| Abstract: | The paper presents results of unsaturated slope stability analyses using elasto‐plastic finite elements in conjunction with a novel analytical formulation for the suction stress above the water table. The suction stress formula requires four parameters, three for the soil type and one for the steady infiltration (or evaporation) due to environmental effects. The suction stress approach enables the analysis to proceed in the context of classical effective stress, while maintaining the advantages of a general non‐linear finite element approach in which no advance assumptions need to be made about the shape or location of the critical failure surface. The results show the extent to which suctions above the water table can increase the factor of safety of a slope for a variety of different soil types and infiltration rates. All stability analyses that include the effects of suction stresses are contrasted with more traditional approaches in which water pressures above the water table are ignored. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
