
to cyclic sea-level fluctuation. There are significant variations associated with recurrence. Also,
the geotechnical conditions are affected by any movement of the groundwater level. If the shear
stress acting parallel to the slope is larger than the sum of the forces holding the slope-forming
materials, the slope and motion of the slope-forming materials will fail. Whenever the safety
factor of a slope is less than 1.0, soil creeps are predicted to occur.

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12.0 References

Encyclopedia Britannica. 2009. Creep | Slope Movement. Viewed 14 December 2020.

<https://www.britannica.com/science/creep-slope-movement>
Fatahi, Behzad & Le, Thu & Lê, Minh & Khabbaz, Hadi. (2013). Soil creep effects on ground
lateral deformation and pore water pressure under embankments. Geomechanics and
Geoengineering. 8.
GEO-SLOPE International Ltd. (2015). Stability Modeling with SLOPE/W. Viewed 13
December 2020. <http://downloads.geo-
slope.com/geostudioresources/books/8/15/slope%20modeling.pdf>

Gustav, Minna, Hans, Nallathamby, et.al (2017) Creep of geomaterials – some finding from
the EU project CREEP. European Journal of Environmental and Civil Engineering 0:0, pages
1-16

Pawlik, Łukasz & Samonil, Pavel. (2018). Soil creep: The driving factors, evidence and
significance for biogeomorphic and pedogenic domains and systems – A critical literature
review. Earth-Science Reviews.
S. Nallathamby, K. Minna & B. Paul (2015). Modelling creep behaviour of anisotropic soft
soils. Computer and Geotechnics. Vol. 69, Page 46 – 57.

Zabuski, Leslaw. (2018). Analysis of Slope Creep in the Example of a Landslide Slope in
Koronowo Near Bydgoszcz. Archives of Hydro-Engineering and Environmental Mechanics.
65.

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