Total Stress versus Effective Stress Stability Analysis of Embankments on Soft Clay.

This thesis investigates the use of two types of stability analysis, i.e. total stress and effective stress, for evaluating the factor of safety of embankments constructed on soft clay. Three classes of stability problems are defined based upon the drainage conditions during construction and shear. The use of both types of analyses for each class of stability is discussed. The factors of safety computed for both types of analyses are compared for three situations eight case studies of actual embankment failures variation with embankment height for seven embankments and the long term stability for two hypothetical embankments.