Rock slope instabilities are discussed in the context of decision making for risk assessment and management. Hence, the state of the slope and possible failure mechanism need to be defined first. This is done with geometrical and mechanical models for which recent developments are presented. This leads with appropriate consideration of uncertainties to risk determination and to the description ...

This paper demonstrates the ability of Shear Strength Reduction (SSR) analysis based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) to model the scale effects of discontinuity networks on the stability and failure mechanisms of slopes in blocky rock masses. Through three examples, it shows how these mechanisms depend on joint network geometry and change with increasing slope height. Introduction Scale Effe...

We describe the design of an acoustic emission (AE) measurement assembly for reliable acquisition of a multi-year timeseries in steep alpine rock-walls. The motivation for collection of these data is to enhance understanding of freezinginduced rock damage. Because measurements in natural rock slopes are challenging, this study investigates technical options suitable to capture AE signals from d...

17 18 Over the last decade, terrestrial laser scanning and digital terrestrial photogrammetry techniques have 19 been increasingly used in the geometrical characterization of rock slopes. These techniques provide 20 innovative remote sensing tools which overcome the frequent problem of rock slope inaccessibility. 21 Comprehensive datasets characterizing the structural geological setting and geo...

Hillslopes are thought to poorly record tectonic signals in threshold landscapes. Numerous previous studies of steep landscapes suggest that large changes in long-term erosion rate lead to little change in mean hillslope angle, measured at coarse resolution. New LiDAR-derived topography data enables a finer examination of threshold hillslopes. Here we quantify hillslope response to tectonic for...

Based on the kinematic approach of limit analysis, a full set of upper bound solutions for the stability of homogeneous rock slopes subjected to tension cracks are obtained. The generalized Hoek-Brown failure criterion is employed to describe the non-linear strength envelope of rocks. In this paper, critical failure mechanisms are determined for cracks of known depth but unspecified location, c...