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Updated: Jun 10, 2026
08:16
A Bending Test for Determining the Atterberg Plastic Limit in Soils
Published on: June 28, 2016
Seismic stability analysis of expanded MSW landfills using pseudo-static limit equilibrium method.
Deepankar Choudhury1, Purnanand Savoikar
1Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India. dc@civil.iitb.ac.in
Summary
Expanding landfills with engineered berms enhances safety. Stability analyses show berm height increases safety factors, but seismic activity reduces them, with under-berm failure critical for steep slopes.
Area of Science:
- Geotechnical Engineering
- Environmental Engineering
- Civil Engineering
Background:
- Landfill capacity expansion is crucial due to land costs.
- Stability analyses are essential for safe landfill expansion (vertical/lateral).
- Engineered berms offer a viable solution for expanding existing landfills.
Purpose of the Study:
- To perform seismic stability analysis for a side-hill municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill expanded with an engineered berm.
- To develop close-form solutions for factor of safety and yield acceleration under seismic loading.
- To investigate the influence of berm height and seismic accelerations on landfill stability.
Main Methods:
- Pseudo-static limit equilibrium seismic stability analysis.
- Analysis of two critical failure surfaces: under-berm and over-berm.
- Development of closed-form solutions for upper and lower bounds of safety factors and yield acceleration.
Main Results:
- Increased berm height positively impacts the factor of safety for both failure modes.
- Under-berm failure becomes critical for back slopes steeper than 1.7H:1V.
- Higher horizontal and vertical seismic accelerations decrease the average factor of safety.
Conclusions:
- Engineered berms significantly improve the seismic stability of expanded landfills.
- The study provides valuable insights into the seismic performance of landfill expansions.
- Results are crucial for designing safer and more economical landfill capacity expansion strategies.
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