Comparison between 2D and 3D Factors of Safety Calculated Using Shear Strength Reduction and Limit Equilibrium Methods
Maryam Saaly, Vicki Nguyen
In the proceedings of: GeoSaskatoon 2023: 76th Canadian Geotechnical ConferenceSession: Case Studies 2
ABSTRACT: Various geotechnical software can be used to calculate the slope stability for tailings dam, such as FLAC, FLAC3D, Slope/W, and Plaxis LE. The factor of safety can be estimated by shear strength reduction (SSR) or limit equilibrium (LE) methods. The accuracy of the estimated Factor of Safety (FOS) is sensitive to model parameters such as the mesh refinement in the critical zones. This paper investigates the stability assessment of a simplified geometry of a tailings dam. The presence of a thin weak foundation layer was assumed to exist below the embankment causing potential stability concerns. This weak surface extends along a limited area below the dam footprint. The same embankment geometry, geology, and material parameters were incorporated in FOS models constructed for a 2D section in FLAC and Slope/W, and a 3D model using FLAC3D and Plaxis LE. The results indicate that for the studied case, FOS obtained from the SSR and LE methods showed good agreement and the 3D FOS were higher than the FOS calculated in the 2D models.
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Saaly, Maryam, Nguyen, Vicki (2023) Comparison between 2D and 3D Factors of Safety Calculated Using Shear Strength Reduction and Limit Equilibrium Methods in GEO2023. Ottawa, Ontario: Canadian Geotechnical Society.
@inproceedings{Saaly_GEO2023_138,
author = {{Saaly, Maryam}, {Nguyen, Vicki}}
title = {Comparison between 2D and 3D Factors of Safety Calculated Using Shear Strength Reduction and Limit Equilibrium Methods }
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 76th Canadian Geotechnical Conference}
year = {2023}
organization = {The Canadian Geotechnical Society},
address = {Ottawa, Canada} }
title = {Comparison between 2D and 3D Factors of Safety Calculated Using Shear Strength Reduction and Limit Equilibrium Methods }
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 76th Canadian Geotechnical Conference}
year = {2023}
organization = {The Canadian Geotechnical Society},
address = {Ottawa, Canada} }