Improved Bell's method for the stability analysis of slopes

A new procedure based on the approximation to the total normal pressure along the slip surface is developed to compute the factor of safety of slopes for slip surfaces of all shapes. By taking the whole sliding body, instead of an individual slice, as the loaded object, all the equilibrium equations...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal for numerical and analytical methods in geomechanics 2009-10, Vol.33 (14), p.1673-1689
Main Authors: Zheng, Hong, Tham, Leslie George
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Approximation
Buildings. Public works
Computation methods. Tables. Charts
Convergence
Equilibrium conditions
Exact sciences and technology
factor of safety
Geotechnics
limit equilibrium methods
Mathematical analysis
Mathematical models
Safety
Slip
slope stability
Slopes
Soil mechanics. Rocks mechanics
Structural analysis. Stresses
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Summary:A new procedure based on the approximation to the total normal pressure along the slip surface is developed to compute the factor of safety of slopes for slip surfaces of all shapes. By taking the whole sliding body, instead of an individual slice, as the loaded object, all the equilibrium equations are formulated according to the three‐moment equilibrium conditions rather than the two force equilibrium conditions and one‐moment equilibrium condition. The system of nonlinear equations deduced in this way is well‐scaled and enjoys excellent numerical properties such as the existence of solution with a positive factor of safety, a nearly unlimited scope of convergence and a rapid convergence rate associated with the Newton method. In the case of ϕu =0—the situation where no drainage and no consolidation are involved, furthermore, the system has a unique solution and the factor of safety has an explicit expression. Some typical examples are analyzed to demonstrate the numerical properties of the proposed procedure. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
ISSN:0363-9061
1096-9853
1096-9853
DOI:10.1002/nag.794