Stability analysis of slopes in anisotropic and heterogeneous clay by LSM-based SRFEM

This paper presents a method for analyzing slope stability in anisotropic and heterogeneous clay using a strength reduction finite element method (SRFEM) integrated with the level set method (LSM). Anisotropy refers to the inherent anisotropy in the clay's strength, while heterogeneity describes the spatial variability in strength parameters. The static LSM uses a zero level set function to model heterogeneous clay slopes. The method is validated through undrained slope stability analyses on different types of anisotropic clay and heterogeneous fields, showing its effectiveness in modeling anisotropic shear strength and capturing the characteristics of heterogeneous regions. The results indicate that the proposed method accurately predicts factors of safety and slip surfaces across various soil conditions, accounting for both anisotropic and heterogeneous characteristics.