Numerical analysis of slide-head-toppling failure

Abstract

In layered and blocky rock slopes, toppling failure is a common mode of instability that may occur in mining engineering. If this type of slope failure occurs as a consequence of another type of failure, it is referred to as the secondary toppling failure. “Slide-headtoppling” is a type of secondary toppling failures, where the upper part of the slope is toppled as a consequence of a semi-circular sliding failure at the toe of the slope. In this research work, the slide-head-toppling failure is examined through a series of numerical modeling. Phase 2, as a software written based on the finite element method, is used in this work. Different types of slide-head-toppling failures including blocky, blockflexural, and flexural are simulated. A good agreement can be observed when the results of the numerical modeling are compared with those for the pre-existing physical modeling and analytical method.