Author(s)

J. De Jaeger

Abstract

Slope profile optimization J. De Jaeger Ecole Centrale des Arts et Metiers (ECAM), Brussels, Belgium Universite Catholique de Louvain, (UCL), Louvain-la-Neuve, Belguim ABSTRACT A common slope design consists in verifying the stability of an "a priori" selected profile. The analysis must check the safety factor of the hypothetical gliding surface. As this failure surface is not known, it is necessary to compute the safety factor for each possible surface, and to select the critical one which gives the minimal safety factor. The ideal slope design would select, for predetermined financial cost, the most stable slope shape maximizing the critical safety factor. Thus the optimization is typically a "max-min" problem. The purpose of the work described in this paper was to search basic rules to follow when optimizing the slope shape. It has been restricted to the elementary case of a circular gliding surface in a homogeneous dry soil. Optimization uses

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