Slope stability analysis using probabilistic approach

Abstract

Monte Carlo simulation is a method for calculating a deterministic model iteratively using sets of random numbers as inputs, it’s was used widely in probabilistic analysis of slope stability determining  the  minimum safety factor and predicting of slope instability. This paper presents a method of slope stability analysis based on the Hovland method and using the Monte Carlo simulation that defined two parameters as random variable, the cohesion and the friction angle of the soil. In order to evaluate the efficiency and applicability of the proposed method, an example of a slope located in northern Morocco is presented in this study. The results show that the minimum safety factors calculated in this study are very close to those obtained by other researchers, which also revealed that the present method could be applied to predict the stability of homogenous slopes.