FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF EARTH STRUCTURE STABILITY WITH GENERAL NONLINEAR FAILURE CRITERION

The general nonlinear failure criterion of power-law type is implemented in a finite element program to calculate the safety factors of earth structures. The factor of safety is calculated by reducing the strength of the soil until the structure fails. The finite element analysis is superior over other methods since no failure mechanism has to be assumed a priori and is suitable for complex geological conditions. Two numerical examples are presented. One is a high rock dam and the other is a high filled slope. The calculated factors of safety agree well with the results calculated by the PLAXIS software when using the linear Mohr-Coulomb parameters. The failure surfaces calculated by using linear failure criterion are lower than those calculated by nonlinear failure criterion. But the factors of safety can be higher or lower when different calibration methods are used. It is more reasonable to calculate the safety factors of earth structures in high pressure situation with nonlinear failure criterion.