The stability of slopes is very important in any construction on hilly grounds whether it is a road or railway, building foundation or a large dugout. It refers to the situation in which a slope remains intact without any failure or collapse. It is a critical aspect of geotechnical engineering, as understanding and maintaining slope stability is essential for the safety of infrastructure and the prevention of landslides, which can cause significant loss of life and property damage.
Stability of slopes relies on a combination of inbuilt and natural factors which undergo great variations due to locality, soil types, climate zones and the imposed structures.
Limit Equilibrium Analysis (LEA) is one of the primary methods used in evaluating the stability of slopes. This technique calculates the *Factor of Safety* (FoS), which is the comparison between forces resisting those driving a slope to instability. FoS values higher than 1.0 indicate stability, with any values below this threshold suggesting a greater potential for failure.
LEA assumes the soil behaves as a rigid body after failure, and it typically utilises the Mohr-Coulomb criterion to determine the soil strength. It is too simplistic in the presence of richer soil behaviors and not versatile enough for a complex geometry or layering of soils.
Limit Equilibrium Analysis, or LEA, is a common approach with applications in the evaluation of how stable a slope is. It is a technique whereby the activities of an engineer are directed at determining the Factor of Safety, FoS, which is the ratio of resisting versus driving forces.
The Finite Element Method, FEM provides more detailed analysis of slope by giving importance to the relation of stress to strain in the soil. LEA assumes the soil to be rigid; thus, FEM does not assume such conditions, thus significantly evaluating deformation, plastic flow, and variable properties in soil. This interaction of complex models with conditions simulates the behavior of slopes much more closely under different conditions of construction.
A decrement technique of Shear Strength Reduction (SSR) is utilized in FEM simulating incremental degradation of soil shear strength until slope failure occurs. More importantly, for complex terrains, this method yields critical failure mechanism details through step-by-step degradation of shear strength, indicating where and how slopes are most sensitive to failure.
Benefits of SSR in complex terrain analysis: By simulating shear strength reduction, engineers get a clearer sense of what might trigger slope failure, offering an extra layer of safety for critical projects.
Soil nailing and its advantages in steep slopes: Soil nailing works well for both steep and vertical surfaces. By inserting metal or fiberglass rods (known as nails) into the soil, the slope is further reinforced.
At Strata Global, we appreciate the meaning of every slope design as the integration of nature and structure. If these activities are done in a careful manner and the landform is respected, then projects will last longer and will be able to have a strong foundation even in the coming years.
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Director, President – Glen Raven Technical Fabrics
Strata/Glen Raven tenure: 10 years/28 years
Total industry experience: 35 years
MBA – Wake Forest University
Directs the strategic direction of Glen Raven’s automotive, protective apparel, military, geogrid, outdoor and logistic businesses.
Director, General Manager, Strata Inc.
Strata/Strata Inc. tenure: 3 years/14 years
Total industry experience: 25 years
MBA – Georgia State University
Led the integration of Strata Inc. business operations into the headquarters of GRTF and transition from USA based to India based manufacturing.
Director
Strata tenure: 17 years
Total industry experience: 47 years
CA – ICA
Played a key role in the establishment of Strata’s India operations. Provides vision for product innovation and leveraging new technology trends.
Global Technical Sales Director
Strata tenure: 7 years
Total industry experience: 32 years
Civil & Geotechnical Engineer (First class)
Provides highly technical and innovative civil engineering solutions in India and around the world. Responsible for the design and execution of large-scale geotechnical projects around the world including Australia, Asia, Europe, Africa, Middle East, and South America.
CTO – Chief Technology Officer
Strata tenure: 9 years
Total industry experience: 48 years
BTech (Hons), MTech (Civil) Both IIT Bombay, DMS (Bombay University), FIE, FIGS, Chartered Engineer
Streamlines the designs of Geosynthetics and has brought innovation in geogrid and geocell design application.
COO – Projects and Sales
Strata tenure: 13 years
Total industry experience: 24 years
MBA – University of Gujarat
Leads the monetization of products and solutions while ensuring highest execution quality and project profitability.
COO – Technical Textiles
Strata tenure: 13 years
Total industry experience: 33 years
BE (Mechanical) – Nagpur University
Drives excellence in process design, product features and cost effectiveness in production.
CFO – Chief Financial Officer
Strata tenure: 8 years
Total industry experience: 35 years
CA – ICA, ICWA – ICWAI
Leads the finance, accounting, taxation, commercial, legal and IT functions and assisting on all strategic and operational matters.
CDO – Chief Development Officer
Strata tenure: 10 years
Total industry experience: 13 years
MBA – ISB, Hyderabad
Leads diversification of the product portfolio, monetizing the new products and ensuring successful sustained financial growth of the company top line.
CEO – Chief Executive Officer
Strata tenure: 14 years
Total industry experience: 42 years
B Tech (Chemical) – IIT Delhi
Leads day-to-day business operations of the company with focus on capacity expansion, product and process improvement.
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