Novel Three-Dimensional Sarma Method with Vertical Slices for Stability Analysis of Rock Slopes

Abstract

In general, the traditional Sarma method is two-dimensional (2D). In nature, slopes are three-dimensional (3D) problems. However, the 3D Sarma method is rarely proposed and used in rock slope engineering. In this paper, the 3D Sarma method will be used to study the stability of a slope with an intercolumn force of nonzero at the nonfree face boundary. The relationship between the safety factor (Fs) and the horizontal earthquake acceleration coefficient will be determined by an optimization method and Fs will be obtained when the horizontal earthquake acceleration coefficient equals zero. Two examples will be illustrated to validate the feasibility of the proposed method. The results obtained by the proposed method agreed well with those obtained using other methods.