<![CDATA[This paper presents an investigation into the effectiveness of nano-clay and nano-silica in restoring the stability of sandy lean clay slopes that are constructed with either clean or kerosene-contaminated soils. The finite element code ADONIS was used to model these systems, applying the Strength Reduction Method to determine the factor of safety of slopes constructed with soils contaminated with 0-12% kerosene, with 0-3% nano-clay or nano-silica additives, and cured for ages between 1 and 28 days. The Displacement Increment Ratio and the Normalized Displacement Index were developed as indicators of the potential failure of these slopes. Results indicated that slopes constructed with soils contaminated with 12% kerosene exhibited a reduction in factor of safety of more than 60%. However, the addition of 1% nano-clay or 1.5% nano-silica to slopes constructed with clean sandy lean clay increased the factor of safety by more than 300%. Additionally, the factor of safety increased almost linearly with increasing curing age for both contaminated and clean sandy lean clay slopes. Finally, the addition of nano-clay and nano-silica resulted in the most stable slopes relative to those with only sandy lean clay. The novelty of this work is the recognition of the role of nanoparticles in the remediation and stabilization of slopes constructed with hydrocarbon-contaminated soils, and the development of the Displacement Increment Ratio and the Normalized Displacement Index as indicators of potential slope failure.]]>
