Open AccessThe role of joint spacing on the stability analysis of wedge failures
Author(s) -
Ignacio Pérez–Rey,
Juan Gabriel Preciado Moreno,
Mauro Múñiz-Menéndez
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
iop conference series. earth and environmental science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1755-1307
pISSN - 1755-1315
DOI - 10.1088/1755-1315/833/1/012095
Subject(s) - discontinuity (linguistics) , cohesion (chemistry) , wedge (geometry) , stereographic projection , safety factor , joint (building) , geology , slope stability , factor of safety , geotechnical engineering , discrete element method , shear (geology) , structural engineering , mathematics , geometry , mechanics , engineering , mathematical analysis , physics , petrology , quantum mechanics
Kinematic analyses of wedge failures in rock slopes are usually carried out based on stereographic techniques. Nevertheless, this methodology presents several limitations that could lead to poorly accurate conclusions. In line with this idea, the main objective of this work is to evaluate the effect of joint spacing in the estimation of the factor of safety of rock slopes affected by potential wedge failures. For this purpose, a 3D numerical distinct-element code (3DEC) was selected to carry out a good number of simulations in which the factor of safety a slope, affected by different discontinuity sets, was studied by using the Shear Strength Reduction (SSR) method. Different values of joint spacing, cohesion and friction angles were considered, combined with two angles of the slope face under study. The joint spacing has been found to relevantly affect the values of the factor of safety, which showed variations of up to 40% in comparison with those obtained from limit-equilibrium methods for rock slopes with similar structural features. This work provides an insight into a more realistic interpretation of rock slope analyses against wedge failures, and particularly to more accurate estimations of the factor of safety.