Erhalten Sie Zugang zu diesem und mehr als 300000 Büchern ab EUR 5,99 monatlich.
- Herausgeber: Science & Technology Publishing
- Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
- Sprache: Englisch
Earthwork Slips and Subsidences upon Public Works: Their Causes, Prevention, and Reparation is a comprehensive and authoritative treatise that delves into the critical challenges faced in the construction and maintenance of public works, particularly focusing on the phenomena of earthwork slips and subsidences. Authored by John Newman, this seminal work provides an in-depth exploration of the underlying causes of ground movement and instability, drawing upon a wealth of practical experience and case studies from railway, canal, and road engineering projects. The book meticulously examines the geological, hydrological, and mechanical factors that contribute to the failure of embankments, cuttings, and other earthworks. It discusses the influence of soil composition, water infiltration, drainage deficiencies, and construction techniques on the stability of large-scale infrastructure. Newman offers a detailed analysis of historical incidents of slips and subsidences, highlighting the lessons learned and the evolution of engineering practices aimed at mitigating such risks. A significant portion of the text is devoted to preventive measures, including the design and implementation of effective drainage systems, the selection of suitable materials, and the adoption of construction methods tailored to specific site conditions. The author also addresses the practical aspects of repairing and remediating failed earthworks, providing guidance on the assessment of damage, the planning of remedial works, and the execution of repairs to restore structural integrity and ensure long-term stability. Richly illustrated with diagrams, tables, and real-world examples, Earthwork Slips and Subsidences upon Public Works serves as an invaluable reference for civil engineers, contractors, surveyors, and students of engineering. It combines scientific rigor with practical advice, making it both a foundational text for academic study and a practical manual for professionals engaged in the design, construction, and maintenance of public infrastructure. This classic work remains relevant today, offering timeless insights into the challenges and solutions associated with earthwork stability in civil engineering.
Sie lesen das E-Book in den Legimi-Apps auf:
Seitenzahl: 430
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025
Das E-Book (TTS) können Sie hören im Abo „Legimi Premium” in Legimi-Apps auf:
Ähnliche
Transcriber’s Note:
The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.
EARTHWORK SLIPS AND SUBSIDENCES UPON PUBLIC WORKS:Their Causes, Prevention, and Reparation.ESPECIALLY WRITTEN TO ASSIST THOSE ENGAGED IN THE CONSTRUCTION OR MAINTENANCEOFRAILWAYS, DOCKS, CANALS, ROADS, WATERWORKS, RIVER-BANKS, RECLAMATION EMBANKMENTS, DRAINAGE WORKS, &c.
PREFACE.
The absence of any but fragmentary information on EARTH-SLIPS AND SUBSIDENCES UPON PUBLIC WORKS, one of the most annoying and expensive occurrences in engineering construction, has prompted the author to write this book as a vade-mecum for those in charge of such undertakings as Railways, Docks, Canals, Roads, Waterworks, River-banks, Reclamation embankments, Drainage works, &c., and also to fill, however imperfectly, somewhat of an hiatus in engineering literature.
The theory of the lateral pressure of earthwork is not examined, as it is well understood; the intention being to concisely describe the chief causes of slips and subsidences in different earths and many points requiring attention, to call to remembrance some soils especially treacherous and unstable, and to name various preventive measures and effectual remedies.
A reference to the table of contents and the index will demonstrate the comprehensiveness of the subject, for it involves in the various practical applications the science of geology, physical geography, meteorology, the laws of pressure of earth, some chemical and botanical, and other scientific knowledge.
It is scarcely necessary to observe that no exhaustive treatise is herein attempted, for that would indeed be an Herculean task; but in this volume the endeavour has been made to present reliable information, the result of experience, research, considerable labour, and lengthened observation.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
PAGES
Introduction—General Considerations—Enumeration of the Primary Causes of Slips and Subsidences in Cuttings and Embankments, and Earthworks Constructed To Contain or Exclude Water—Some Dominant Principles to be Remembered in Determining the Location of Earthworks
1
–12
CHAPTER II.
The Probability of a Slip—Time of the most frequent Occurrence—Some Conditions under which Slips and Subsidences in Cuttings and Embankments may be expected in different Earths, such as Rock, Chalk, Sand, Gravel, Clay, &c., &c.—Notes on the Slopes of Repose
13
–49
CHAPTER III.
The General Effect of a Slip in a Cutting or an Embankment—Enumeration and Consideration of some Protective and Remedial Works—Treatment of the Slipped Earth
50
–64
CHAPTER IV.
Notes on the Percolation of Water—Systems of Drainage of Cuttings and Embankments in Different Kinds of Earth and under Diverse Conditions—The Construction of Culverts, Pipe-drains, Trenches, Ditches, and Catchwater Drains
65
–86
CHAPTER V.
Approximate Safe Maximum Load upon Different Earths—Normal Pressure of the Earth—The Safe Maximum Load upon Deposited Earth—Approximate Safe Maximum Height of an Embankment
87
–97
CHAPTER VI.
Slopes, General Considerations—Table Showing the General Range of Slopes—Table of Coefficients of Friction—Notes on the Cohesion of Earth—Form of a Slope—Some Conditions Governing the Necessary Inclination—Widening Earthworks within the Original Fences
98
–114
CHAPTER VII.
