Critical slip surface and landslide volume of a soil slope under random earthquake ground motions

Finding the critical slip surface and estimating the landslide volume are of primary importance for slope seismic design. However, this may be difficult due to the uncertainty of ground motions. To address this problem, a new method for calculating uncertainties is recommended in this paper, especially for the critical slip surface and landslide volume under random earthquake ground motions. Firstly, a series of intensity–frequency nonstationary random earthquake ground motions were generated based on an improved orthogonal expansion method. A given number of potential slip surfaces were set in a soil slope. Subsequently, the factor of safety (FOS) of each slip surface for all ground motions was calculated and the minimum FOS curves were obtained. It was found that the critical slip surfaces and failure times are uncertain under different earthquakes. The Monte Carlo method was used to verify the accuracy of probability density evolution method (PDEM), and the results of the PDEM and the Monte Carlo method are consistent, meaning that the PEDM has higher computational efficiency. Moreover, the distributions of earthquake-triggered landslide volume and landslide depth were analyzed by considering equivalent extreme events. Both landslide volume and depth exhibit a normal distribution for a homogeneous soil slope. The framework of this study is meaningful for slope seismic design in engineering, for example, the location of critical slip surface can be used for slope reinforcement, and the distribution of sliding volume can be used for disaster assessment.     

Improved finite element–based limit equilibrium method for slope stability analysis by considering nonlinear strength criteria and its application in assessing the anchoring effect

The shear strength envelope of most geotechnical materials is nonlinear. In this study, the finite element–based limit equilibrium method (FELE) is improved to assess the stability of a prescribed slip surface that obeys a nonlinear failure criterion. Two nonlinear failure criteria, namely, the Barton criterion and the generalized Hoek-Brown (GHB) criterion, are implemented. A power curve model that can perfectly fit the envelope of the GHB criterion is proposed to explicitly express the shear strength from the normal stress. The algorithm of the improved FELE, which includes a nonlinear criterion, is explained in detail, and the fast convergence of the method is checked by evaluating examples. The numerical examples show that, for a smooth slip surface, FELE can calculate a greater factor of safety (FOS) than that calculated using the Morgenstern-Price (MP) method when the strength criterion of slip surface is nonlinear. In addition, FELE can determine the bell-shaped distribution of the increase in normal stress caused by anchoring measures, which cannot be considered in the MP method.     

土质斜坡存在唯一最小安全系数的数据作图论证及原因分析

本文通过数据作图法揭示了土体黏聚力和内摩擦角对斜坡安全系数作用的不同规律,并论证了一般土质斜坡存在唯一最小安全系数及其原因。本文在土质斜坡中划分了大量的潜在滑移面,并定义了每一个潜在滑移面所拥有的4类安全系数FOSc×φ、FOSc、FOSφ和FOSc+φ。基于极限平衡的条分法计算了滑移面的4类安全系数,并使用数据作图法揭示和确定了这4类安全系数值随潜在滑移面深度d变化的4条特征和规律。由土体黏聚力和内摩擦角共同作用的安全系数FOSc×φ包络线随d的增加先单调下降,到达一段最小值区间后,再单调上升。因此,它必然存在一个总体最小值。仅由土体黏聚力贡献的FOSc包络线随d的增加先快速、再缓慢单调下降。仅由土体内摩擦角贡献的安全系数FOSφ包络线随d的增加线性上升。FOSc与FOSφ之和FOSc+φ数值几乎等同于FOSc×φ数值。这4条规律揭示了土体黏聚力和内摩擦角对斜坡安全系数作用的不同规律,并论证了一般斜坡存在最小安全系数及其原因。本文进一步论证和揭示了这4条特征和规律适用于5种经典有限条分法的计算结果,适用于考虑地下孔隙水压强作用的计算结果,和考虑斜坡土体分层不均质影响的计算结果。特别地,地下孔隙水会加深拥有最小安全系数的潜在滑移面深度。土体黏聚力对斜坡安全系数贡献随潜在滑移面深度增大而减小,土体内摩擦角对斜坡安全系数贡献随潜在滑移面深度增大而增大。这两种强度随深度的相反贡献规律导致了一般土质斜坡存在唯一最小安全系数。     

