Abstract
The state of equilibrium of a slope is usually interpreted and expressed by safety factors based on calculations with limit equilibrium methods. Different stress states, failure modes and hydraulic conditions in sections along a slip surface affect the development of shear stresses during slope movement. Moreover, a post-peak softening of the shear strength can have a pronounced impact. As a consequence of the latter effect, the mobilization of the shear resistance along the slip surface is non-uniform and the safety of the slope can be overestimated or underestimated. In the presented paper, an algorithm is proposed to capture the strain-dependent slope stability. The approach is illustrated by means of a calculation example for a slope with a planar slip surface where a block sliding is assumed.
Highlights
The prediction of slope stability is an essential task in the geotechnical engineering and other disciplines dealing, for example, with natural risk assessment
Safety factors in slope stability calculations are mostly determined with help of the limit equilibrium methods
The maximum shear strength along a slip surface is not mobilized simultaneously along the entire shear zone. This makes the selection of the appropriate shear strength parameters difficult and can lead to an overestimation and underestimation of the slope stability
Summary
The prediction of slope stability is an essential task in the geotechnical engineering and other disciplines dealing, for example, with natural risk assessment. A common LEM is the method of slices developed in several versions during the last century [2, 12, 23, 29, among others] One disadvantage of this method is a rough approximation of the stress state along the selected slip surface as only the soil own weight and surcharges but not the stress history is considered. A loose/soft soil tends to a contractive behaviour during shearing For undrained conditions, this effect is reflected in a generation of positive excess pore water pressures. The generation of negative or positive excess pore water pressures, respectively, during shearing induces an increase or decrease in the effective stresses at the shear zone and influences the soil resistance needed for the calculation of the slope stability. The pre-defined slip surface is discretized into a number of nodes These nodes represent homogeneous soil elements which undergo a uniform shear deformation. A certain minimum number of nodes are needed for a realistic calculation, analogously to the methods of slices
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