Session S/2

STABILITY OF A BANK ON A THIN PEAT LAYER

by
W. H. WARD, A. PENMAN, and R. E. GIBSOK

INTRODUCTION
A slip occurred in 1948 during the early stages of construction of an embanked diversion
channel for a loop of the River Don at Thorpe Marsh, South Yorkshire.
A portion of the east flood bank, which is almost triangular in section, about 18 ft high
and with 1:3 side slopes, had been constructed by tractor-scrapers from a shallow borrow
pit near by (Fig. 82). Only minor movements occurred at points B and C as the bank attained
its full height but subsequently, whilst the first part of the diversion channel was being exca-
vated alongside, a serious slip took place at point A and part of the bank moved towards the
channel. The slip happened during fine weather, at the week-end 2nd/3rd October 1948,
and was not witnessed. The extent of construction at the time is shown in plan on Fig. 82.
Investigations into the conditions of the soil at the slip commenced later the same month
and no further construction took place that winter.

SOIL CONDITIONS
A dozen hand-auger borings were made and undisturbed samples extracted almost con-
tinuously from each borehole. Most borings were located on the centre line of the slip and
are indicated in the cross-section in Fig. 83, with the strata boundaries.
The soil sequence from the ground surface is as follows:
[ 1. Brown firm clay, a dried crust
1 2. Upper soft blue clay
Post
3. Lower peat
glacial
4. Lower soft blue clay
I 5. Sand and gravel
Trias (?) 6. Red sand

The lower peat does not occur everywhere on the site and it was not encountered during
excavation of the channel from the north end until the site of slip A was reached. The peat
exists also on either side of the east bank at points B and C.
An upper peat layer was found in places, in particular beneath the part of the west bank
constructed during the summer of 1949, and is discussed later.
The bank fill comprised mostly the brown firm clay with a small proportion of the uncler-
lying softer clay ; it was well compacted compared with many banks of this type.
Water entered every borehole as soon as the lower peat was reached, and the maximum
recorded water levels, at about two months after the slip incident, are shown in Fig. 83. These
water levels can be only a rough measure of the water pressure in the lower peat because the
holes were unlined and rather large, but their distribution does suggest an increased water
pressure arising from the bank construction.
Unconfined compression tests were made on about 70 samples of the clays on the site.
Site evidence suggested that the slip surface followed roughly the plane of the lower peat,
but it was not clear from inspection whether the peat or the clays immediately above or
below had ruptured. The soft clays were rather variable in character and the lower bed
was much weaker towards the peat. Hence for the purpose of stability analyses the repre-
sentative average shear strengths of the two soft clays were selected from tests on samples
adjacent to the peat.
154

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 STABILITY OF A BANK ON A THIN PEAT LAYER 155

I.occfi

Fig. 82. Plan

As a simplication in analysis the bank fill was grouped with the brown firm clay. The
fill contained hard lumps of surface clay that was not representative of the bank as a whole
and the strengths of these were neglected in assigning an average shear strength.
The average shear strengths assigned to the clays for the purpose of stability analyses
are tabulated below :
Fill and brown firm clay .. .. .. .. .. 605 lb/sq. ft
Upper soft blue clay .. .. .. .. .. 475 lb/sq. ft
Lower soft blue clay .. .. .. .. .. 320 lb/sq. ft

The average wet density of the fill and clay above the lower peat is 110 Ib/cu. ft.

2 months after shp

Fr IO 0 IO 20 30 40 5Ofr

Fig. 83. Section through east bank at slip A

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 156 W. H. WARD, A. PENMAN, AND R. E. GIBSON

Water content and index properties of the clays are not of much value because of the
varying organic contents of all clays, rough typical values are as follows :
Water content L.L. P.L.
( y0 dry weight)
Fill and brown firm clay .. .. 38
65 32
Upper and lower blue clay near peat . . 55 >
The sensitivity of the soft clays is slight, about 1.3, although only three samples were
examined.
A series of eight drained triaxial tests and about the same number of equilibrium shear
box tests were made on some samples of peat hand-cut from a pit. Each specimen was con-
solidated for about a week. The results indicated that c’ = 100 lb/sq. ft and 4 = 18” for the
range of principal stresses involved on the slip. The water level in the lower peat at the start
of construction of the east bank stood about 4 ft below ground level and the shearing resist-
ance of the peat under the overburden at that time was about 270 Ib/sq. ft. The peat was
quite variable, however, and it is not known how typical these test results are of the layer
under the bank ; on parts of the site the peat consisted of a mattress of fallen tree trunks.

PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS OF INSTABILITY

Considerations of the form of movement of the slip A and of the relative strengths of the
strata suggest that it is reasonable to assume that a central wedge of the bank forced out the
rest of the soil mass horizontally towards the channel along a plane at or about the level of
the peat, as indicated in Fig. 83.
The maximum active thrust PA of a central wedge is about 13,200 lb/ft and the minimum
passive resistance P, of the small outer wedge of original ground is about 12,000 lb/ft. A
comparison of these two values immediately indicates that the minor movements at points B
and C, where no channel was cut, involve an extremely low value of shearing resistance in the
horizontal plane at or about the peat layer. For the purpose of discussion at this stage it
will be assumed that the strength mobilized along the horizontal plane is equal to the original
shearing resistance of the peat, namely 270 lb/sq. ft. To find the stability factor of the bank
it is necessary to search for the critical horizontal position of the active wedge, because as the
wedge is moved to the left of the position shown in Fig. 83, the active thrust decreases and the
length of the horizontal shear plane at the peat surface also decreases, but not at the same
rate. On this basis, the stability factor of the bank before channel excavation commenced
(and as at points B and C) is about 1.9. At slip A, where the channel has been excavated,
conditions are less stable when shearing occurs straight through the peat layer to the channel,
but the stability factor is still as much as 1.6. The critical position of the active wedge in
this case is about 6 ft in front of the position shown in Fig. 83. Obviously shearing of the clays
above and below the peat would lead to even greater stability factors. The stability factor
is defined here as the ratio :
P, + shearing resistance of horizontal plane (R)
pA

These brief considerations suggested that the instability is associated with a reduction in
the average shearing resistance of the peat to below its original value arising from a redistribu-
tion of the pore pressures incurred by bank construction. The water levels in the boreholes.
at slip A, two months after the incident, are indicative of higher levels at the time of the slip,
but the values recorded are by no means sufficient to cause instability.
In view of this conclusion it was recommended that boreholes filled with sand and reaching
to the peat layers should be installed along the toes of the banks at about IO-ft intervals_

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 STABILITY OF A BANK ON A THIN PEAT LAYER 157
In this way the remainder of the banks were completed without further incidents. This
must be one of the earliest records of the use of vertical sand drains to relieve pore pressures
beneath embankments in Britain.

MEASUREMENT OF PORE PRESSURE UNDER WEST BANK

In order to examine the hypothesis that the east bank failure had been caused by high
pore-water pressures in the peat layer, it was decided to measure the pressures developed in
the layer under a trial length of the west bank to be constructed the following summer. It
was proposed to carry out this experiment on a portion of the bank in area D (Fig. 82) at some
distance from the existing channel excavation in the hope of reproducing the conditions obtain-
ing at slip A. It was found, however, that this area was close to the limits of the peat layer
and that it was very thin. After further consideration the trial length was constructed
opposite the slip A, although it was realized that in this position the close proximity of the
existing channel was likely to reduce the pore pressures to some extent.

PIEZOMETERS AND THEIR INSTALLATION

I Ventcock Groups of up to six piezometer points

consisting of very porous refractory brick
were connected by copper tubes to a small
reservoir through small brass cocks (Fig. 84).
A Bourdon gauge was attached to the
reservoir and in the upper part of the
reservoir was a cock for releasing gas and
for filling the system with water. Only a
small flow of water through the piezometer
point is required to register a change in
Fig. 84. Piezometer system pressure, provided the whole system is filled
with water. These piezometers were the first we had installed under an embankment
and later types have been modified and improved.
Twelve piezometer points were placed in a line in the lower peat under the trial length of
west bank (Fig. 82). During the installation of these points an upper peat layer was dis-
covered (Fig. 85). The positions of these twelve points are shown also in a section of the
west bank in Fig. 85. The spoil from the partly-excavated channel had been placed here the
previous autumn and to facilitate installation of the piezometers a narrow trench was cut
through the partly-constructed bank to the level of the original ground surface. At each
point a hand auger hole was sunk to the lower peat layer. Each piezometer point was con-
nected to a reservoir and Bourdon gauge located either side at the toes of the bank and the

Diversion

Scale : I in = 50 ft

FtlO 0 IO 20 30 40 50 fc
ItI 1 I I 1 I

Fig. 85. Section through trial length of west bank

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 158 W. H. WARD, A. PENMAN, AND R. E. GIBSON

piezometer systems were completely filled with water. Each piezometer point was
placed in about 6 m. of sand at the bottom of the borehole, and the hole was sealed with soft
clay from the site.
Standpipes were placed in the sand surrounding the two points, 4 and 2A, for checking
purposes (Fig. 85). Direct readings of the water levels in these pipes always agreed with the
level calculated from the Bourdon gauge readings. At a later stage points 7 and 7A were
placed at the toes of the bank in the upper peat layer. These two points had separate
Bourdon gauges.

