Slope stability analysis using strength reduction technique

Abstract

An approach using strength reduction factor (SRF) for finite element analysis, with the provision of a failure criterion, and incorporation of graphical output, to examine the failure zone developed, was used in order to determine slope failure and the corresponding safety factor. The state of the effective stresses in a slope is calculated by the finite element method using eight-node quadrilateral elements of elastic-plastic soil with the Drucker-Prager nonlinear stress-strain relationship and a nonassociated flow rule. Slope failure occurs when the yield zone spreads over the entire slip surface and the corresponding SRF is the safety factor of the soil slope. The slope failure could be clearly defined and progressive failure was also observed. It should be kept in mind that the critical slip surface is not unique. A narrow yielding zone was developed when the slope started to fail and any slip surface passing through the yield zone could be the failure surface. The factor of safety obtained by the proposed procedure is in good agreement with that determined by Bishop's method

Failure Mechanism of a Shallow Landslide at Tun-Sardon Road Cut Section of Penang Island, Malaysia

“…The deformed mesh also shows that the critical shear plane differs slightly from that of progressive failure analysis. It is noted here that the critical failure plane is not unique in stress-strain analysis and it is certainly situated with a narrow yield zone (Chang and Huang 2005) in the deformed mesh.…”

Application of Polymer Curing Agent in Ecological Protection Engineering of Weak Rock Slopes

“…If it converged, it indicated stability of the slope. It continued to increase until the program did not converge, which shows the stability or safety factor [27][28][29].…”

The Stability Analysis of the Lusi Mud Volcano Embankment Dams using FEM with a Special Reference to the Dam Point P10.D

“…By using the Plaxis package, the phi-c reduction is then applied for estimating the safety factor. This phi-c reduction procedure is to reduce the available values of soil strength parameters, c' and ', automatically until the soil fails [10,11]. The benefit of this procedure is that assumptions are not needed anymore in determining the position of the failure plane of the soil.…”

“…The benefit of this procedure is that assumptions are not needed anymore in determining the position of the failure plane of the soil. Thus, the failure plane will be established naturally on the zone that the soil strength could not resist the mobilised shear stresses [10,12]. The safety factor is, therefore, estimated, as follows [10]: The SRF is strength reduction factor, for which the SRF value corresponding to failure is the value of the factor of safety (FoS).…”

“…A deformed mesh was applied in the numerical finite element method analysis for estimating the displacements of the dam point P10.D. The ground and the structure of the dam were assumed to displace in horizontal and vertical directions [10]. Total displacements, that are absolute accumulated displacements u combined from the horizontal (x) and vertical (y) components at all nodes, at the end of the current calculation step, displayed on a plot of the geometry [7], were also possibly calculated in this modelling.…”