Notes upon the Preservation of the Foot of a Slope—Various Methods of Covering and Supporting a Slope—Protection from Snow-Drifts—The Formation Width of Cuttings and Embankments—The Deleterious Effects of Vibration
115
–141
CHAPTER VIII.
Earthworks in or upon Sidelong Ground—Some Insecure Conditions—Precautionary Measures—Embankments upon Soft Ground—Embankments Composed of Soft Earth—The Promotion of Stability and Consolidation
142
–155
CHAPTER IX.
The Deposition of an Embankment—Preparation of the Ground upon which an Embankment has to be Deposited—Methods of Procedure—Consideration of some of the Different Systems—The Effect of the Height of a Tip and the Length of a Lead—The Steam Navvy and Embankments
156
–170
CHAPTER X.
Notes upon the Location, Preservation, and Protection of Sea, Estuary, Reclamation, Canal, and Reservoir Embankments of Earth Constructed to Contain or Expel Water
171
–197
CHAPTER XI.
Notes upon the Failure of Dock and other Walls from a Forward Movement of the Earth Filling or Backing—Consideration of the Causes of such Action and some Preventive and Remedial Measures
198
–215
CHAPTER XII.
Notes upon Slips of Earth, Subsidences, and Movement in Foundations caused by “Boils,” or an Upward Rush of Water in Loose Earths—Consideration of some Precautionary and Remedial Operations
216
–225
CHAPTER I.
Introduction—General Considerations—Enumeration of the Primary Causes of Slips and Subsidences in Cuttings and embankments, and Earthworks Constructed to Contain or Exclude Water—Some Dominant Principles to be Remembered in Determining the Location of Earthworks.
Earthslips and subsidences may be caused by the terrible power of an earthquake or other dreaded subterranean destroying force, upheaving, cracking, and shattering the earth’s crust and dealing death and havoc in its awe-inspiring course. They may also originate from the untiring efforts of the meanest rodents or the most minute crustaceous animals burrowing passages for aqueous action, the chief agent of the instability of the surface soils of the earth.
The ceaseless mutability of the created elements has been thus magnificently described:—
It is the constant absence of peace and rest in the earth that produces instability, however great, however small, for the disastrous landslips that have occurred in Switzerland and other parts of Europe, in India, and recently at Quebec, and in all regions of the world were caused by the same disintegrating operations as those which generate an earth-slip of comparative insignificance. In proceeding to a practical consideration of earthslips and subsidences, it may be well to call attention to the complexity of the subject, the character and conditions of earth and the impairing elements being so very variable and numerous that it is impossible to determine any rules even for a particular soil; and, moreover, it is necessary to separately consider slips in cuttings and those in embankments, as movement is somewhat differently created, and it does not necessarily follow because earth stands well in a cutting that it will do so in an embankment, or vice versâ.
It may be said every kind of earth will slip or weather under certain conditions, even the hardest rock if superimposed upon an unstable stratum; therefore, some of the main questions to be considered are:—
I. The Probability of the Occurrence of a Slip.
II. The Effect of a Slip.
III. Should every Precaution be taken to prevent a Slip when a Cutting is being Excavated or an Embankment being Deposited; or is it better to Repair a Slip as it happens?
It is obvious in railway cuttings and embankments a mere crumbling of the surface may be disregarded, but in dock, canal, or any works containing or expelling water, the smallest movement, crack, or aperture must immediately receive due attention.
In order to effectually remedy a disease it is necessary to ascertain its character. Many of the primary causes of slips in cuttings and embankments are, therefore, here enumerated; but, of course, they are not named in their order of importance, which cannot be established.
Heads of the Chief Causes of Slips and Subsidences in Cuttings.
1. The want of uniformity of the earth, particularly as regards percolation, cohesive power, and resistance to change by the action of water or meteorological influences.
2. The temporary or permanent exposure of the earth to the effects of the atmosphere, rain, frost, and snow.
3. The opening to the air and weather, &c., of thin seams of an unstable character, which, when unsupported, gradually crumble away and cease to support superimposed strata.
4. The tapping of springs.
5. The lower portion of a slope being impaired or undermined through an infiltration and flow of water.
6. The erosion of the slope.
7. The earth having intermediate unstable seams.
8. The unprotected surface of a cutting in light soil being loosened and blown away by a storm of wind, especially when it is accompanied by rain.
9. The slopes being honey-combed and disturbed by rodents, particularly in clay soils, clay marls, and clay loams; and upon submerged earthwork, and in certain districts in the tropics by a mollusk which will penetrate and even destroy rocks.
10. From one portion of a cutting being more exposed than another to disintegrating meteorological influences.
11. By the discharge of water from land drains following the old drainage course, and by the localisation of the surface or land water flow.
12. The improper or imperfect drainage of land outside a railway fence, causing land water to accumulate in and discharge itself through the slope, thus disturbing the established equilibrium.
13. By an interference with the natural flow of any underground waters.
14. By allowing water to accumulate in the gullet, or upon the formation during the process of the excavation of a cutting.
15. The local percolation of water through the slopes of a cutting from the defective construction, wrong location, or permeability of the surface of a drain upon the cess.
16. An accumulation of water caused by the unevenness of the slopes.
17. The acceleration and inducement of a flow through the slope of any water contained in land outside a railway fence, and consequent incitement to the land-water to exude.
