Stability of slope corners: a displacement-based FEM study

Abstract

The stability of slopes is typically evaluated by two-dimensional plane strain analysis. However, many slopes exhibit three-dimensional (3D) geometries, including slope corners. Several researchers have studied the stability of slope corners but found that the factor of safety (FS) was close to the FS for the plane strain case. The results of a new series of 3D finite element method (FEM) simulating slope corners, including slope angle, plan view angle, radius of curvature, and slope height are presented. They confirm that the FS does not vary much for corners compared to the plane strain case. However, 220 cases using an elastic-perfectly plastic soil model together with the FEM shear strength reduction method show that the displacement field is very different at the corners compared to plane strain with differences reaching over 100%. The displacement ratio between corners and plane strain is presented as a function of the plan view angle of the corner. Often failure is defined at a chosen large displacement, as in the ultimate load of foundation elements. If this concept is carried over to slope stability, it would indicate that the FS of corners should be very different from the plane strain case. A possible explanation is discussed.