Reliability of rock slopes with wedge mechanisms”. M.Sc

A model is presented for reliability of wedge mechanisms in rock slopes. Only potential sliding along the line of intersection is considered and limit equilibrium analysis is used. The action of water and the effect of incomplete joint persistence are included. The factor of safety (ratio between mean resistance and mean driving force) is calculated as an explicit function of joint orientation angles, height, slope inclination, water and resistance parameters. If some or all of these parameters are random, then safety is better measured in terms of the second moment reliability index, 3. A numerical procedure is developed and implemented for the calculation of this index. In actual calculations, only two sets of uncertain parameters are consi-dered, one set includes joint orientation angles, the other includes resistance and water parameters