Determination of Critical Slope Failure Surfaces
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical Engineering
Volume 111, Issue 2
Abstract
The analysis of the stability of slopes using limit equilibrium methods usually requires the determination of the critical failure surface having the minimal factor of safety. This paper presents an optimization technique, adapted from operations research, to determine both the minimal factor of safety and the associated critical failure surface. The technique treats the factor of safety as an optimal function of the N geometrical coordinates defining potential admissible failure surfaces, and searches for the optimum by a reflection algorithm through an N‐dimensional space defined by these geometrical coordinates. Application of the technique, as illustrated by examples, revealed that in comparison with the popularly known grid search method, the technique yields lower values of the minimal factor of safety for fewer computations, and is suitable for virtually all types of failure surfaces.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical Engineering
Volume 111 • Issue 2 • February 1985
Pages: 238 - 250
Copyright
Copyright © 1985 ASCE.
History
Published online: Feb 1, 1985
Published in print: Feb 1985
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