Estimating the Slope Safety Factor Using Simple Kinematically Admissible Solutions

Abstract

Determining soil and water conditions is essential for designing the optimal foundation and safely transferring loads, including the self-weight of structures, to the ground. Excessive or uneven settlement of the subsoil may ultimately lead to the formation of structural cracks in buildings or the loss of slope stability. In extreme cases, the damage results in structural failure. This paper presents the application of simple solutions from plasticity theory—an evaluation of the upper and lower bounds of the exact solution—to estimate the slope safety factor. It is demonstrated that simple kinematically admissible mechanisms for the non-associated flow rule provide solutions are close to those obtained from the traditional Fellenius method.