Pseudo-Static Analysis of Slope Considering Circular Rupture Surface

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 37-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sima Ghosh

In this present paper, a circular failure surface passing through the toe is assumed for a homogeneous soil, and the Fellenius line is used to locate the centre of the most critical circle. Using limit equilibrium analysis under the influence of static forces such as weight of potential slide mass and surcharge along with the pseudo-static seismic forces are considered to obtain the factor of safety of the slopes. Factor of safety is found through the application of force equilibrium. The effects of variation of different parameters like slope angle (i), soil friction angle (F) and seismic acceleration coefficients both in the horizontal and vertical directions (kh and kv respectively) on the factor of safety are presented. Finally, the present results are compared to the existing solutions available in literature and found to give minimum values of factor of safety using the present approach for seismic slope stability analysis.

1990 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. N. Chowdhury ◽  
S. Zhang

This note is concerned with the multiplicity of solutions for the factor of safety that may be obtained on the basis of the method of slices. Discontinuities in the function for the factor of safety are discussed and the reasons for false convergence in any iterative solution process are explored, with particular reference to the well-known Bishop simplified method (circular slip surfaces) and Janbu simplified or generalized method (slip surfaces of arbitrary shape). The note emphasizes that both the solution method and the method of searching for the critical slip surface must be considered in assessing the potential for numerical difficulties and false convergence. Direct search methods for optimization (e.g., the simplex reflection method) appear to be superior to the grid search or repeated trial methods in this respect. To avoid false convergence, the initially assumed value of factor of safety F0 should be greater than β1(=−tan α1 tan [Formula: see text]) where α1 and [Formula: see text] are respectively the base inclination and internal friction angle of the first slice near the toe of a slope, the slice with the largest negative reverse inclination. A value of F0 = 1 + β1, is recommended on the basis of experience. If there is no slice with a negative slope for any of the slip surfaces generated in the automatic, search process, then any positive value of F0 will lead to true convergence for F. It is necessary to emphasize that no slip surface needs to be rejected for computational reasons except for Sarma's methods and similarly no artificial changes need to be made to the value of [Formula: see text] except for Sarma's methods. Key words: slope stability, convergence, limit equilibrium, analysis, optimization, slip surfaces, geological discontinuity, simplex reflection technique.


2005 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 263-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deepankar Choudhury ◽  
K S Subba Rao

Uplift capacities of inclined strip anchors in soil with a horizontal ground surface are obtained under seismic conditions. Limit equilibrium approaches with a logarithm-spiral failure surface and pseudostatic seismic forces are adopted in the analysis. The results are presented in the form of seismic uplift capacity factors as functions of anchor inclination, embedment ratio, angle of internal friction of the soil, and horizontal and vertical seismic acceleration coefficients. The uplift capacity factors are worked out separately for cohesion, surcharge, and density components. Use of the principle of superposition for calculating anchor uplift capacity is validated. The vertical seismic acceleration coefficient always reduces the uplift capacity, whereas the horizontal seismic acceleration coefficient reduces the uplift capacity in most cases. The roles of anchor embedment ratio, soil friction angle, and anchor inclination in determination of the seismic uplift capacity are also discussed. Comparisons of the proposed method with available theories in the seismic case are also presented. The present study gives the minimum seismic uplift capacity factors compared with the existing theory.Key words: seismic uplift capacity factors, inclined strip anchors, limit equilibrium, pseudostatic, c–ϕ soil.


2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sun Hong-Jun ◽  
Fan Yan-Chao ◽  
Zhao Li-Hong

To study the stability of waste body failure in landfill, the landfill was divided into two parts: an active wedge and a passive wedge. A limit equilibrium analysis was used to calculate the safety factor of stability in landfill. The parameters which affected the stability of the landfill were discussed. Sensitivity curves of each parameter were proposed and effect trends of various parameters on safety factor were analyzed. Cohesion c and internal friction angle фs increases linearly with the safety factor. The safety factor decreases with increasing slope angle β and filled height H. The safety factor of after landfill settlement was higher than the safety factor of settlement which did not occur. It increases the overall stability about 16%.