A Simple Monte Carlo Method for Locating the Three-dimensional Critical Slip Surface of a Slope

Based on the assumption of the plain-strain problem, various optimization or random search methods have been developed for locating the critical slip surfaces in slope-stability analysis, but none of such methods is applicable to the 3D case. In this paper, a simple Monte Carlo random simulation method is proposed to identify the 3D critical slip surface. Assuming the initial slip to be the lower part of a slip ellipsoid, the 3D critical slip surface is located by means of a minimized 3D safety factor. A column-based 3D slope stability analysis model is used to calculate this factor. In this study, some practical cases of known minimum safety factors and critical slip surfaces in 2D analysis are extended to 3D slope problems to locate the critical slip surfaces. Compared with the 2D result, the resulting 3D critical slip surface has no apparent difference in terms of only cross section, but the associated 3D safety factor is definitely higher.     

考虑能量-时间分布的边坡动力可靠性分析新方法

提出一种考虑能量-时间分布的边坡动力可靠性分析方法。该方法将动态最危险滑动面及其稳定系数以时间序列加以刻画,并根据边坡动力反应的能量分布特征,提取持续时间统计窗,用于对上述时间序列的统计分析,以获取边坡动力模糊失效概率、边坡动力可靠度指标和基于保证率的边坡动力稳定系数。以澳大利亚计算机应用协会边坡稳定考核题为例,应用上述新方法考察其在芦山7.0级主震波形条件下的稳定性,研究了在不同统计窗下的边坡动力可靠性。案例分析表明： （1）新方法能够抓住影响边坡动力稳定的主要时间段,使分析结果更为凝练、可信。（2）通过引入边坡失效状态的模糊判别,使得可靠性评价中能够考虑模糊性,解决了以往常规方法区分度不够的问题。（3）基于保证率的边坡动力稳定系数具有很好的应用前景,它在内涵上体现了可靠性分析,在形式上与静力稳定系数的定义兼容,在数值上反映了边坡瞬时动力稳定系数的保守估计值,在实践上与现行规范的拟静力法具有良好的可比性,因而具有多方面的优势。（4）就本案例而言,动力条件下最危险滑动面的发育位置趋向于静力条件下的最危险滑动面,体现了依据静力和拟静力理论框架所进行的防护工程设计,在动力条件下仍然具有积极的意义。（5）新方法对定量研究现行边坡规范的抗震设计冗余提供了一条途径。提出的新方法为边坡抗震研究提供了新的思路、方法和可供参考的实例。     

地下矿体采动下的露天采场边坡稳定性研究

对于进入中晚期的露天金属矿,为了延长矿山的寿命或露天转地采稳产过渡,通常选择露天与地下联合开采,那么矿体采动下的边坡稳定性问题则尤为突出。在边坡几何形态、上部荷载和材料性质等不变的情况下,极限平衡获得的边坡安全系数为定值,因此,不能用来反映地下矿体采动对边坡稳定性影响。为了克服常规极限平衡方法的上述缺陷,采用基于边坡应力场的矢量和法求解滑动面的安全系数,结合蚁群算法与遗传算法联合搜索边坡临界滑动面,以确定矿体开采前后边坡的安全系数和临界滑动面。最后,给出一个假定算例和两个工程算例说明上述安全系数求解和临界滑面搜索方法的有效性,并揭示了地下矿体开采对露天采场边坡的稳定性的影响。     

Three dimensional analysis of slope stability

A 3-D mathematical approach to slope stability, which is based on limiting equilibrium and variational analysis, is presented. In the initial formulation there are three unknown functions: the slip surface, the normal stress and the shear stress direction over this surface. The minimum factor of safety is sought through variational extremization. The analysis indicates that the factor of safety is independent of the normal stress distribution over the critical slip surface. It also indicates that the direction of the elementary shear force over the slip surface depends on the slip surface function, but not on the normal stress function. The analysis yields a non-linear first order partial differential equation, relating the slip surface and its first partial derivatives. By limiting the analysis to symmetrical problems an ordinary differential equation, governing the slip surface path on the plane of symmetry, is derived. This equation enables the development of a numerical procedure to determine the minimal factor of safety of symmetrical 3-D slopes. Two possible failure modes are determined for homogeneous slopes. One mode consists of finite 3-D sliding body and the second represents cylindrical failure. Numerical analyses for some simple cases, of homogencous slopes are presented.     

