Development of a preliminary slope stability calculation method based on internal horizontal displacements

This paper proposes a horizontal displacement-based approach to determine the potential slip surface of the slope. Firstly, a group of in-situ inclinometers with an appropriate spacing in the horizontal direction is located in the model slope. The equation of horizontal displacement with time for each in-situ inclinometer is fitted during the whole simulation process. Furthermore, the intersection of each inclinometer with potential slip surface is determined by using an optimization model. The slip surface can be obtained by using least square fitting method. Finally, the feasibility and accuracy of the method are validated by a series of numerical simulations. It is noted that the optimization model taking the maximum value of displacement increment gradient as an objective has higher accuracy when compared with other optimization models. This method employed in this study provides a preliminary approach to determine the real-time slope stability based on displacement, which can also be measured by using conventional instruments on site.