Slope Stability Analysis
H. H. Holmes has the tools and experience to monitor, analyze and make recommendations to keep your project cost effective and on schedule. We perform slope stability analyses involving embankment dam design with steady state seepage, end of construction, and rapid draw down case analyses. We employ Corp of Engineer standards and an in-house slope stability computer program, G slope, to analyze and recommend the most cost efficient embankment section. These analyses are also applicable to excavation cut slope stability for earth structures and building foundation excavation in general. H. H. Holmes also can provide monitoring of pore water pressure, settlement and embankment movement to verify embankment stability is being maintained during construction. Through use of piezometers, inclinometers, and settlement devices we can monitor embankment construction stability.
H. H. Holmes Testing performs inclinometer monitoring of cut slopes and foundation excavations in order to measure horizontal movement of soil. We use settlement cells to measure the settlement of the soil supporting an embankment or basement excavation. Settlement cells measure the vertical movement of the underlying soils. In foundation excavations lateral movement of a cut slope is often accompanied by settlement of adjacent ground and settlement cells can measure this movement.
Determining when settlement is complete is often critical to construction schedules. If piles must be driven after settlement is complete, an accurate measuring tool can save the contractor weeks or months of unnecessary waiting. In addition, the ratio between lateral movement (measured by inclinometers) and settlement (measured by settlement cells) can be used by our geotechnical engineers to better predict the factor of safety of an embankment during construction.
H. H. Holmes Testing uses piezometers to measure the pore pressure within the soil. The reaction of the pore pressure to fill placement provides an indication of stability and expected foundation soil movement. Piezometers can also show when pore pressures are dangerously high, which may require a halt in construction, and when pressures are low enough that construction can continue or even speed up.
For case studies on some of our projects, please click on "Case Studies."
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