Stability Analysis of Non-homogeneous Soil Slopes Using Numerical Techniques

This paper presents the stability analyses of non-homogeneous slopes under different loading conditions. A non-homogeneous soil slope with two different soil layers is considered. Special cases are created, varying the height of the layers, to account for the non-homogeneity of the earth slope. A water table is considered in this study to account for the seepage forces. Pseudo-static earthquake force is considered, taking into account both the forces in the horizontal and vertical directions. A rigorous limit equilibrium method of slices, i.e. Morgenstern-Price method is used to analyze the stability of the slope. Finite element shear strength reduction technique is also used for displacement calculations and comparison with limit equilibrium method. Safety factor, critical slip surfaces and displacements with different loading conditions are studied and compared.