• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.14 no.4 s.41
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• pp.451-460
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• 2004

The strength of sliding plane is usually assigned on the whole sliding plane with same value in 2D limit equilibrium slope stability method. However, the potential sliding plane is divided into two or three parts which have different sliding resistances. According to the calculation results of 3D slope stability analyses using 4 types of slope cutting models, marginal sliding resistance could affect the safety of slope significantly. In this calculation two kinds of the sliding plane strengths were applied differently to the parts of bottom and margin of the model slope. The effect of marginal resistance was calculated quantitatively. In case of lower sliding resistance of the bottom, the safety factor becomes low in a margin cutting model. However, in case of higher sliding resistance of the bottom, the safety factor decreased slightly in a lower part cutting model and increased in a upper margin cutting model.