ABSTRACT
In slope stability analyses, the failure surface is often assumed to be predefined as a persistent flat or circular concave plane and the slide resistance along the plane is evaluated. Though this procedure gives the safety factor based on the limit equilibrium theory, the existence of such plane is highly unlikely, and a complex interaction between pre-existing flaws, stress concentration and resulting crack generation, these are not modeled. The development of advanced numerical methods is the key issues of importance. This paper attempts to develop a numerical procedure providing means to analyze the kinetic failure process and the state of stability using a discrete approach. The ground is modeled with an assembly of mass points connected by a pair of springs, normal and tangential direction and the translational motion of each mass point is calculated by solving the equation of motion. The stress state is evaluated on each mass point.