18. Vibration.
19. Insufficient flatness of a slope either at the time of excavation or after exposure to meteorological influences.
20. The strain upon the face from lumps of earth being allowed to remain upon a slope during the construction of the works, or the gullet being excavated for a considerable distance in advance; the cohesion of the soil being thereby unduly and unequally strained.
21. By overweighting.
22. By unequal loading.
23. The establishment of spoil banks upon the cess, or the additional loading of the ground near and outside a railway fence, in soft soils having practically no cohesion or tenacity.
24. The excavation removed destroying the continuity of support, especially in soils partaking of a semi-fluid character.
25. The want of uniformity of the covering of a slope causing unequal percolation or exudation of water.
26. The neglect to fill up, or otherwise remedy, cracks or fissures in the slopes or cess.
27. By artificial or irregular consolidation either of the formation or slopes superinducing movement and weathering in any portion not so compacted.
28. From an accumulation of water behind a retaining wall at the foot of a slope, resulting in the stability of the wall being overcome by pressure.
29. By unequal pressure upon the foundations of a retaining wall at the foot of a slope caused by lateral over-pressure tilting it, or by its unequal settlement.
30. In sidelong ground, by the removal of support against the action of sliding, which, without artificial aid, may not be arrested until the slope of a cutting on the higher side approaches the steepest inclination of the face of the hill.
31. By blasting laminated rock dipping at a considerable angle towards a cutting in the side of a hill; the result sometimes being that a cavity is made depriving the upper beds of support and causing them to overhang, and a mass extending to the top surface of the hill to slip along the unsupported stratum.
The first ten “heads of the chief causes of slips in cuttings” might be classed as NATURAL, i.e. produced or effected by nature and, therefore, beyond the power of man to entirely prevent; the remaining heads as ARTIFICIAL, and therefore, in some degree to be prevented, unless obviously the result of the unavoidable exigencies of construction.
Heads of the Chief Causes of Slips and Subsidences in Embankments.
1. The percolation of surface water into the toe and under an embankment upon the original surface of the ground, and also downwards through the formation.
2. Unequal percolation of water through the formation or the slopes.
3. The surface of the ground upon which an embankment is tipped inclining in one direction, or falling on each side from the centre.
4. The effects of rain, frost, snow, and the atmosphere on the deposited earth.
5. By a crumbling of the lower portion of a slope.
6. By a hurricane or extreme wind force, especially when accompanied by rain and the location is that of a narrow, steep valley, blowing away or dissipating the top and the surface of an uncovered embankment.
7. By a slope becoming honey-combed by rodents, and in some few countries by an embankment in a river or the sea being bored and disturbed by crustacea.
8. Insufficient slope for permanent stability at the time of or after deposition.
9. The want of adhesion between the surface of the ground upon which an embankment is tipped and the deposited material.
10. By the accumulation at the foot of an embankment of boulders or lumps having no cohesion, and no adhesion to the surface of the ground upon which they are deposited.
11. The weight being too great upon the ground upon which an embankment rests.
12. By unequal loading.
13. An accumulation of water, caused by the unevenness of the surface of an embankment, or by the ground not being prepared so as to prevent a lodgment of water.
14. By obstructing the established discharge of land-water or by attempting to divert the natural flow of underground waters.
15. The localisation of the surface drainage.
16. Water percolating into a benching trench, made to receive the toe of a slope, thereby impairing the cohesion of the soil and reducing its weight-carrying capacity and stability.
17. Vibration.
18. The different nature and state of the earth tipped into an embankment and the consequent localisation of water in the more pervious soil, causing unequal settlement, subsidence and movement.
19. An embankment being tipped of material in a different state of dryness, moistness, hardness, softness, or in a frozen condition.
20. The size and character of the earth, as excavated in the cuttings; for instance, whether picked and shovelled soil, or lumps of excavation simply barred away and deposited in small masses with earth approaching a state of dirt or mud.
21. Overpressure upon the material forming an embankment.
22. The different conditions of the weather, when an embankment is tipped, causing portions to become dry, wet, or frozen.
23. The lead or distance from a cutting to the place of deposition being of considerable length.
24. The earth being loosened from vibration and concussion during transit in the wagons, and in the process of deposition, thus causing it to be non-homogeneous.
25. By the earth being tipped with greater impetus at one part than at another place.
26. An embankment not being tipped to its full width as it progresses, whether in one or more wagon roads.
27. First tipping the central portion of an embankment, and completing the width and slope by side deposition after some time has elapsed.
28. Tipping the contents of earth wagons from a considerable height, thereby loosening and separating the soil, causing the larger and heavier material to be near the foot of a slope and in lumps, and an embankment to have interstices and be temporarily or permanently unstable.
29. Irregular consolidation, artificial or otherwise.
30. Unequal exposure, particularly in embankments upon sidelong ground.
31. Insufficient width of the formation, especially in high and exposed embankments.
32. The junction of two embankments tipped from cuttings in different kinds of earth.
33. No time being allowed for subsidence or consolidation before the deposited earth is subject to varying loads and vibration.
34. By allowing water to collect upon the formation and to form channels down the slopes.
35. The neglect to fill, or otherwise remedy, cracks or fissures.
36. The want of uniformity of the covering of the slopes or top of an embankment causing unequal percolation of water.
37. By a retaining wall at the toe of a slope preventing the discharge of water that has percolated through the formation and the slope.
