• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.25-32
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• 2016

The two-dimensional (2D) analysis is widely used in geotechnical engineering for slope stability analysis assuming a plane-strain condition. It is implicitly assumed that the slip surface is infinitely wide, and thus three-dimensional (3D) end effects are negligible because of the infinite width of the slide mass. The majority of work on this subject suggests that the 2D factor of safety is conservative (i.e. lower than the 'true' 3D factor of safety). Recently, the 3D finite element method (FEM) became more attractive due to the progress of computational tools including the computer hardware and software. This paper presents the numerical analyses on rotational mode and translational mode slopes using the 2D and 3D FEM as well as 2D limit equilibrium methods (LEM). The results of the parametric study on the slope stability due to mesh size, dilatency angle, boundary conditions, stress history and model dimensions change are analysed. The analysis showed that the factor of safety in 3D analysis is always higher than that in the 2D analysis and the discrepancy of the slope width in W direction on the factor of safety is ignored if the roller type of W direction conditions is applied.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.1027-1035
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• 2013

In this study, two rainfall patterns are utilized for practical consideration of rainfall phenomena in unsaturated soil slope design. One is the I.D.F (Intensity-Duration-Frequency) method which is an existing design rainfall method and ignores the effect of the variation of the rainfall according to the time. The other is the Huff method which considers this effect oppositely. First, the safety of factor of the slope according to the variation of an initial suction which means the precedent rainfall effect was examined by means of the application of the I.D.F method. Through the application of two rainfall patterns, it was discussed how the rainfall pattern affects the factor of safety of the slope. As a result, it is found that the Huff method is more practical on the evaluation of the slope stability than the I.D.F method.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.47-52
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• 2015

In the slope stability analysis and design, Limit Equilibrium Method (LEM) and Shear Strength Reduction technique (SSR) are mainly used. Both methods are able to perform two and three dimensional analysis. SSR is considered to be more sensitive and more reasonable than LEM by many researchers. However, in practice LEM is still widely used because of the increase of analysis time and complexity of the model in SSR. In this study, three dimensional analysis of the protruding rock slope is performed by SSR in order to study the effects of protruding length using rock slope FLAC 3D. In this study, as results of analysis variations of the safety factor have been studied according to slope angle, slope height, the soil strength, protruding slope length projected variables. The results show that the factor of safety as more affected by the shapes of the protruding rock slope than the rock strength.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2000.11b
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• pp.213-220
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• 2000

Numerical modeling of cut slope has some limits in simulating the real slopes. In the case of 2D analysis of slope stability, it is assumed that slope is simply straight even when it is concave or convex in plan view. In this study, 3D analysis in curved shape slopes has been conducted for the comparison with 2D analysis in terms of failure mode and factor of safety. For this, 3D analysis by FLAC3D was compared with 2D analysis in plane strain condition and axi-symmetric model condition by FLAC. It was also observed how safety factors of slopes were affected by the variation of the tensile strength and cohesion, which are important variables to decide whether the slope fails or not. 2D analysis of concave slopes under plane strain condition showed much smaller safety factors by 16-40 % errors depending on the radius of curvature of slopes, compared to the more realistic values from 3D analysis. In case of convex slopes, the lower values by 7-10 % has been reported. 2D analysis of axi-symmetric model showed also smaller safety factors by 6-10 % and by 2-4 %, in case of concave and convex slopes, respectively. Such results are expected to contribute to the better understanding of failure process and could be applied for improved design of slopes.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.381-391
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• 2007

A series of talus slope stability analyses were carried out using 2D FEM and 3D limit equilibrium methods for this study. The FEM analyses on Phase 2 were performed to delineate failure depths based on stress distributions for each slope. The results revealed that the failure surface exist in the colluvium layer of about 3-10 m thickness. Three dimensional models, derived from the FEM analyses and geological field survey, were made for the use in a 3D limit equilibrium analysis. The result shows that all the talus slopes are stable under dry condition, but unstable under saturated condition due to heavy rain.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.483-503
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• 2017