1992 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 971-988 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Chen ◽  
N. R. Morgenstern ◽  
D. H. Chan

The mechanism of progressive failure is well understood as one which involves nonuniform straining of a strain-weakening material. Traditional limit equilibrium analysis cannot be used alone to obtain a rational solution for progressive failure problems because the deformation of the structure must be taken into account in the analysis. The failure of the Carsington Dam during construction in 1984 has been attributed to progressive failure of the underlying yellow clay and the dam core materials. The dam was monitored extensively prior to failure, and an elaborate geotechnical investigation was undertaken after failure. The limit equilibrium analysis indicated that the factors of safety were over 1.4 using peak strength of intact clay material or 1.2 based on reduced strength accounting for preshearing of the yellow clay layer. Factors of safety were found to be less than unity if residual strengths were used. The actual factor of safety at failure was, of course, equal to one. By using the finite element analysis with strain-weakening models, the extent and degree of weakening along the potential slip surface were calculated. The calculated shear strength was then used in the limit equilibrium analysis, and the factor of safety was found to be 1.05, which is very close to the actual value of 1.0. More importantly, the mechanism of failure and the initiation and propagation of the shear zones were captured in the finite element analysis. It was also found that accounting explicitly for pore-water pressure effects using the effective stress approach in the finite element and limit equilibrium analyses provides more realistic simulations of the failure process of the structure than analyses based on total stresses. Key words : progressive failure, strain softening, finite element analysis, dams.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (21) ◽  
pp. 8870
Author(s):  
Fhatuwani Sengani ◽  
François Mulenga

The application of limit equilibrium analysis and numerical simulation in case of slope instability is described. The purpose of the study was to use both limit equilibrium methods (LEMs) and numerical simulations (finite element method (FEM)) to understanding the common factor imposing the selected slope into slope instabilities. Field observations, toppling analysis, rotational analysis, and numerical simulations were performed. The results of the study showed that the selected unstable slopes were associated with the sliding types of toppling; it was observed that the slopes were governed by tension cracks and layered soil mass and dominated with approximately two joints sets throughout. The simulated factor of safety (FoS) of the slopes composed of clay soil was denoted to be prone to slope instability while others were categorized as moderately stable. The simulated FoS of the slopes correlated very well with the visual observations; however, it is anticipated that properties of soil mass and other characteristics of the slopes contributed largely to the simulated FoS. The sensitivity of the model was further tested by looking into the effect of the slope angle on the stability of the slope. The results of the simulations showed that the steeper the slope, the more they become prone to instability. Lastly, Phase 2 numerical simulation (FEM) showed that volumetric strain, shear stress, shear strain, total displacement, and σ1 and σ3 components of the slope increase with the stages of the road construction. It was concluded improper road construction, steepness of the slope, slope properties (soil types), and multiple geological features cutting across are the common mechanisms behind the slope instability.


2001 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 876-881 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jyant Kumar

By taking the failure surface as a combination of the arc of a logarithmic spiral and a straight line, passive earth pressure coefficients in the presence of horizontal pseudostatic earthquake body forces have been computed for an inclined wall placed against cohesionless backfill material. The presence of seismic forces induces a considerable reduction in the passive earth resistance. The reduction increases with an increase in the magnitude of the earthquake acceleration. The effect becomes more predominant for loose sands. The obtained results compared well with those reported in the literature using curved failure surfaces. However, the results available in the literature on the basis of a planar failure surface are found to predict comparatively higher passive resistance.Key words: earth pressures, earthquakes, limit equilibrium, plasticity, retaining walls, sands.


