ABSTRACT
Failures in rock slopes can be classified into three groups: simple failure on a single plane or two intersecting planes of weakness; combined failure partly on a single plane of weakness and partly through the rock mass; complex failure through the rock mass. The paper demonstrates that only two parameters, discontinuity strength and rock mass strength, are necessary for limit equilibrium analyses of rock slopes. Careful choice of these parameters allows cohesion to be dispensed with. Prefailure deformations vary according to the class of potential failure and monitoring systems need to take this into account.