38. By an abnormal increase of the load upon the foundation of a wall caused by lateral thrust and tilting forward, or fracture of the footings or the concrete bed.
The first seven heads of “the chief causes of slips in embankments” might be classed as NATURAL, i.e., produced by nature, and, therefore, beyond the power of man to entirely prevent; the remainder as ARTIFICIAL, and, therefore, more or less to be prevented.
In the case of earthworks made to contain or exclude water for the purposes of docks, canals, waterworks, reclamation of land, irrigation or drainage, &c., may be added, without reference to their construction:—
1. Leakage along a discharge culvert, sluice, or tunnel in an embankment, or through the earthwork.
2. Erosion of the land slope or backing of a retaining wall by waves, or spray falling thereon and necessarily passing over the top of an embankment.
3. From abrasion and damage, caused by vessels or barges rubbing or colliding against a slope.
4. From erosion caused by wave action produced by the passage of boats or ships propelled by machinery; or by wind waves.
5. Variation in the water level, causing unequal pressure.
6. In the case of a reclamation embankment, it being closed from the ends, and not by raising in layers, from the ground level.
7. Variation of the submerged area, and consequent change in the degree of exposure to deteriorating influences.
To sum up, the principal causes of slips in earthwork may be stated to be air, water, frost and thaw, over-pressure, and vibration; the chief agent both in cuttings and embankments being water, which forces forward the surface of the slopes and destroys the cohesion of the soil, and impairs its frictional resistance until the earth is unable to sustain the weight upon it; vibration aiding and completing the movement, as it not only tends to loosen the soil, but may disturb the equilibrium of earthwork which is almost moving, and only requires a slight shock to set it in motion: in fact, vibration is frequently the complementary agency that causes a slip, and is obviously felt most in loose soils; but if there should be fissures in earth of a tenacious character, or boulders in clay to disconnect it, the effect of vibration will be more serious in the latter case, as whole masses of earth may become detached, instead of an equal settlement proceeding as with soils, such as sand and gravel, which may become consolidated by shaking, owing to wedging of the particles, should the slopes be sufficiently flat to prevent lateral movement; but it may detach portions of the slopes in soil having little or no cohesion, and thus initiate a slip.
In the following chapters the chief causes of slips in cuttings and embankments are considered, together with others bearing upon a solution of the subject, which is so interwoven that it is impracticable to preserve a successive order, but an endeavour has been made to separately indicate the cause and some remedies that may be adopted: but before proceeding to particularise, it may be well to name a few dominant principles of the alignment of public works, which if duly regarded may tend to prevent slips of serious importance.
Consequent upon financial and other causes, an engineer is usually required to so quickly prepare the necessary parliamentary plans and sections of public works, more particularly for railways, that it is beyond the power of the most experienced to set out in a few hours the best line of railway, &c., across a country, giving due consideration to the parliamentary, constructional, economical working, district and through traffic, and financial requirements of the undertaking. There are, however, a few points which he may be able to regard respecting the stability of earthworks, some of which are now enumerated.
1. Avoid cuttings or embankments in drift soil in or upon the side of a hill.
2. Avoid all damming back or flow of the natural drainage waters, or heaping of snow by the erection of an embankment, especially in mountainous, hilly, or sidelong ground, and in an undrained district.
3. When any excavation is in the side of a hill, observe the natural configuration of the ground in the wettest part, and remember that the slope of a cutting may not stand unless at the same inclination, or the toe of the slope is supported by a massive retaining wall and extensive draining, and that any disturbance may cause it to require a flatter inclination.
4. Avoid river or stream diversions in earth of a very porous character; and should an embankment have to be erected near to a deep river having a steep bank, locate the line a sufficient distance from the edge that the slope of the river bank may be flattened when required, as an extraordinary flood may cause it to be unstable and to fall in, and in order to restore it to a condition of stability, it may be necessary to widen the river and reduce the angle of inclination of its banks.
5. In treacherous earth do not locate a railway close to a road, except at a station, as if the line be placed above the road, a slip upon the railway may result in a slip upon the road; and should the line be below a road, the extra weight or vibration may cause the road to follow the railway and act, as it were, in unison with it.
6. In treacherous soil, where practicable, have stations nearly upon the surface of the natural ground.
7. Remember that upon one side of even the narrowest gorge or valley the earth may be much more solid than upon the other.
8. In exposed situations in a hilly country ascertain upon which side snow remains the longer, note which receives the greater amount of sunshine, and is the wetter and more covered with trees and vegetation. In a hill or mountain, the side to leeward of the prevailing winds almost invariably receives the greater rainfall.
9. In mountainous or hilly districts it may be advantageous to place a railway or road at a high level upon the sunny side of a hill or valley, as obviously it dries quicker; snow does not accumulate with the same facility, unless it happens to be exposed to the direction of the prevailing storms; the sunny side may be practically clear of snow, the shady almost impassable; but there is one drawback to the sunny side, namely—the more frequent occurrence of snow-slips, which may or may not be serious in extent. On the whole, experience seems to show that the wooded side of a valley is the best to select—sometimes one side is bare and the other wooded—unless there are special reasons to the contrary. In the winter season in certain districts abroad, for instance, in parts of Afghanistan and the adjacent mountain passes, the days are sometimes as hot as the summer of European countries, but at night the thermometer may fall below freezing-point, hence the value of tree-protection. It is obvious that in such climates the soil is peculiarly liable to disintegrating forces, and likely to slip, unless of a solid character, and that upon one side earthworks may be stable, and upon the other treacherous.