2018 ◽  
Vol 55 (5) ◽  
pp. 666-679 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Hu ◽  
Z.X. Yang ◽  
S.P. Wilkinson

Using an assumed vertical retaining wall with a drainage system along the soil–structure interface, this paper analyses the effect of anisotropic seepage flow on the development of passive earth pressure. Extremely unfavourable seepage flow inside the backfill, perhaps due to heavy rainfall, will dramatically increase active earth pressure while reducing passive earth pressure, thus increasing the probability of instability of the retaining structure. A trial and error analysis based on limit equilibrium is applied to identify the optimum failure surface. The flow field is computed using Fourier series expansion, and the effective reaction force along the curved failure surface is obtained by solving a modified Kötter equation considering the effect of seepage flow. This approach correlates well with other existing results. For small values of both the internal friction angle and interface friction angle, the failure surface can be appropriately simplified with a planar approximation. A parametric study indicates that the degree of anisotropic seepage flow affects the resulting passive earth pressure. In addition, incremental increases in the effective friction angle and interface friction angle both lead to an increase in passive earth pressure.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 187-198
Author(s):  
Saurav Shrestha ◽  
Indra Prasad Acharya ◽  
Ranjan Kumar Dahal

Instability of slopes is usually governed by a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic factors. The inherent variability of parameters make the problem probabilistic rather than a deterministic one. This research deals with evaluation of stability of slopes with the calculation of the factor of safety of Dasdhunga soil slope along Narayangarh- Mugling road section under different rainfall conditions through the use of coupled finite element and limit equilibrium method in GeoStudio and the determination of probability of failure by sliding, modeled as infinite slopes by using Monte Carlo simulation in R-Studio. Mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum values of the parameters like- friction angle, cohesion and unit weight were computed from eight samples of the slope. The pore water pressure developed and its corresponding statistical data for different rainfall conditions were computed from FEM based SEEP/W simulation. The above parameters are assumed to follow truncated normal probability distribution function and the geometric parameters like height and slope angle are regarded as constant parameters. It was observed that the safety factors for theslopeis low in high intensity-low duration rainfalls and the probability of failure is high. The tendency to fail increases as the return period of rainfall increases and viceversa. Sensitivity analysis performed in both deterministic and probabilistic methods showed that friction angle is the most sensitive.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liang Li ◽  
Xuesong Chu

This paper aims to investigate the differences in factor of safety (FS) and failure mechanism (FM) for spatially variable undrained soil slope between using finite element method (FEM) , finite difference method (FDM), and limit equilibrium method (LEM). The undrained shear strength of cohesive soil slope is modeled by a one-dimensional random field in the vertical direction. The FS and FM for a specific realization of random field are determined by SRT embedded in FEM- and FDM-based software (e.g., Phase2 6.0 and FLAC) and LEM, respectively. The comparative study has demonstrated that the bishop method (with circular failure surface) exhibits performance as fairly good as that of SRT both in FS and FM for the undrained slope cases where no preferable controlling surfaces such as hydraulic tension crack and inclined weak seams dominate the failure mechanism. It is, however, worthwhile to point out that unconservative FM is provided by the Bishop method from the aspect of failure consequence (i.e., the failure consequence indicated by the FM from the Bishop method is smaller than that from SRT). The rigorous LEM (e.g., M-P and Spencer method with noncircular failure surface) is not recommended in the stability analysis of spatially variable soil slopes before the local minima and failure to converge issues are fully addressed. The SRT in combination with FEM and/or FDM provides a rigorous and powerful tool and is highly preferable for slope reliability of spatially variable undrained slope.


2019 ◽  
Vol 270 ◽  
pp. 02004
Author(s):  
Kongkit Yingchaloenkitkhajorn

This paper presented the analysis of embankment slope stability by considering the problem of embankment slope stability with special effects that it was filled with sand and was placed on purely cohesive clay. The finite element limit analysis of two-dimensional plane strain was employed to analyze the stability of this problem. The embankment slope height (H), the depth factors (d/H) and the embankment slope angle (β) for the finite element limit analysis of sand was modeled as a volume element with the properties of Mohr-Coulomb material in drained condition. And the clay was modeled as a volume element with the properties of Tresca material in undrained condition where the parameters were soil unit weight (γ), undrained shear strength (su) and friction angle (φ′). Parametric studies consisted of three dimensionless variables including depth factors (d/H), friction angle (φ′) and embankment slope angle (β). Results were summarized in the form of the dimensionless stability number (su/γH(FS)) and the design chart and application were presented. In addition, the comparison of the solution of stability number with the limit equilibrium methods and the failure mechanisms were also proposed in this paper.


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