Factors controlling the stability of clay fills in Britain

The design of clay fills, such as those used for embankment dams, is governed primarily by stability, and hence by strength, and the development of pore pressures during construction and in the long term. The paper will review laboratory and field data for the drained and undrained strength, and consolidation and pore pressure characteristics of fills derived from a range of the clays encountered in Britain. The paper will concentrate on problems associated with construction and with the ultimate stability of grassed slopes. Stability during rapid drawdown will not be considered.

• Introduction

• Sources of Clay Fills in Britain

• Embankment Slope Stability

• Ultimate Pore Pressures in Clay Fills

• Safe Long Teem Slope Angles

• Strength and Purs Pressures During Ondrained Construction

• Consolidation and Swelling Characteristics

• Conclusions

• Acknowledgements

• References