Study on failure mode of multistage slope based on system clustering method.

Area of Science:

• Geotechnical Engineering
• Computational Mechanics
• System Analysis

Background:

• Multistage slopes exhibit diverse failure modes due to complex geometry.
• Classifying these failure modes is crucial for accurate stability assessment.
• Existing methods may lack the ability to identify diverse failure mechanisms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel method for classifying multistage slope failure modes.
• To enable quantitative analysis and identification of diverse failure mechanisms.
• To provide a robust tool for geotechnical engineering applications.

Main Methods:

• Discretization of multistage slopes using noncommon node triangular elements.
• Establishment of a mathematical programming model using the upper and lower bound method.
• Development of a similarity calculation for slope failure modes based on the upper bound method.

Main Results:

• The upper and lower bound method yields stability analysis results consistent with finite element and limit equilibrium methods.
• The proposed method successfully identifies multiple failure modes without predefining slip surfaces.
• Quantitative analysis of failure modes is achieved through a novel similarity calculation.

Conclusions:

• The developed system clustering method offers a significant advancement in classifying multistage slope failure modes.
• The method demonstrates theoretical value and practical significance for slope engineering.
• This approach enhances the understanding and prediction of complex slope behaviors.