10. In many countries it may be advisable to adopt a valley in preference to a hill-side line, especially if the district is free from floods, or if the waters flowing down the side of the hills are considerable and suddenly appear, and there is a river and ample means available of controlling the hill-side torrents and conducting them to the river. If not, and the line must be on the mountain side, it may be advisable, in exposed places where water rapidly accumulates and becomes a torrent, to adopt the system of short tunnels round the hill spurs, in preference to deep cuttings, drainage, and slope protection works, and to place the railway or road at the highest level, so as to be free from the influence of floods.
11. Bear in mind that in high mountainous districts the drift deposit is generally torrential alluvium.
12. Avoid as much as possible high embanked approaches to a river bridge, especially when a deep river, which frequently changes its course, is in a flat country.
13. Consider if the simple erection of an embankment may in time cause its destruction, by the arrest or attempted diversion of the usual flow of the land waters.
14. In treacherous soils, on the side of a cliff facing the sea, determine whether it is preferable to erect timber trestles at its base instead of a solid embankment, or to place the line in a tunnel. The trestles can either be erected upon sills, resting on the ground and on short piles well secured from movement, or on piles driven some distance into the ground. The system may also be adopted if the ground be of a yielding character.
15. It has been noticed in some mountainous districts that the clouds break against the highest main ranges, discharge themselves on the smaller ranges, and generally do not reach the inner ranges which rise on the high table-lands; therefore, consider whether by locating a railway or road near the latter, there is much less probability of a slip in the earthworks and less provision required for surface and flood waters.
16. The configuration of a district through which a railway or road must be aligned, may be such that its location becomes one more based upon placing it on soil which is less bad or treacherous, than upon firm or stable ground. This is especially the case in hilly countries contiguous to the sea or large rivers. It may be optional to construct the works upon low or valley ground upon the side of a mountain or hill, or close to the sea shore or a river bank, which may require continuous defence works to protect it from waves and erosion; or on table-land which, however, if impervious and retentive of moisture may act as a catchment reservoir between hills, and cause the ground to be always in a damp state.
The character of the soil, the magnitude, and especially the average height of the embankments, or the depth of the cuttings, the easy drainage and discharge of the rainfall, and an economically constructed, maintained, and worked line are the chief conditions to inseparably bear in mind in determining the location.
CHAPTER II.
The Probability of a Slip—Time of the most frequent Occurrence—Some Conditions under which Slips and Subsidences in Cuttings and Embankments may be expected in different Earths, such as Rock, Chalk, Sand, Gravel, Clay, &c., &c.,—Notes on the Slopes of Repose.
It is of importance to know when serious slips are most likely to happen and under what conditions they are probable, for the process of disintegration may commence immediately the earth is excavated, and be very gradual, although the soil may remain stable for many months, or even a year or two, because the earth has not had time to be affected to the point of instability.
The history of recorded slips appears to indicate that the most serious movements of earth and those most difficult to remedy occur in the following soils.
Drift Earth upon rock in sidelong ground.
Chalk Soils, as witness the slips in the early part of 1877 in the cuttings near Folkestone, and the more recent on the Calais-Boulogne Railway, and that in an embankment of chalk at Binham’s Wood, near Balcombe, in October 1853, when in a length of about 200 yards some 70,000 cubic yards of earth slipped towards a valley. Probably this is one of the most extensive recorded slips of a railway embankment of chalk; however, in this case the traffic was not stopped, but only delayed.
Clay Soils, especially the yellow clay; illustrated by the notable slip at New Cross, near London, when some 90,000 cubic yards of yellow clay moved upon the smooth surface of a shaly clay bed and covered the formation: also the brown, and boulder clay, and the lias clays, as witness the well-known recorded slips in the Midland counties of England, in which either aluminous or calcareous material may preponderate.
There are few, if any, earths in which the cohesion, weight-sustaining power and ability to resist the action of water and meteorological influences are practically the same at all depths, the different conditions, arrangement, and character in which they are found being almost infinite, and there are earths which may become consolidated and watertight if in a constantly moist and protected state, that when dry and exposed will shrink, fissure, and soon become unstable.
Consequent upon cohesion, a cutting may stand for some time almost vertically; nevertheless stability cannot be considered as solely regulated by the cohesion of earth, for an embankment of gravel, sand, or broken rock with a proper slope and protected from erosion will usually safely bear more load than an embankment of clay, although the former material may be said to have no cohesion; but the lateral thrust of dry, firm sand is known to be small, provided the sand is not disturbed; also no earth can be said to be immovable under every condition, but consideration of the soils particularly liable to disturbance or mutation is, under ordinary circumstances, the main question to be determined.