基于离散元的强度折减法分析岩质边坡稳定性

将通用离散元UDEC与强度折减法结合,对含多结构面的岩质边坡的稳定性进行了分析。通过对节理岩质边坡的UDEC模型中的可变形块体和节理单元的强度参数进行折减,使模型不能再达到平衡状态,此时的折减系数就是边坡的安全系数,另外,由对应的边坡块体的速度矢量可以确定滑动面和边坡的破坏形态。通过与传统的条分法的结果比较,表明基于UDEC的强度折减法是一种可靠、有效的方法,为复杂节理岩质边坡的滑动面确定与安全系数计算开辟了新的途径。     

Analytical method for analysis of slope stability

An analytical method is presented for analysis of slope stability involving cohesive and non-cohesive soils. Earthquake effects are considered in an approximate manner in terms of seismic coefficient-dependent forces. Two kinds of failure surfaces are considered in this study: a planar failure surface, and a circular failure surface. The proposed method can be viewed as an extension of the method of slices, but it provides a more accurate treatment of the forces because they are represented in an integral form. The factor of safety is obtained by using the minimization technique rather than by a trial and error approach used commonly. The factors of safety obtained by the analytical method are found to be in good agreement with those determined by the local minimum factor-of-safety, Bishop's, and the method of slices. The proposed method is straightforward, easy to use, and less time-consuming in locating the most critical slip surface and calculating the minimum factor of safety for a given slope. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

土钉墙内部稳定性分析自适应禁忌变异遗传算法

针对土钉墙内部稳定性分析问题,提出一种能同时确定土钉墙任意形状最危险滑动面及相应安全系数的全局优化算法。首先,基于边坡极限平衡法中的Morgenstern-Price法,考虑土钉的加固作用,推导土钉墙安全系数计算公式。然后,分析简单遗传算法（SGA）和禁忌搜索算法（TSA）的不足,引进自适应遗传算法（AGA）,用禁忌变异算子替换自适应遗传算法中的标准变异算子,提出一种新型的混合优化算法--自适应禁忌变异遗传搜索算法（ATMGA）,并将其应用到土钉墙内部稳定性分析领域,建立土钉墙任意形状临界滑裂面稳定性分析优化算法。算例分析表明,（1）与单纯的SGA、TSA以及AGA相比,文中ATMGA法搜索效率高、收敛速度快且能准确地搜索到土钉墙最危险滑动面及其相应的最小安全系数;（2）土钉支护前、后临界滑面位置相差较大,建议在实际工程中对支护后基坑的临界滑面以及相应的安全系数进行重新搜索。     

求解边坡矢量和安全系数的条分法

矢量和安全系数物理、力学意义明确,通常采用有限元计算得到的应力场来求解。提出一种简便的求解方法,在通用条分法（GLE）的基础上,满足力和力矩平衡的严格条件,推导了基于条分法的矢量和安全系数。采用广义简约梯度法（GRG）搜索临界滑面,在极限抗滑合力矢方向上求解矢量和安全系数。整个计算过程都在电子表格软件Excel内实现,易于在工程实践中推广。对于圆弧滑面边坡,其计算结果表明：①矢量和安全系数与代数和安全系数非常接近,对应的滑面位置也相近。②不同的条间力函数假设（常数和半正弦函数）对边坡的矢量和安全系数影响很小。③极限抗滑合力矢方向? 小于边坡坡角,其值与假定条间力平行时的条间力方向非常一致。在极限平衡分析框架内,计算方法可进一步简化为：假设条间力平行,将条间力方向作为矢量和安全系数的计算方向。对于非圆弧滑面边坡,其计算结果表明：①均质边坡的矢量和安全系数与代数和安全系数相对误差小于3 %,滑面位置接近,而软弱层边坡两种方法的计算结果有一定差别。②不同的条间力函数假设对边坡的矢量和安全系数影响很小。     

