Slope Stability Analysis by Strength Reduction Elasto-Plastic FEM

Abstract

An strength reduction technique combined with elasto-plastic Finite Element Method (FEM)is applied in the analysis of slope stability in this paper .The authors present a well-defined total equivalent plastic strain (TEPS) zone as the failure criterion when it running through the bottom to the top of a slope. Based on non-linear FEM and computed displacement technique, the result of elasto-plastic FEM analysis could be displayed, which makes the conception of slope failure more clear. Moreover, according to TEPS zone , the position of sliding face and the safety coefficient also can be obtained . The calculated result of the example proves the presented method is more effective in analyzing the stability of slope, which offers a new thinking for the analysis of slope stability, and can be wildly applied to slope engineering practices.