LAUSR

An improved semi-analytical method for calculating the reliability of 3D slopes with spatially varying shear strength parameters is proposed. The response of an existing semi-analytical method has been compared with that of the computationally more intensive, but more general, random finite element method (RFEM), demonstrating that the simpler method underestimates the failure probability. An alternative relationship for the expected failure length and two correction factors are proposed, which modify the original formulation of the simpler method. The proposed approach gives substantially improved results that compare favourably with those obtained by RFEM, and therefore provides a more accurate simplified solution.