PORE PRESSURE OBSERVATIONS

The pore pressure variations at four typical points (4A, SA, 6A, and 4) under the west
bank, relative to a datum corresponding to the original ground level, are plotted as full lines
in Fig. 86. The early rise and fall in pore pressure, which is particularly noticeable at point
4A and SA, is caused by the back-filling of the trench through the partly-constructed bank.
The construction of the 300-ft-long trial length of bank took place between the 18th and 30th
May 1949, and the corresponding rise in pore pressure will be seen in Fig. 86. Subsequently
the pore pressures dissipated and the bank remained stable.
Irregularities in pore-pressure readings seemed to be associated mainly with gas from the
peat entering the pipe systems. The gas could not be kept out and had two effects :-
(1) The large compressibility of the gas allowed comparatively large amounts of water
to move into or out of the system with each pressure change. This caused the

4A

Fig. 86. Typical pore pressure and observations, west bank

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 STABILITY OF A BANK ON A THIN PEAT LAYER 159
points to take longer to reach equilibrium and may have led to a local increase
or decrease of pressure in the peat adjacent to the points.
(2) The head of water between the gauge and the piezometer point was reduced by
gas replacing some of the water in the pipe and produced an apparent increase
in pressure at the point, see, for example, the latter part of the records of point
4A in Fig. 86.
The only satisfactory method of removing the gas in the pipes was to force air-free water
through them from the reservoirs. This caused a local increase in pressure in the peat which
dissipated after a few days.
A rough estimate can be made of the coefficient of consolidation of the lower peat layer
beneath the west bank on the basis of the pressures recorded by the piezometers just prior
to the commencement of bank construction at the end of April. The diversion channel which
was excavated in September 1948 exposed a section of the peat layer to atmospheric pressure
for a short time, but during the winter of 194349 this channel filled with water. In the
following Spring the water level was pumped down, and the peat became exposed again on
12th March. Consolidation of the peat commenced with flow of pore-water towards the ex-
posed section, and the pressure distribution recorded at the end of April provides data for
calculation of the consolidation coefficient. The pressure distribution after a time t is
given by Terzaghi’s theory as :

u = u. 1 - erf X
( 2dc,t )
where 24,, is the initial pore-water pressure in the peat prior to drawdown and x is
measured from the exposed peat surface. The best fit of this theoretical distribution with the
observations was obtained using a consolidation coefficient cv = 460 sq. ft/month.
The distribution of the pore-water pressure in the lower peat layer under the west bank
at the time of completion of its construction, i.e. 30th May 1949, is plotted as a water surface
on the cross-section in Fig. 85. The shaded area of bank is the extent of the filling that
caused this pore pressure.

THEORETICAL PORE PRESSURE DISTRIBUTION

To determine whether the shearing resistance of the peat layer beneath the east bank
was reduced by a redistribution of pore-water pressure, it is necessary to be able to calculate
this pressure at any time. Only a rough estimate can be made on the basis of Terzaghi’s
theory of consolidation since the assumptions underlying this theory can hold only very
approximately for peat. However, the reliability of this theory as applied to the consolida-
tion of peat can be assessed by comparing the pore pressures measured in the peat beneath
the west bank and those predicted by the theory.
Owing to the variable height of the cross-section of the west bank the analytical deter-
mination of the rate and manner of redistribution of the pore pressure is precluded. The
problem is further complicated by the fact that the differential equation governing the pore
pressure under the centre of the bank, where consolidation takes place, differs from that which
holds beneath the toes of the bank and outside the loaded area where, initially, swelling of the
peat occurs.
Since the peat is bounded by clay which is relatively impermeable, the pore-water in the
peat will escape horizontally away from beneath the centre of the embankment, the flow
being one dimensional. Where consolidation is taking place in the peat, the pore pressure
U, according to Terzaghi’s theory, satisfies the following equation :

