Study on the Failure Pattern of Layered Soil using Finite Element Method

Abstract

In geotechnical engineering, it has always been a tough yet herculean task and also a subject of concern to carry out the stability analysis of slopes, since numerous failures of slopes and large settlements have been taking place causing a huge destruction of property and life. In this paper, various non-homogenous soil slopes with different layers of soil have been considered. A rigorous limit equilibrium method of slices i.e. Morgenstern-Price method is used to analyse the stability of the slope. Finite element shear strength reduction technique is also used for displacement calculations and comparison with limit equilibrium method. The soil parameters (c and φ) were kept as constants in each soil model. Thus, considering different slope angles of the soil mass, the Factor of Safety for each slope, pattern of formation of the slip surfaces along with the vertical, horizontal and total displacement has been studied.