The contribution of particle swarm optimization to three-dimensional slope stability analysis

Area of Science:

• Geotechnical Engineering
• Computational Mechanics

Background:

• Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) widely used for 2D slope stability.
• Limited application of PSO in three-dimensional (3D) slope stability analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• Apply PSO to determine the critical slip surface (CSS) in 3D soil slopes.
• Introduce a general rotating ellipsoid particle for 3D analysis.
• Evaluate PSO's effectiveness and efficiency in 3D slope stability.

Main Methods:

• Detailed description of the adopted PSO algorithm.
• Introduction of a rotating ellipsoid particle shape for 3D analysis.
• Sensitivity analysis to optimize PSO parameters.
• Validation using example problems and comparison with PLAXI-3D and other optimization methods.

Main Results:

• PSO effectively determines the critical slip surface (CSS) in 3D soil slopes.
• Demonstrated efficiency and effectiveness compared to finite element software and other optimization techniques.
• Optimized PSO parameters through sensitivity analysis.

Conclusions:

• PSO is a viable and efficient tool for 3D slope stability analysis.
• The proposed rotating ellipsoid particle is suitable for 3D analysis.
• Further contributions of PSO to 3D slope stability are anticipated.