Abstract
Excavated slopes become safe only when they are either excavated to a safe slope angle or when protective measures are taken. During slope cutting work, slopes are at greater risk of failure. In many cases, slope failure suddenly occurs without any warning signs and the workers do not have time to escape and hence accidents take place. To prevent such accidents, the mechanism of slope failure caused by slope cutting work should be clarified. In this study, full-scale slope model tests and centrifuge model tests were conducted to examine the mechanism of slope failure during slope cutting works. It was found that local slope failure was observed before complete slope failure and this mechanism was consistent with previous slope failure accidents. The horizontal and vertical movements of the slope could be measured during excavation, so it may be possible to predict slope failure from the typical slope movement in order to prevent slope failure accidents in future.
