Mechanik des Kriechens von Böschungen und Hängen

Mechanics of creeping of slopes and hillsides.

The mechanics of creeping due to rate-dependant (viscous) material behaviour and sliding as the limiting state of plastic failure are defined and outlined for hillsides with variable groundwater level situated on top of a clay layer. For both phenomena, the proper material laws for the zones of softened soil are depicted. The viscous material law obtained by undrained tests (CU triaxial tests) is generalized for the application to drained conditions in a hillside so that it can also be used to predict changes of the creep rate depending on changing groundwater levels. It is described in detail how these material laws, together with displacement measurements in boreholes, can be used to make reliable predictions of the creep rate and safety against sliding caused by changes of groundwater level and/or loads or by the installation of retaining structures. The prediction of the creep rate proceeds as a modified conventional calculation of the safety against sliding.