• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2012

The purpose of this work is to gain a better understanding of the interrelationships between geological structures and slope failure in sedimentary rocks. In the studied slopes, construction-related slope failure could only be observed on the south-dipping slopes. This indicates that slope stability may be dependent on the angular relationships between the dip direction of bedding and the orientation of the slope. Slope failure continued, post-construction, around large fault zones in the studied outcrop; these fault damage zones are, however, not easily recognized in the field. Here we suggest a new method that uses accumulated fracture density to precisely identify fault damage zones. Multiple-faced slopes are now increasingly being exposed during large-scale construction projects in South Korea. This multiple-faced slope analysis indicates that the stability of a slope should be evaluated by identifying domains, through the analysis of possible slopes and their angular relationships with bedding and other discontinuities, prior to construction. Therefore, careful consideration of geological structures such as bedding and other discontinuities, and their angular relationships during the design of cuttings through sedimentary rocks, will increase the efficiency of construction and enable the safe construction of more stable slopes that will retain their stability after construction.