ABSTRACT
Cracks are common in natural and engineered soils. The presence of cracks may decrease the stability of slopes through three effects. First, cracks provide preferential pathways for water flow, which will significantly increase the hydraulic conductivity of slope soils and, in turn, pore water pressures in slope soils. As a result, the shear strength of the slope soils will be reduced. Second, water-filled cracks exert an additional driving force on the slope. Third, cracks can form a part of the critical slip surface that has no shear strength, which leads to reduced safety margin.
