Analytical method for analysis of slope stability

An analytical method is presented for analysis of slope stability involving cohesive and non-cohesive soils. Earthquake effects are considered in an approximate manner in terms of seismic coefficient-dependent forces. Two kinds of failure surfaces are considered in this study: a planar failure surface, and a circular failure surface. The proposed method can be viewed as an extension of the method of slices, but it provides a more accurate treatment of the forces because they are represented in an integral form. The factor of safety is obtained by using the minimization technique rather than by a trial and error approach used commonly. The factors of safety obtained by the analytical method are found to be in good agreement with those determined by the local minimum factor-of-safety, Bishop's, and the method of slices. The proposed method is straightforward, easy to use, and less time-consuming in locating the most critical slip surface and calculating the minimum factor of safety for a given slope. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.