Fuzzified kinematic analysis of discontinuity-controlled rock slope instabilities

In this study, it is aimed to bring a different approach to kinematic analyses of discontinuity-controlled rock slope instabilities. For this purpose, the data of a detailed discontinuity survey carried out in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey, were updated and reevaluated. Serious discontinuity-controlled instability events were observed in the andesites covering large areas with dense population in the city. Instead of analyzing the effects of the planes belonging only to the major discontinuity sets on the stereographic projection net, all discontinuities were taken into consideration, and kinematic analyses were carried out for planar, wedge, and toppling type failures on pixel basis of the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of the study area. By doing so, it could be possible to compensate for the deficiency created by neglecting the planes in the lower concentration zones of the stereographic projection. A computer program named FUDIKA (Fuzzified Digital Kinematic Analyses) was written to perform modular kinematic analyses and fuzzy operations, having four modules and operating in three stages. First, Potential Instability Index (Pll) was introduced to define instability potential of the rock slopes based on the number of possible instability events for each failure type. Next, the PH values were normalized and fuzzified to obtain PH map of the area. It was seen that when tested on previously occurred instabilities in the area, the PH values obtained through the methodology proposed in the study showed quite a high performance. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.