With few exceptions the exterior or faces of cuttings and embankments will, at certain times, become impaired or soddened by the infiltration of water. In cuttings there is the additional danger, owing to the geological formation, of the excavation reaching the depth at which water is generally found in the locality, and it is therefore advisable to ascertain this level, and also to decide whether the ground must be excavated below it, as necessarily there will be a downward flow, and the slopes and formation will consequently have to sustain a pressure due to the difference between the normal level of the water-bearing stratum in the neighbourhood and that of any depth beneath it. In such a case, in addition to the usual softening and loosening aqueous action, there is the particular insecurity of the formation and slopes being undermined and eroded by springs: also in pervious soil in a drained district a cutting will be found to be comparatively dry to about the level of the bottom of the existing contiguous drains, but below that depth water will be present, probably in considerable quantity. Land drains also frequently cause slips, as they localise the flow of the surface or underground waters, and when in excavating a cutting they are intercepted, the discharge should be led away from the slopes; but difficulty may be encountered in effecting this, as water will usually follow its original course, and it may be impossible to entirely divert the direction of the flow, and the only thing to do may be to gently conduct the water down the slope by means of pipes, rubble, burnt brick, gravel surface drains, or timber ducts.
An important question to determine is, when are slips in earthwork most likely to occur.
In Europe they are most frequent in the autumn and winter months; but no rule can be established, nor is it reasonable to conclude, because any earthwork has remained stable during the usual period when slips may be expected, that, therefore, none will happen, for the heaviest rain may descend at an unusual season, and as moisture is the chief cause of the instability of all earths, it is rather to the quantity of the rainfall at any time than to the fixed seasons that attention should be directed.
Spring being the driest season in England and autumn the wettest, October and November being the months of heaviest rainfall, slips are more probable in the latter than the former season; but the first heavy and continuous rainfall after a period of estival drought is that particularly to be feared, or the first rainy weather after a dry period irrespective of the season of the year; but serious slips may not occur for many days or until the expiration of even a month or two after such rainfall, as the ground waters require time before they percolate to or reach the site of a cutting, and, therefore, all danger may be thought to be past when it is steadily approaching. The autumnal rains have to replace the moisture that has evaporated during the summer, and this may not, and usually does not if it slowly proceeds, produce instability in earthwork; but immediately the rainfall approaches or becomes in excess of the power of the natural absorption of the soil, the rain must flow away, for the earth being fully charged cannot contain it, the surface becomes wet or the mass soaked, according to the degree of the permeability of the soil, and the quantity of rain necessary to produce saturation; therefore, the state of the earth that induces a slip is that most desirable to know; this cannot be absolutely established in every case, for it depends upon so many influences, and obviously varies according to the character of the earth, the varieties and conditions of which are practically infinite.
In countries that have dry and wet seasons, which cause the earth to become parched and then to be rapidly saturated, mere surface waters to become streams, and rivers torrents, slips are probable soon after the commencement of the rainy season.
When frost follows rain or a fall of snow, and the latter has descended upon a frozen surface and a thaw sets in, particularly if it be accompanied by a warm wind causing it to be very rapid in action, the earth is severely tried, for the frozen water in the ground becomes suddenly liberated, while the surface is in a state of saturation. Probably the worst event that can occur for causing floods is when a sudden and rapid thaw follows a heavy snowfall upon frozen earth, as then the snow will melt, and water cannot gently percolate the earth, as the surface will be in a more or less frozen and impermeable condition, and the snow-water consequently must flow away.
Should any excessive or violent rainfall succeed a period during which the heat of the sun has caused fissures in the surface of the earth, allowing water to enter, the state of the soil is favourable to movement. Land has also become unstable in mountainous countries because a district has been deforested, or tree-protection much reduced, movement of the earth usually happening after the first heavy rains or thaw succeeding frost or snow.
It has also been noticed that when an earth has become completely saturated or water-charged, a sudden fall of the barometer to a low pressure will liberate the pent up water which the soil cannot contain and cause it to burst out, the equilibrium having been so delicate. Under such circumstances slips are nearly sure to ensue, and to be serious from their sudden action.
Extensive slips in earthwork seldom occur during the excavation, or a short time after the completion of a cutting; on the other hand, movement in an embankment frequently happens during deposition. In the case of an embankment, time may cause the earth to become consolidated, but in a cutting the disintegrating and disturbing forces, and the combined action of air and water percolating until they force forward the earth, are usually gradual in their operation, and often require a year or two to cause a state of instability; in fact, the history of slips, with a few exceptions, in soils whose condition is very readily changed by water, indicates that serious movement in cuttings does not generally occur until a cycle or two of the seasons has elapsed, during which period meteorological influences, aided by vibration and other deteriorating operations, are slowly and regularly proceeding, until at length such a change in the general condition is caused that a slip happens, apparently from some sudden agency, whereas the stability of the earth has been gradually and surely wasting away for a long time; hence the importance of continual careful observation in cuttings even of moderate depth in doubtful soil.
In canals and works of a similar character constructed to contain water, if any movement or slip of earthwork takes place, it usually occurs within a short time of the water being admitted, and generally within a few months and seldom after so long a period as a year, the ground in a short time becoming consolidated, being exempt from severe vibration and many of the disturbing agencies present in railway cuttings and embankments.
In endeavouring to ascertain the probability of a slip occurring, not only should the superficial strata be considered, but also the original formation of the country; for instance, drift-soil, which is generally met with upon the surface of sloping rocks, may consist of various earths intermixed in endless variety, and in every conceivable shape, and is not necessarily produced by a weathering of the rock upon which it lies, for it may have been brought from a distance. In any case, drift-soil is the result of decomposition and disintegration, and from its nature is unreliable and ever subject to change, to slip, and to subside, and so are most of the glacial deposits and moraine found in mountainous countries; and whenever the contour of a district is irregular and has numerous clefts, soft and marshy places, valleys and hills, earthworks will require to be protected against slips; also, should a cutting be at the base of a cliff or hill, it will probably have to be excavated in drift deposit and, perhaps, in silt if below the water-level of adjacent sea or river, and the ground dips towards the natural outfall of the land-waters. Such drift-soil may be alternately dry and charged with water from the rocks above, especially if they are much fissured and water-bearing and permit easy percolation of water, and must always be in a state of mutability.
