Determination of the most probable slip surface in 3D slopes considering the effect of earthquake force direction

Considering the effect of earthquake forces on stability of slopes has always been of crucial importance in seismic analysis of geotechnical structures like dams, roads and embankments and there has been much concern about stability of cuts, fills and natural slopes under earthquake loadings in recent years. In this research a three-dimensional approach in conjunction with genetic algorithm (GA) was proposed to investigate the effect of earthquake force inclination on minimum stability factor of safety and the shape and direction of the corresponding failure surface. The stability factor of safety was considered to be a function of soil properties, slope dimensions, coordination of the nodal points on the slip surface mesh and their rotation angle to the rotation centre, magnitude of pseudo-static coefficient and the inclination of earthquake forces. The proposed methodology was found to be very effective in determining the minimum stability factor of safety and the corresponding most probable slip surface considering pseudo-static analysis of slopes under inclined earthquake forces.