A dimensionless parameter determining slip surfaces in homogeneous slopes

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A dimensionless parameter determining slip surfaces in homogeneous slopes

Lin, Hang / Cao, Ping

Abstract Considerable work has been done in slope stability analysis to determine the effect of shear strength parameters (cohesion c and friction angle ϕ) and of unit weight γ on factors of safety of slopes. However, their relationship with slip surfaces has not been fully investigated. This paper uses shear strength reduction method to analyze slope stability. The performance of this method is then compared with that of well-established limit equilibrium methods. Variational analysis is subsequently performed to establish a uniform relationship between the combination of c, ϕ, and γ and the slip surfaces. The results show that at a given slope geometry, the location of the slip surface is related only to a dimensionless parameter λ cφ = c/(γhtanφ), where h is the slope height. The slip surfaces of the slopes deepen as λ cφ increases, whereas shallower slip surfaces are obtained when λ cφ decreases.