Examination the effect of soil parameters on earth dam slope stability in ABAQUS software

Abstract

The stability of soil slopes and the determination of safety factors have always been the subject of study for engineers and researchers. The safety factor of slopes can be determined by using the methods of limit equilibrium method (L.E.M.), limit analysis, and strength reduction method (S.R.M.). The equilibrium method determines the slope safety factor based on the equilibrium of the inter-slice force and without the analysis of tension and strain. In the strength reduction method, based on the tension-strain analysis, the strength of various points of the slope is reduced until it reaches the critical state, and by connecting all of the critical points, the critical rupture level will be obtained. Finite element software and finite difference software determine the safety factors in soil slopes by using the concepts of the strength reduction method. In this paper, the safety factors of soil slopes are determined by using ABAQUS software, and using the concept of strength reduction method. There is no option in ABAQUS for the determination of safety factors and it should be obtained by defining the concepts of strength reduction. The purpose of this study is to implement a strength reduction method in a finite element program to calculate the safety factor of slopes. The results of this research indicate that the changes in friction angle affect the safety factor changes more than variations in cohesion. Also, slope angle and its changes affect the safety factor changes more than other factors.