Rock.
With regard to slips in rock, or earth generally classed as rock, the unstratified or igneous rocks, although they are sometimes traversed by mineral veins and dykes, are the less likely to slip; but rocks liable to surface decomposition and disintegration, such as some varieties of basalt and clay-slate, which latter by atmospheric and aqueous action will partly return to its original state of being fine mud, thrown down from the metamorphic rocks, may change their condition and are likely to slip; and also limestone rock, which however resists the eroding action of water better than sandstone, may become separated by frost although its surface soon dries.
Simply knowing the general character of a rock without ascertaining the proportion, state of the different particles of which it is composed, and whether any metamorphic action has taken place, is not necessarily a reliable guide to its stability. In districts situated at a high level, rocks are usually less permeable than in low-lying lands, and the surface discharge is greater and quicker because of the increased rainfall, and less absorption and retention of water.
It should be noticed whether there are dips in the surface of rock, as they often contain unreliable material, such as pockets and pot-holes of clay, sand, mud, silt and detritus; and movement may be expected if it be carelessly tipped with the rock into an embankment. Rocks which oppose vegetation are usually hard and weather-resisting, and the faults and fissures local; but it is not so much the equal weathering of the face of rocks that is to be feared, as the presence and interspersion of seams, breaks and fissures, and it should always be borne in mind that the condition of a rock varies considerably—it may be sound in one place, and be fissured, disintegrated, and quickly weather in others—and that all laminated and fissile earths are liable to slip because of the percolation of water down veins and crevices.
The durability of a rock may be approximately known by a careful examination, commencing at the surface of the ground and proceeding until it is reached, the thickness and character of the different top soils being noted, and particularly whether the degradation is uniform; but rock, such as some sandstone, which allows water to ooze, permeate, or force a passage, is of doubtful stability. Weathering may be possible only upon the surface or may gradually extend downwards, and as it can hardly be called a slip, the point to ascertain is not so much that it is sound and weather-resisting, as to know that there is no chance of any portion becoming detached or sliding, through the cohesion of the joints being impaired or destroyed by water, frost, or other agencies; for in the case of rocks which show irregularities of stratification, much cleavage, or are separated by upheaval, or have synclinal and anticlinal folds, masses become detached along the line of cleavage and independently of the normal stratification, therefore fissures or faults, weak veins between masses of rock and crevices, or inclined beds through which water may flow and always be present; the direction and inclination of the dip of the strata, effects of weather upon the veins, and to know the weight upon sloping ground which the rock will bear without sliding down a hill are the main considerations; for rocks may be distorted, upraised, contorted and tilted at every angle, and even horizontal beds may repose upon the upturned edges of other strata.
An inclined water-bearing stratum between rock loosely bedded and inclined towards a cutting, unless drained and supported, will probably cause a slip consequent upon the action of water or frost; on the other hand, veins may alone hold the masses together, and, therefore, when they are affected the cementing medium is destroyed; however, inclined water seams are a frequent cause of slips, for where any water-bearing earth meets a closer and consequently less pervious stratum, damp surfaces are produced, and an unstable condition; consequently, mixtures of rock, clay, and sand, are usually troublesome. Also in a cutting in sidelong ground if a stratified rock dips parallel, or nearly so, to the slope of a hill, slips are probable, as it may slide towards the cutting. Similarly, in a cutting in drift or alluvial soil, or any that will quickly weather, resting upon rock, especially should it have a smooth bed inclining towards the formation, the superimposed earth will usually be unstable, and even the act of penetrating the top stratum, or the erection of a retaining wall or the weight of a small embankment upon it, may cause it to move; and when motion has commenced it is difficult to arrest it; and should water trickle upon the surface of the rock, it may cause the upper stratum to slide; also when water flows or remains upon rock having a superimposed bed of shale or clay, the top stratum may not remain at rest even though the surface of the rock may be nearly level and practically waterproof, and where rock beds overlie shale which is liable to become softened by time and water and to perish, particularly when the beds are twisted or contorted; as, for instance, limestone or sandstone upon shale or marly-shale, the latter becoming softened by the action of the atmosphere, water, or frost will form a sliding medium upon which the rock may move, or should shale overlie rock, as it frequently does, it may slide upon the hard surface. All alternate beds of shale or any softer earth than the rock, particularly broken shales when found mixed with sand and clay and the lias shales, and rock should be regarded as treacherous and liable to slip. Also some of the slate rocks, as they frequently have veins of limestone, &c., and as the latter decomposes it mixes with the clay and becomes of a marly character. Dark blue shale or indurated slaty clay is sometimes difficult to excavate, but when exposed to atmospheric and aqueous action it breaks into pieces and becomes little better than a treacherous clay. The cohesion of shale becomes less as it approaches a greasy clayey condition, and, therefore, one readily affected by water or air, and it may then not stand at a steeper slope than 3 to 1. Rock and shale, which may stand at a steep inclination provided the beds are horizontal, it has been found, do not permanently repose when they dip towards a cutting until as flat a slope as 2 to 1 is given; and where clay and shale beds in cuttings are present, a slope of 1½ to 1 has been insufficient, and they have not been stable till an inclination of 2 to 1 has been adopted.
