• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.8 no.3
• /
• pp.391-414
• /
• 2015

In this paper, stabilities of a plane slide rock slope under different hydraulic distributions were studied based on the nonlinear Barton-Bandis (B-B) failure criterion. The influence of various parameters on the stability of rock slopes was analyzed. Parametric analysis indicated that studying the factor of safety (FS) of planar slide rock slopes using the B-B failure criterion is both simple and effective and that the effects of the basic friction angle of the joint (${\varphi}_b$), the joint roughness coefficient (JRC), and the joint compressive strength (JCS) on the FS of a planar slide rock slope are significant. Qualitatively, the influence of the JCS on the FS of a slope is small, whereas the influences of the ${\varphi}_b$ and the JRC are significant. The FS of the rock slope decreases as the water in a tension crack becomes deeper. This trend is more significant when the flow outlet is blocked, a situation that is particularly prevalent in regions with permafrost or seasonal frozen soil. Finally, the work is extended to study the reliability of the slope against plane failure according to the uncertainty from physical and mechanics parameters.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.287-297
• /
• 2020

This paper investigates the stability of a three-dimensional (3D) wedge under the pseudo-static action of an earthquake based on the nonlinear Barton-Bandis (B-B) failure criterion. The influences of the mechanical parameters of the discontinuity surface, the geometric parameters of the wedge and the pseudo-static parameters of the earthquake on the stability of the wedge are analyzed, as well as the sensitivity of these parameters. Moreover, a stereographic projection is used to evaluate the influence of pseudo-static direction on instability mode. The parametric analyses show that the stability coefficient and the instability mode of the wedge depend on the mechanical parameter of the rock mass, the geometric form of the wedge and the pseudo-static state of the earthquake. The friction angle of the rock φ_b, the roughness coefficient of the structure surface JRC and the two angles related to strikes of the joints θ₁ and θ₂ are sensitive to stability. Furthermore, the sensitivity of wedge height h, the compressive strength of the rock at the fracture surface JCS and the slope angle α to the stability are insignificant.