2025/11/18 by Ripon Karmaker, Bipul Hawlader, Didier Perret
Engineering · Environmental Science · #Geotechnical Engineering and Soil Mechanics #Landslides and related hazards #Geotechnical Engineering and Analysis
paper · doi:10.1139/cgj-2025-0326
A retrogressive landslide triggered by pile driving in sensitive clays in Rigaud, Quebec, is analyzed. The article presents the landslide characteristics, post-failure assessments, and potential failure mechanisms. To gain deeper insights into the triggering and propagation of failure, large-strain finite element (FE) modelling was conducted using a Eulerian-based FE approach. The FE simulations reveal that pile installation can induce localized shear band formation, ultimately leading to a large-scale landslide without the need for additional external loading. Key factors influencing the failure pattern include soil stratification, sensitivity, and the rate of post-peak shear strength degradation. The numerical modelling effectively replicates the observed field behaviour of the landslide, capturing crucial aspects such as retrogression distance, failure pattern, and the downslope displacement of failed soil masses. Although the landslide involved complex three-dimensional effects and triggering conditions, the current two-dimensional large-strain FE simulations under plane strain conditions provide valuable insights into the underlying progressive failure mechanisms—insights that cannot be obtained using traditional limit equilibrium and conventional FE analyses. These findings underscore the significant role of pile driving in initiating landslides in sensitive clays and highlight the necessity of advanced numerical approaches to accurately predict and mitigate such failures.