Study on Sensitivity Analysis Method of Slope Stability Based on Sweden Arc Method

Abstract

In this study, an attempt has been made to analyse the impact of different parameters (such as bulk density, cohesive force, internal angle of friction, angle of slip surface and pore water pressure) on the safety factor of a given slope. The analysis was done using the Swedish Arc method. Meanwhile, the sensitivity ratios between different parameters were determined by taking the partial derivatives of non-dimensional parameters. A typical case study with a uniform slope was considered to verify the efficiency of the provided method. The results showed that the change in failure path had a significant impact on the sensitivity ratio of parameters. In the meantime, unstable slopes will have higher value of sensitivity ratio in the shear strength parameters (tan φ and c). The sensitivity analysis method introduced in this article eliminated the crude assumptions made on the conventional approach. The advantage of this analytical method is that both the safety factor and the sensitivity ratio can be computed simultaneously, for slopes with any given slip surface. It is believed that the results will have an indispensible role in understanding and capturing the nature of geotechnical problems.