Rock Slope Engineering, Fourth Edition - Duncan C. Wyllie and Chris Mah

The stability of rock slopes is an important issue in both civil and mining engineering.  On civil projects, rock cuts must be safe from rock falls and large-scale slope instability during both construction and operation. In open pit mining, where slope heights can be many hundreds of meters, the economics of the operation are closely related to the steepest stable slope angle that can be mined.

This extensively updated version of the classic text, Rock Slope Engineering by Hoek and Bray, deals comprehensively with the investigation, design and operation of rock slopes. Investigation methods include the collection and interpretation of geological and groundwater data, and determination of rock strength properties, including the Hoek Brown rock mass strength criterion. Slope design methods include the theoretical basis for the design of plane, wedge, circular and toppling failures, and design charts are provided to enable rapid checks of stability to be carried out.  New material contained in this book includes the latest developments in earthquake engineering related to slope stability, probabilistic analysis, numerical analysis, blasting, slope movement monitoring and stabilization methods. The types of stabilization include rock anchors, shotcrete, drainage and scaling, as well as rock fall protecting methods involving barriers, ditches, nets and sheds.

Rock Slopes: Civil and Mining Engineering contains both worked examples illustrating data interpretation and design methods, and chapters on civil and mining case studies. The case studies demonstrate the application of design methods to the construction of stable slopes in a wide variety of geological conditions. The book provides over 300 carefully selected references for those who wish to study the subject in greater detail.  It also includes an introduction by Dr. Evert Hoek.