Effects of pore water pressure on cohesive-frictional slope stability by limit analysis

Abstract

In the region there was generally influenced by seasonal weather such as highly rainfall intensity, the slope failure will be influenced by the existence of water and these conditions may trigger the changing of failure surface on the slope. The increasing pore water pressure causes shear strength reduction and shear stength enhancement. Consequently, the water level changes need to be evaluated conscientiously. In this paper, the various water levels are applied to perform the different pore water pressure conditions below the ground surface. Many methods are commonly used to predict the slope stability failure mechanism, including limit analysis. Limit analysis has been more widely employed for stability assessment in recent years because of its accuracy. In limit analyses, gravity multiplier will be adopted in this paper by using two-dimensional (2D) numerical approach to identify the failure mechanism. The results will be verified by comparing this study to previous studies.