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Importance of Lower-Bound Shear Strengths in the Reliability of Spatially Random Clayey Slopes

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Abstract

The random finite element method is used to investigate the effect of including a lower-bound shear strength on the reliability of undrained slopes. The lower bound is represented by the remolded undrained shear strength, which is determined using information about the sensitivity of the clay. This lower-bound strength is used to truncate the left-hand tail of the undrained strength probability distribution. Results indicate that for clayey slopes, the probability of failure is reduced when the lower-bound strength is incorporated in the random field. This reduction allows for reducing the design factor of safety while maintaining the same risk level in the slope design.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge Professors Griffiths and Fenton for granting them (and all interested parties) access to their valuable Software that includes the formulation of the RFEM. Without this access to the software, the authors would not have ventured into the topic addressed in this paper. The authors also acknowledge the support of the University Research Board (URB) at the American University of Beirut for funding this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, American University of Beirut, PO. Box 11-0236, 1107-2020, Riad El-Solh, Beirut, Lebanon

    Shadi S. Najjar, Salah Sadek & Zeina Farah

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  1. Shadi S. Najjar
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  2. Salah Sadek
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  3. Zeina Farah
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Correspondence to Shadi S. Najjar.

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Najjar, S.S., Sadek, S. & Farah, Z. Importance of Lower-Bound Shear Strengths in the Reliability of Spatially Random Clayey Slopes. Geotech Geol Eng 38, 6623–6639 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-020-01459-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-020-01459-3

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