The stability condition of slopes is a subject of study and research in soil mechanics, geotechnical engineering and engineering geology. Slope stability refers to the condition of inclined soil or rock slopes to withstand or undergo movement. Slope stability analysis is a static or dynamic, analytical or empirical method to evaluate the stability of earth and rock-fill dams, embankments, excavated slopes, and natural slopes in soil and rock.

( December 2012) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Please help improve it to make it understandable to non-experts, without removing the technical details. Stability analysis by two safety factors is more accurate than that by traditional strength reduction method and provides reliable technical support for study of side slope stability and its reinforcement.This article may be too technical for most readers to understand. Slip surfaces found by different strength reduction methods form a certain gliding area with the sole reduction of shear resisting factor φ and c as its upper and bottom boundary.

With increasing strength reduction factors of frictional angle and cohesive force, gliding surface gradually moves from deep layers to superficial layers. Results indicate that the traditional single safety factor method is a special case of two safety factors method. Each reduction method has different safety factors and slip surface, and several slip surface form a potential gliding area. Then the shear resisting factor φ and c of sliding mass are reduced. Taking a side slope for example, the finite difference software FLAC3D is used to search the cut-through area of shear strain increment under limiting condition to find potential slip surface. For this reason and considering that sliding resistance effect of sliding mass is much bigger than the difference of shear resisting factor φ and c. In the actual slope destruction, however, different shear strength parameters have different action effects. Traditional strength reduction methods employ same reduction factor to get safety factors of frictional angle φ and cohesion c of slide slopes.

Flac3d slop stability