As cuttings in rock are frequently in the side of a hill, the dip of the strata should be ascertained, and in the case of an unstratified rock, it should be known whether it is fissured or lies upon a solid and firm bed considerably below the level of a cutting, so that it may be prevented from movement. It should also be ascertained if the top stratum is a mere crust, such as a capping of conglomerate resting upon clay-rock, through which water may burst and cause it to separate, and sometimes the rock may be more solid in the valleys than upon the hill-side because of greater diluvial action, and induration caused by exposure.
The crystalline rocks are the least easily destroyed and are generally rough and jagged. The science of geology shows that limestones, sandstones and clays, were originally heaps of mud deposited, removed or arranged by water; and that boulders are transplanted masses from the parent rock, and are worn and rounded by mechanical attrition. Consideration of the manner in which rocks have been formed affords a fair indication of their stability in earthwork; for instance, many clay rocks are reduced to a pasty condition by the action of water and air, but with different results according to their nature, some requiring blasting to excavate them. On the other hand, there are sandstones which although soft in the quarry become hardened when exposed to the atmosphere. A dock cut in red sandstone when exposed to the atmosphere may slip and fail, but if the rock be protected from the weather or constantly covered with water it may be reliable.
As cuttings are near the surface and seldom at greater depths than 100 feet, it is hardly possible to know the angle at which a rock dips or whether there are faults and fissures in it, unless an examination is made upon the site, and this notwithstanding the geological character may be thoroughly understood. Local conditions may cause peculiarities which no law can determine, and although at considerable depths, deeper than railway or any works with the exception of well-sinking and mining are likely to reach, the nature of the earth is accurately ascertained; the surface soil may be in almost every conceivable variety, and also so dislocated, denuded and rearranged, that usually horizontal strata may be nearly vertical. Its character may be accurately known, but the lie of the surface beds or dip of the upper strata, or the order of supraposition cannot be invariably absolutely established; for instance, when crevasses, fissures and veins are frequent in earth upheaved and disintegrated by volcanic action, earthquakes and other disturbing causes, as in parts of South America, Japan, and other eastern countries, Italy, the Tyrol, Spain, &c., &c., slips of earthwork are to be expected, and the soil is likely to be much inclined, full of faults and probably water-bearing seams.
Under the comprehensive name of rock is usually included any earth from the hardest mass to be found to that which will crumble in the hand, as soft sandstone rock. The chief absorbent rocks with which engineers have to do are the limestones, sandstones, chalk, and clay rocks. Rock may also be simple or present the appearance of being homogeneous, or it may be a mass of different substances, be flat bedded, have open or close joints, and be what is called—
Solid rock.
Hard rock.
Dense, or compact, rock.
Loose rock.
Rock in loose layers.
Loose rock with cavities, caverns, and pot-holes of various earths.
Fissured rock.
Friable rock.
Indurated earth liable to be disintegrated by atmospheric influences.
Decomposed rock.
Rotten decomposed rock.
Or any mass of earth cemented together by a substance, weather-resisting or not, requiring blasting or that can be excavated by means of bars and picks.
The slope of repose required may range from overhanging or vertical to that of the earth of which it consists when disintegrated and dissolved; therefore the angle of repose varies considerably, but the following cardinal principles may be followed without fear under ordinary circumstances and conditions.
Granite. Quartz, if not fissured, and when little mica is present in it, and most of the igneous rocks,
Also porphyry, gneiss, trap, but their stability varies considerably.
Compact hard sandstone and limestone and other solid sedimentary rocks producing stone sufficiently hard and weather-resisting that it can be used in construction,
But, if non-weather-resisting,
The slope becoming flatter as the rock becomes softer and more easily disintegrated.
Friable rock, consisting of hard particles,
Loose rock,
Soft shaly limestone and the argillaceous rocks may not be permanently stable until the slope is,
Schistose rock is troublesome in earthwork, being fissile in structure and deleteriously affected by rain and the atmosphere. On the Panama canal works in the Culebra cutting, maximum depth 333 feet 6 inches, numerous slips occurred, displaced the roads, and overturned the excavators.
Mica-schist is variable and frequently has numerous water-bearing fissures. Its hardness depends upon the quantity of quartz it contains; when the proportion of mica is greater than the quartz it is soft and very fissured and contains veins, sometimes of clay, often yielding a considerable flow of water. Should the percentage of quartz be large it becomes hard, holds little water, and is of a gneissose character.
As water is the chief disintegrating agent and cause of instability, it may be well to mention that Professor Prestwich has stated that “hard quartzites, slates and grits (Silurian), purple and grey shales, schists and fissile sandstones with hard compact limestones and dolomites (Devonian), rarely contain any levels of water, and that it is only encountered in fissures”; hence the importance of knowing the position of the fissures, and taking the necessary precautions to promote stability. Where rocks, especially if generally known as water-bearing, crop out at a high angle, and are in well-defined beds, water may be expected, as although it may not percolate vertically, it will along the inclined beds. Sandstone and limestone bands in rock usually cause small springs.
