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SLOPE/W Example File: Comparison with infinite slope.docx (pdf) (gsz) Page 1 of 4
Comparison with Infinite Slope
1 Introduction
The objective of this example is to illustrate how an infinite slope can be modeled using SLOPE/W. Since
a closed form solution is also available in the case of an infinite slope, the secondary purpose of this
example is to verify SLOPE/W by comparing its computed factors of safety with the closed form
solution. Three cases of an infinite slope are considered. Other features of this analysis include:
Analysis method: Spencer
Homogeneous material
Use of fully-specified slip surface
Presence of a dry tension crack
Use of Ru coefficients
SI units
2 Configuration and set-up
A 2:1 homogeneous slope is used as illustrated in Figure 1. The key in modeling an infinite slope is to use
a fully specified slip surface and a tension crack line. A fully specified slip surface defined parallel to the
slope was used to ensure that all slices are having the same thickness, which is the condition of an infinite
slope. The tension crack line is used to force the first and last slices to go vertically up, so that even the
first and last slices will have the same thickness as the rest of the sliding mass).

Figure 1 Homogeneous infinite slope
Fully specify slip surface
Tension crack line
Infinite slope
Distance
-5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
E
l
e
v
a
t
i
o
n
-2
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
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3 Closed Form Solution
Three cases of the closed form solutions are considered. The factors of safety for the three cases are
calculated using the parameters shown in Table 1 Parameter values used for infinite slope analyses.
Table 1 Parameter values used for infinite slope analyses
Parameter Values Used
Case 1 Case 2 Case 3
Frictional Angle,
(degrees)
35 35 35
Cohesion, c
(kPa)
0 0 5
Pore-water Coefficient, ru
0 0.25 0.25
Unit Weight,
(kN/m
3
)
19.62 19.62 19.62
Steepness,
(degrees)
26.565 (2:1 slope) 26.565 (2:1 slope) 26.565 (2:1 slope)
Vertical Height, H
(m)
1.0 1.0 1.0

Case 1: Dry Frictional Material with No Cohesion
For a dry infinite slope consisting of a frictional material with no cohesion, the factor of safety is:
|
o
'
= =
tan tan35
Factor of Safety = 1.400
tan tan26.565

Case 2: Wet Frictional Material with No Cohesion
For a frictional material with no cohesion under the conditions of flow parallel to the slope (i.e., pore-
water pressure characterized by R
u
), the factor of safety is:
( )
( )
|
o
o
'
=
=
=
2
2
tan
Factor of Safety 1 sec
tan
1 0.25 sec 26.565 1.400
0.963
u
R

Case 3: Wet Frictional Material with Cohesion
For a frictional material with cohesion under the conditions of flow parallel to the slope, the factor of
safety is:
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SLOPE/W Example File: Comparison with infinite slope.docx (pdf) (gsz) Page 3 of 4
( )
|
o
o o o
' '
= +
= +

=
2
tan
Factor of Safety 1 sec
cos sin tan
5.0
0.963
19.62 1.0 cos26.565 sin26.565
1.600
u
c
R
H

4 SLOPE/W Solutions
The three cases of the infinite slope are analyzed using SLOPE/W. The sliding mass is simulated with 30
slices. Figure 2 illustrates the solution for Case 1, when the Spencer method is used.

Figure 2 SLOPE/W solution of the infinite slope case
Table 2 tabulates the comparison of the three cases between the closed form solutions and the SLOPE/W
solutions. Factors of safety for the Bishop Simplified method and the Spencer method are presented.
Table 2 Comparison of SLOPE/W solutions with closed form solutions for an infinite slope
Case | c Ru Factor of Safety
Closed Form
Solution
SLOPE/W Bishop
Simplified
SLOPE/W
Morgenstern-Price
1 35 0.0 0.0 1.400 1.402 1.402
2 35 0.0 0.25 0.963 0.964 0.964
3 35 5.0 0.25 1.600 1.595 1.595
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5 Conclusion
Infinite slope can be modeled quite easily with SLOPE/W. In all the above three infinite slope cases, the
factors of safety computed by SLOPE/W are essentially identical to the closed form solutions for the
infinite slope. This simple example confirms that SLOPE/W is formulated correctly.