Numerical Simulation for Determination of Sliding Type and Stability Factor of Safety in Finite Slopes with Limit Equilibrium Method

In this study, the effect of soil material parameters including soil specific weight (γ), cohesion (C) and angle of internal friction (∅) and geometric parameters of slope including angle with the horizontal (β) and slope height (H) on factor of safety (Fs) are investigated. Slope factor of safety is considered in two scenarios: (i) slope with dry condition and (ii) slope with steady-state saturated condition that comprises water level drawdown circumstances. In addition, the type of slip circle investigated. For this purpose, the limit of equilibrium method (LEM) is implemented. Results indicated that, decreasing of water level and omitting the hydrostatic pressure on the slope, would result in safety factor decrement such a way that with drawdown of 5.5 m water level, the factor of safety decreases about 41.42 % and also the type of slip circle is changed. Comparison of the plane and circular failure surfaces showed that plane failure method has good results for near-vertical slopes only. Determination of clip type showed that for β〖60〗^o only toe circle can happen. Application of the LEM in Bishop’s method resulted the values of R2 and RMSE equal to 0.93 and 0.121, respectively that the error of this method is 1.3% respect to other methods, which can be neglected in comparison with the complex and accurate methods.