GEO-SLOPE International Ltd, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

www.geo-slope.com

Comparison with Infinite Slope

1 Introduction
The objective of this example is to illustrate how an infinite slope can be modeled using SLOPE/W. Since a closed form solution is also available in the case of an infinite slope, the secondary purpose of this example is to verify SLOPE/W by comparing its computed factors of safety with the closed form solution. Three cases of an infinite slope are considered. Other features of this analysis include: Analysis method: Morgenstern-Price (Constant interslice function) Homogeneous material Use of fully-specified slip surface Presence of a dry tension crack Use of Ru coefficients SI units

Configuration and set-up

A 2:1 homogeneous slope is used as illustrated in Figure 1. The key in modeling an infinite slope is to use a fully specified slip surface and a tension crack line. A fully specified slip surface defined parallel to the slope was used to ensure that all slices are having the same thickness, which is the condition of an infinite slope. The tension crack line is used to force the first and last slices to go vertically up, so that even the first and last slices will have the same thickness as the rest of the sliding mass (Error! Reference source not found.).
22 20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 -2

Fully specify slip surface

Elevation

Infinite slope

Tension crack line

-5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Distance

Figure 1 Homogeneous infinite slope

SLOPE/W Example File: Comparison with infinite slope.doc (pdf) (gsz)

Page 1 of 3

GEO-SLOPE International Ltd, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

www.geo-slope.com

Closed Form Solution

Three cases of the closed form solutions are considered. The factors of safety for the three cases are calculated using the parameters shown in Table 1 Parameter values used for infinite slope analyses.
Table 1 Parameter values used for infinite slope analyses
Parameter Case 1 Frictional Angle, (degrees) Cohesion, c (kPa) Pore-water Coefficient, ru Unit Weight, (kN/m3) Steepness, (degrees) Vertical Height, H (m) 35 0 0 19.62 26.565 (2:1 slope) 1.0 Values Used Case 2 35 0 0.25 19.62 26.565 (2:1 slope) 1.0 Case 3 35 5 0.25 19.62 26.565 (2:1 slope) 1.0

Case 1: Dry Frictional Material with No Cohesion For a dry infinite slope consisting of a frictional material with no cohesion, the factor of safety is:

tan tan35o Factor of Safety = = = 1.400 tan tan 26.565o

Case 2: Wet Frictional Material with No Cohesion For a frictional material with no cohesion under the conditions of flow parallel to the slope (i.e., porewater pressure characterized by Ru), the factor of safety is:

Factor of Safety = 1 Ru sec 2

( ) tan tan = (1 0.25 sec 26.565 ) 1.400

= 0.963
Case 3: Wet Frictional Material with Cohesion For a frictional material with cohesion under the conditions of flow parallel to the slope, the factor of safety is:

SLOPE/W Example File: Comparison with infinite slope.doc (pdf) (gsz)

Page 2 of 3

GEO-SLOPE International Ltd, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

www.geo-slope.com

Factor of Safety =

c tan + 1 Ru sec 2 tan H cos sin 5.0 = + 0.963 19.62 1.0 cos 26.565 sin26.565 = 1.600

SLOPE/W Solutions

The three cases of the infinite slope are analyzed using SLOPE/W. The sliding mass is simulated with 30 slices. Figure 2 illustrates the solution for Case 1, where the Morgenstern-Price method is used.

Figure 2 SLOPE/W solution of the infinite slope case

Table 2 tabulates the comparison of the three cases between the closed form solutions and the SLOPE/W solutions. Factors of safety for the Bishop Simplified method and the Morgenstern-Price method are presented.
Table 2 Comparison of SLOPE/W solutions with closed form solutions for an infinite slope
Case c Ru Closed Form Solution 1 2 3 35 35 35 0.0 0.0 5.0 0.0 0.25 0.25 1.400 0.963 1.600 Factor of Safety SLOPE/W Bishop Simplified 1.402 0.965 1.601 SLOPE/W Morgenstern-Price 1.400 0.963 1.600

Conclusion

Infinite slope can be modeled quite easily with SLOPE/W. In all the above three infinite slope cases, the factors of safety computed by SLOPE/W are identical to the closed form solutions for the infinite slope. This simple example confirms that SLOPE/W is formulated correctly.
SLOPE/W Example File: Comparison with infinite slope.doc (pdf) (gsz) Page 3 of 3