Limit Analysis and Stability Charts for 3D Slope Failures
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 136, Issue 4
Abstract
The kinematic approach of limit analysis is explored in three-dimensional (3D) stability analysis of slopes. A formal derivation is first shown indicating that, in a general case, the approach yields an upper bound to the critical height of the slope or an upper bound on the safety factor. A 3D failure mechanism is used to produce stability charts for slopes. The slope safety factor can be read from the charts without the need for iterations. While two-dimensional (2D) analyses of uniform slopes lead to lower safety factors than 3D analyses do, a 3D calculation is justified in cases where the width of the collapse mechanism has physical limitations, for instance, in the case of excavation slopes, or when the analysis is carried out to back-calculate the properties of the soil from 3D failure case histories. Also, a 3D failure can be triggered by a load on a portion of the surface area of the slope. Calculations indicate that for the 3D safety factor of the loaded slope to become lower than the 2D factor for the same slope (but with a load-free surface), the load has to be very significant and equal to the weight of a soil column of the order of the slope height.
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Acknowledgments
This work was carried out when the writer was supported by the Braun/Intertec Visiting Professorship at the University of Minnesota. A portion of the material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. NSFCMMI-0724022 and the Army Research Office Grant No. USAROW911NF-08-1-0376. This support is greatly appreciated.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 136 • Issue 4 • April 2010
Pages: 583 - 593
Copyright
© 2010 ASCE.
History
Received: Jun 4, 2009
Accepted: Sep 15, 2009
Published online: Mar 15, 2010
Published in print: Apr 2010
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