The effects of method of generating circular slip surfaces on determining the critical slip surface by particle swarm optimization

The main objectives of slope stability analysis are evaluating factor of safety for a given slip surface and determining the critical slip surface for a given slope. Factor of safety is usually calculated by limit equilibrium method. The main steps to determine the critical slip surface are generating trial slip surfaces as probable solutions and searching among them to determine the one with the lowest factor of safety. Although the process of searching the critical slip surface received much attention between researchers, the significance of method of generating slip surfaces is seldom addressed in the literature. The authors believe that this ignorance can affect the accuracy of the results of slope stability analysis even in the simplest problems with circular slip surfaces. Consequently, this paper focused on the method of generating circular trial slip surfaces as the simplest mechanism of sliding and considered its effect on determining the critical slip surface. A new method of generating circular slip surface was presented, which is more efficient and less restricted than the conventional method. A computer program was also developed to determine the critical slip surface of slopes by using particle swarm optimization. The performances of the proposed method and developed computer program were verified during comparative studies and sensitivity analysis. Based on the results, the effect of method of generating circular slip surfaces on determining the critical slip surface was confirmed successfully. In all considered problems, the proposed method of generating circular slip surfaces led to the lower values of factor of safety compare with the conventional method.     

基于聚类分析的边坡稳定性研究

在边坡稳定性分析中,滑面搜索方法对于得到边坡的稳定性系数至关重要。现今两种常用的边坡稳定性分析方法,极限平衡法以及强度折减法,可以得到极限应力状态下边坡的潜在滑面。而为了评价边坡在当前应力场下的稳定性,提出一种基于聚类分析概念的滑面搜索方法。这种方法综合考虑了边坡各点的位移以及点安全系数,采用K均值聚类法将具有相近性质的点进行分类,把边坡体分为潜在危险区以及稳定区。潜在危险区的边界即为边坡在当前应力状态下的潜在滑面,并运用矢量和方法计算得到其稳定性系数。采用上述方法对3个算例进行验算,并与极限平衡法以及强度折减法进行对比。结果表明：（1）基于聚类分析的边坡稳定性评价方法具有较好的合理性和可靠性;（2）当边坡处于临界状态附近,通过聚类分析得到的潜在滑面与其他两种方法得到的滑面基本一致;当边坡处于较稳定状态时,当前应力状态下的潜在滑面要比强度折减法得到的滑动带范围要更深更广,但求出的稳定性系数也较高;当存在软弱夹层时,矢量和计算出的滑面更为陡峻,稳定性系数比其他两种方法的结果要小。     

基于有限元计算的边坡三维滑裂面搜索

提出一种基于有限元计算的边坡三维滑裂面搜索的方法,根据有限元计算的应力结果,计算可能滑裂面的安全系数,然后用遗传算法搜索出最危险滑裂面,并得出相应的安全系数作为边坡的安全度评价指标。该方法的优越性是只需进行一次有限元计算,不需要假定滑裂面,可以用于具有复杂地貌和地质构造的三维边坡。通过算例,验证该方法的可行性和程序的正确性,以大岗山水电站库区边坡工程实例验证该方法的实用性。     

基于随机响应面法的边坡系统可靠度分析

提出了一套基于随机响应面法的边坡系统可靠度分析方法。该方法首先从大量潜在滑动面中筛选出代表性滑动面。针对每条代表性滑动面,采用Hermite多项式展开建立其安全系数与土体参数间的非线性显式函数关系（即随机响应面）。然后,采用直接蒙特卡洛模拟计算边坡系统失效概率。在蒙特卡罗模拟中,采用所有代表性滑动面的随机响应面计算每一组样本所对应的边坡最小安全系数。最后,以两个典型多层边坡系统可靠度问题为例验证了该方法的有效性。结果表明：文中提出的边坡系统可靠度分析方法能够有效地识别边坡代表性滑动面,具有较高的计算精度和效率,并且确定代表性滑动面时无需计算滑动面间的相关系数。同时该方法可以有效地计算低失效概率水平的边坡系统可靠度,为含相关非正态参数的边坡系统可靠度问题提供了一条有效的分析途径。此外,多层边坡可能同时存在多条潜在滑动面,基于单一滑动面（如临界确定性滑动面）或者部分代表性滑动面进行边坡系统可靠度分析均会低估边坡失效概率。     

