Stability Charts for 3D Failures of Homogeneous Slopes
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 139, Issue 9
Abstract
A three-dimensional (3D) kinematically admissible rotational failure mechanism is extended from toe failure to include face failure and base failure for homogeneous slopes in both purely cohesive and frictional/cohesive soils. In the strict framework of limit analysis, an analytical approach is derived to obtain the upper bounds on slope stability and the corresponding type of the critical failure mechanism. Compared with the available results from the finite-element limit-analysis method, the 3D rotational failure mechanisms give the best estimate on the upper bound. A set of stability charts is presented in a wide range of parameters for 3D homogeneous slopes under both static and pseudostatic seismic loading conditions. This set is useful in assessing the safety of the 3D homogeneous slopes in practical applications.
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Acknowledgments
This study was sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Numbers 51278382 and 51278171), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China (Grant Nos. 2011B02814, 2013B05814, and 2013B01514), and the Qing Lan Project of Jiangsu Province of China.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 139 • Issue 9 • September 2013
Pages: 1528 - 1538
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 6, 2012
Accepted: Nov 16, 2012
Published online: Nov 20, 2012
Published in print: Sep 1, 2013
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