Uncertainty is a fact belonging to engineering practice. An important uncertainty that sets geotechnical engineering is the variability associated with the properties of soils or, more precisely, the characterization of soil profiles. The reason is due largely to the complex and varied natural processes associated with the formation of soil. Spatial variability analysis for the study of the stability of natural slopes, complementing conventional analyses, is able to incorporate these uncertainties. In this paper the characterization is performed in back-analysis for a case of landslide occurred to verify afterwards the presence of the conditions of shear strength at failure. This approach may support designers to make more accurate estimates regarding slope failure responding, more consciously, to the legislation dispositions about slope stability evaluation and future design. By applying different kriging techniques used for spatial analysis it has been possible to perform a 3D-slope reconstruction. The predictive analysis and the areal mapping of the soil mechanical characteristics would support the definition of priority interventions in the zones characterized by more critical values as well as slope potential instability. This tool of analysis aims to support decision-making by directing project planning through the efficient allocation of available resources.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.177-183
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• 2008

In the study, we carried out a 3-D analysis to assess the influence of groundwater level changes on the slope stability, conducting a series of back-numerical analysis to delineate the critical line of the shear strength of the failure surface of a landslide, and a laboratory test to determine the geo-mechanical properties of soil samples. The analysis result shows that the shear strength determined by the laboratory test was distributed below the critical line of shear strength estimated by back-analysis. Differences between driving and resisting force were also analyzed in groundwater conditions of dry and saturation. It appeared that the stress gets greater towards the slope center of the landslide, and the debris mass moves downwards. According to the analysis, the factor of safety becomes 1 with the rise of foundwater level up to -0.85 m from the slope surface, while the slope tends to stay stable during dry seasons.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.727-742
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• 2020

Point cloud-based 3D maps can obtain many kinds of information for maintenance work on forest road networks. This study was conducted to compare the importance of each factor to select the factors required for the mapping of 3D forest road maps. This can be used as basic data for attribute information required to maintain forest road networks. The results of this study found that out of a total of 30 indexes extracted for mapping 3D forest roads, a total of 21 indexes related to stakeholder groups were significantly different. The importance of the index required by the civil service group was significantly higher than that of the other groups overall. In the case of the academic group, the index importance for cut slope, fill slope, and drainage facility was significantly higher. On the other hand, the index importance for the forestry cooperative and forest professional engineer group was mostly distributed between the civil servants' group and the academic group. In particular, the type of drainage system showed the highest value among the detailed indexes. Overall, drainage related factors in this survey had high coefficient values. The impact of water on forest roads was the most important part in road maintenance. In addition, the soil texture had a high value in relation to slope stability. This is thought to be because the texture of the soil affects the stability of the slope.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.637-644
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• 2022

Loess soils are unsaturated and widely distributed in the northwest zone in China. Many steep slope of unsaturated are observed are observed to be naturally stable. However, a low factor of safety (FoS) for these slopes would be computed from the slope stability analysis following local code practices. It seems that the analyzed results following the local code practices do not agree with the real condition as observed in the field. It is commonly known that soil suction plays an important role in slope stability due to a higher shear strength of the unsaturated soil as compared with that of the saturated soil. In this paper, it is observed that the computed FoS can also be affected by unsaturated unit weight of the soil. However, the effect of unsaturated unit weight of the soil on the slope stability is commonly ignored in engineering practice. Therefore, both the effects of shear strength and unit weight of the unsaturated soil on the computed FoS of unsaturated soil slope are investigated in this study. It is observed that the unsaturated unit weight of soil on the computed FoS increases with increase in slope angle. It is also observed that the effects of the unsaturated shear strength and unsaturated unit weight on the computed FoS are more significant than the effect of 3D analyses compared to the 2D analyses on the FoS.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.621-640
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• 2019

Quantitative stability assessment of underground cavities can be presented as a factor of safety based on the Shear Strength Reduction Method (SSRM). Also, SSRM is one of the stability evaluation methods commonly used in slope stability analysis. However, there is a lack of research that considers the relationship between the probability of occurrence of cavities in the ground and the potential failure surface of the slope at the same time. In this study, the effect of small underground cavities on the failure behavior of the slope was analyzed by using SSRM. Considering some of the glaciology studies, there is a case that suggests that there is a cavity effect inside the glacier in the condition that the glacier slides. In this study, the stability evaluation of underground cavities and slope stability analysis, where SSRM is used in geotechnical engineering field, was carried out considering simultaneous conditions. The slope stability analysis according to the shape and position change of underground cavities which are likely to occur in the lower part of a mountain road was analyzed by using SSRM in FLAC3D software and the influence of underground cavities on the slope factor of safety was confirmed. If there are underground cavities near slope potential failure surface, it will affect the calculation of a factor of safety. The results of this study are expected to be basic data on slope stability analysis with small underground cavities.