Physical Chemistry of Landslides in Silt and Clay Soils

Abstract

Basically, there are two different categories of landslides. To the first category belong the slides with purely mechanical causes (e.g., an increase of hydrostatic pressure, erosion, or freezing) without change in the chemical properties of the soil. To the second category belong the slides that are not caused by a change of mechanical forces but by a change in the physical or chemical properties of the soil. Perhaps the most dangerous type of slides occurs because the soil loses its original strength in part (slip surfaces) or as a whole. In extreme cases even a liquefaction may set in and previously solid soils will behave like fluids.