%0 Journal Article %A Cao, Ling %A Wang, Yejiao %A Xu, Yongfu %A Tan, Yunzhi %D 2016 %I Begell House %K unsaturated seepage, slope stability, rainfall, infiltration, fractal %N 2 %P 131-139 %R 10.1615/SpecialTopicsRevPorousMedia.2016016999 %T EFFECT OF UNSATURATED SEEPAGE ON SLOPE STABILITY UNDER RAINFALL %U https://www.dl.begellhouse.com/journals/3d21681c18f5b5e7,410124ca251db180,2fd81b4b326314e4.html %V 7 %X A fractal model can forecast the hydrological characteristics of unsaturated soil. This study investigates the process of one-dimensional unsaturated soil seepage, combined with analysis of pore airflow. According to the fractal approach to unsaturated shear strength, a new formulation was derived to define the critical depth for slope failure under rainfall. The factors, the fractal dimension, and air-entry value were determined to control the stability of unsaturated soil slopes under rainfall. The saturated coefficient of hydraulic conductivity and rainfall intensity has a greater effect on the instability of unsaturated soil slopes. For the case where the rainfall intensity is much larger than the saturated coefficient of hydraulic conductivity, the pore-air pressure in the infiltration process affects the soil suction pattern. %8 2017-01-06