The mechanism of flexural toppling failure of slopes in foliated rock masses has been investigated through a series of centrifuge experiments conducted on small scale models manufactured in the laboratory using silica glass sheets. During toppling failures the silica glass layers were observed to fracture in a well defined manner forming basal failure planes oriented at an angle of about 12 deg above the normal to the joint dip directions. The basal failure planes were observed to propagate progressively in a stable manner. the centrifuge experiment results have been back analysed using two different models viz. 1) a model based on a simple limiting equilibrium theory and 2) a finite elemtn model based onCosserat continuum theory. The finite elemnt calculations show that the Cosserat continuum models accurately models the progressive mechanism of slope failures.
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