Seismic stability analysis of a layered rock slope

In general, the determination of the factor of safety and the location of the critical slip surface are two major challenges in seismic slope stability analysis. In this paper, a new approach for determining the factor of safety and the corresponding critical slip surface of a layered rock slope subjected to seismic excitations is presented, through a case study based on the combination of the shear strength reduction technique and distinct element method. According to this proposed method, the seismic factor of safety and the critical slip surface of the slope are estimated and compared with those obtained by the pseudo-static approach, combined with the limit equilibrium method. It is found that the factor of safety obtained from the proposed method is slightly greater than that computed by the pseudo-static analysis, with a difference of 4.2%, and that the critical slip surface obtained from the two methods is identical, which confirms the reasonability and feasibility of the proposed method.     

基于数值应力场的边坡临界滑动场

数值分析方法（有限元、有限差分等）可计算边坡应力、变形和破坏,但直接计算边坡安全系数比较困难;而极限平衡法需对边坡体内力作出假设,计算精度受到限制。利用数值分析方法计算得到的应力场,重新定义推力最大原理中推力的含义,将常规边坡临界滑动场数值模拟方法作进一步的改进,提出基于数值应力场的边坡临界滑动场方法。该方法可充分发挥两大方法的优势,能够准确、方便地搜索出边坡临界滑动面位置,并给出更合理的边坡安全系数。通过两个算例的稳定性分析,并与其他方法进行比较,验证了该方法的准确性和合理性。     

基于最小势能法的三维临界滑裂面搜索方法

为了得到三维边坡的临界滑裂面,提出了6个参数控制的三维滑裂面构造方法,基于边坡三维最小势能稳定性分析方法建立目标函数,采用遗传算法实现了临界滑裂面的搜索,并开发了相应的搜索程序。为检验文中搜索方法的合理性,将其与其他方法得到的临界滑裂面以及最小安全系数进行比较,并且将室内模型试验得到的临界滑面与理论搜索的结果进行对比。研究表明：搜索方法可实现稳步收敛;针对算例进行多变量同时变化的搜索验算,得到了与极限平衡法较为接近的结果,表明提出的搜索方法是合理的;理论计算结果与室内模型试验坡面加载得到的边坡临界滑面较为接近,再次验证三维边坡临界滑面搜索方法是可行的。     

填筑和开挖边坡的稳定性分析

在有限元应力应变分析的基础上,采用以剪应力定义的安全系数和模式搜索的方法确定边坡的安全系数及最危险滑动面。在平面应变条件下,对土层均质的填筑和开挖边坡的稳定性进行了较为全面的研究,并同天然边坡的安全系数和破坏面进行比较,计算结果表明,这3类边坡滑动面的形状基本一致,天然边坡安全系数要高于填筑和开挖边坡;同时比较了采用有限元稳定评价方法和采用极限平衡方法计算结果的差别;最后分析研究了计算参数变化对填筑和开挖边坡稳定性的影响。     

Determination of the critical failure surface for slope stability analysis using ant colony optimization

Slope stability analysis of any natural or artificial slope aims at determining the factor of safety of the slip surface that possesses the lowest factor of safety. In this study, an ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm is developed to solve this factor-of-safety minimization problem. Factors of safety of slip surfaces are found by using the Morgenstern–Price method, which satisfies both force and moment equilibrium. Nonlinear equations from the Morgenstern–Price method are solved numerically by the Newton–Raphson method. In the proposed ACO algorithm, the initiation point and the shape of the slip surface are treated as the search variables. The proposed heuristic algorithm represents slip surfaces as piecewise-linear curves and solves for the optimal curve yielding the minimum factor of safety. To demonstrate its applicability and to investigate the validity and effectiveness of the algorithm, four examples with varying complexity are presented. The obtained results are compared with the available literature and are found to be in agreement.