(1)

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 160 W. H. WARD, A. PENMAN, AND R. E. GIBSON

while in the region where swelling or reconsolidation occurs :

csax2 = - for u > u0 . . . . . . .

at
where cV and c8 are the coefficients of consolidation and swelling. Since the peat does not
behave elastically* these coefficients differ, the ratio ~2 = cVIc, lying between 0 and 1.
The position of the interface x = X(t) between these consolidating and swelling zones
is determined from the equation
u=ug . . . . . . . . . (3)
and since across this boundary no discontinuity in pore pressure or flow rate occurs the follow-
ing equations must hold on the interface :

(z)*_x_
=(igzx+
-.. . . * . .
u,,x- = f&x+ . . . . . . . . (5)
The following further assumptions are made to simplify the analysis :-
The bank is built instantaneously at a time when the height of the actual bank is one-half
its final height. This assumption is an approximation, but is reasonable in this case, since
the duration of construction of the east bank is small compared to the time that elapsed
before the slip occurred. If we had been concerned with the pore pressure redistribution
only a short time after construction, this assumption would have been untenable.
The distribution of pore pressure u,, in the peat at a point under the bank, immediately
after construction, is equal to the pressure of the bank immediately above, that is,
U(J =yh(x) . . . . . . . . . (6)
An analytical solution to these equations has been obtained in the case of a bank of uniform
height extending from - 00 < x < 0, the peat layer extending from - CC< x < co, the
solution taking the form :

u-=&[l
21
fperf (&)I for - oo<x<O

l4
---=A[1 -erf (%)I forO<x< co

Since p is less than unity this solution indicates that the decrease in pore pressure under
the bank is much less than the increase in pore pressure beneath the unloaded area. It follows
that the decrease in the vertical effective pressure, and hence the reduction in the strength of
the peat away from the bank may be appreciably greater than the increase in strength beneath
the bank.
The pore pressure distribution under the west bank at Thorpe Marsh has been calculated
numerically using equations (l)-(6) ex p ressed in finite difference form. The method used was
the forward integration process which has been discussed in relation to consolidation problems
by Helenelund (1951),2 Scott (1953),s and Gibson and Lumb (1953).* The pore pressures
predicted in this way, using values of p = 0.5 and cV = 400 sq. ft/montht are given in Fig. 86
* ~2 is, in fact, equal to the ratio h of the volumetric expansibility to the compressibility of the peat
structure (Skempton 1948).’
t This value of cV gave the best average fit with the measured values, and is a little less than the value of
460 sq. ft/month found from the drawdown condition and mentioned previously.
1 The references are given on p. 163.

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 STABILITY OF A BANK ON A THIN PEAT LAYER 161
as dotted lines, and it will be seen that while agreement is obtained for the pore pressures
beneath the bank, the pressure measured under the toes is rather less than indicated by theory.
There are a number of factors which could account for this discrepancy beneath the toes. Gas
going into solution, as the pore pressure tends to increase, would reduce the actual pore pressure
below the theoretical value, and it is quite possible that local leakage took place from the peat
into the over-lying clay through cracks which are known to exist at a number of places. Visual
examination of the peat exposed in trial pits at a number of places indicated its great vari-
ability and this factor may also be of importance.
The analysis of the pore pressures under the east bank has been carried out using three

different values of CL,namely,I, L and k, in order to emphasize the dependence of the redistri-
2/2’
bution on the value of CL. As mentioned previously, the east bank section can be taken as
triangular, and the analytical solution in the case where TV= 1 has been found to be :

where u,, = yH is the initial pore pressure under the centre of the bank, 2a is the base
width, and x is measured horizontally outward from the plane of symmetry.

The remaining cases for TV= -& and 2 have been solved numerically up to a value of

cut
- = 0.25, and all three cases are shown plotted in Fig. 87.
a2

STABILITY ANALYSIS OF EAST BANK

The effect of the predicted redistribution of the pore pressure in the peat under the east
bank on its stability must now be considered.
Limiting equilibrium will be reached when the difference between the active thrust P,
of the bank and the passive pressure Pp at the toe of the bank is sufficient to overcome the
shearing resistance of the peat. This is the situation that obtained in the east bank at the
time when minor movements were observed at points B and C.
The total shearing resistance R of the peat layer under the bank may be taken with suffi-
cient exactness as :

R = ys(x, f)dx . . . . . . . . (7)

