ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a general review of the advances in the applications of limit equilibrium and Finite Element Methods (FEM) for slope stability analysis. The finite element method normally gives information of stress and strain fields. Various approaches have been proposed to transfer them to the factor of safety that is a common concern in engineering practice. The FEM offers an alternative that is more rigorous, being free of the assumptions regarding static indeterminacy, and descriptive, being able to provide both stress and deformation information. FEM normally does not give an explicit result for factor of safety, which limits its applicability in engineering judgments. The chapter reviews the use of finite element method for slope stability analysis with particular attentions to the strength reduction approach (SRF). The most important contribution of SRF is that it makes geotechnical calculations by FEM selfcheckable and reproducible.