0
where the shear strength of the peat at a distance x from the centre line of the bank at
time 1 is s(x, t), and is given by Hill (1950)” :
s = (c’ + 12’tan 4’) cos 4’ . . , . . . . (8)
where c’ and 4’ are the effecti\-e stress strength parameters. The vertical effective stress n’
in the peat layer is :
n’ = (q + Lln) - (2~~ + Au) . . . . . . (9)
where no and u,, are the total normal stress and pore pressure in the peat prior to con-
struction, and An and Au the changes due to the weight of the bank. Sow, the initial strength
s,, of the peat, before any consolidation has taken place, is :
so = (c’ + 92,tan 4’) cos 4’ . . . . . . (101
6*

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 162 W. H. WARD, A. PENMAN, AND R. E. GIBSON

Fig. 87. Pore pressure redistribution under a triangular bank

and from equations (8)-(10) it follows that :

s = so + (fin - Au) sin +’
and then from (7) :

R -y[sO + (An - dzt) sin $‘I dx

0

But since :

AfizyH 1 -E ,oLxLa
( 1
where y is the wet density of the bank material and H is the height of the triangular bank,
we find that :
R = s,a + yHa sin $‘(s - I) . . . . . . . (11)

where

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 STABILITY OF A BANK ON A THIN PEAT LAYER 163

The resistance R is a minimum when the integral I in the above equation is a minimum and
the values of this integral as a function of time are given directly by the areas beneath the
pore pressure distribution curves plotted in Fig. 87. For a value of p = 1 it will be seen from
Fig. 87 that the integral never exceeds O-5 ; that is, the resistance of the peat under the bank
increases steadily with time. However, assuming a value of p = &, and it is unlikely that
p will be appreciably less than this for peat, the maximum value of I is found to be 0.53.
Using this value of I in equation (11) we find R = 14,600 Ib/ft which greatly exceeds the shear
force (PA - Pp) = 1,200 lb/ft imposed on the peat.
Jt might be concluded from this analysis that the minor movements at B and C were not
sufficient to mobilize fully the shear strength of the peat, and for this reason were not failures
in the accepted sense.
Turning now to a consideration of the failure that took place at A subsequent to the excava-
tion of the cut, it is evident that this failure occurred by sliding along a length of the peat
starting at some distance b from the centre line of the bank and terminating at the cut,
a distance I from the centre line. The resistance R of this greater length of peat has been
evaluated using the same method of analysis as given above, and it was found that :

R=s,(l-b) +yHnsin+‘{&(f -ir-/}

For 4 = $, = 1.45 and values of i = 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4, the corresponding maximum
a
values of J have been found from Fig. 87. In addition the values of PA corresponding to these
values of b/a have been calculated using the simple wedge analysis mentioned previously.
The stability factor R/P, was then evaluated for each value of b/a, and the minimum
was found to be 0.95 at b/a = 0.30.
As a value of RIP, of less than unity corresponds to a condition of instability it appears to
justify the hypothesis that the redistribution of pore pressure in the peat reduces its average
strength sufficiently to cause failure.
An important general conclusion can be drawn immediately from the analysis of the above
problem, namely, that the most unstable condition may be reached, not at the end of (or
during) construction, but at some szcbsequest time.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Authors are indebted particularly to the engineers of the River Ouse (Yorks) Catch-
ment Board (now the Yorkshire Ouse Rivers Board) for providing the opportunity to carry
out the field work and for their assistance. This study forms part of the programme of
research of the Building Research Board and the Paper is published by kind permission of the
Director of Building Research.

REFERENCES
1, SKEMPTON, A. W., 1948. The effective stresses in saturated clays strained at constant volume. Proc.
7th Int. Cong. Appl. Mechanics (London), p. 378.
2. HELENELUND, K. V., 1951. Om Konsolidering och SBttning av Belastade Marklager (On Consolidation
and Settlement of Loaded Soil Layers), Helsingfors.
3. SCOTT, R. F., 1953. Numerical Analysis of Consolidation Problems. Unpublished S.M. Thesis, Mass.
Inst. Tech.
4. GIBSON, R. E., and PETER LUMB, 1953. Numerical Solution of Some Problems in the Consolidation of
Clay. Proc. Inst. Civ. Engrs, Pt. I, 2 (Mar. 1953), p. 182.
5. HILL, R., 1950. Plasticity. Oxford Univ. Press., p. 294.

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