Slope Stability Analysis by the Limit Equilibrium Method

Abstract

During the past 40 years, I have been engaged in a study on the stability analysis of earth slopes. The study was initiated in 1973 when I received a research grant from the Institute for Mining and Minerals Research, University of Kentucky. When the research project was completed in 1977, the U.S. Congress passed the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, which requires stability analysis for refuse dams, hollow fills, and spoil banks created by surface mining, thus putting the research into practical use. The results of the research were published in several journals and reports and also were presented in a number of short courses. Both the simplified and the computerized methods of stability analysis, as developed from this research, have been widely used by practicing engineers throughout Kentucky for the application of mining permits. The large number of out-of-state participants in the short courses indicates that the methods developed have widespread applications. In 1983, my book Stability Analysis of Earth Slopes was published by the Van Nostrand Reinhold Company. The book was well received by the engineering profession and was reprinted quite a few times. It was recommended by the Professional Civil Engineering Book Club as a feature selection and was translated into Chinese and Russian by foreign publishers. Two computer programs, one called SWASE (Sliding Wedge Analysis of Sidehill Embankments) for analyzing plane or noncircular failure surfaces, and the other called REAME (Rotational Equilibrium Analysis of Multilayered Embankments) for cylindrical failure surfaces, written in both Fortran and Basic languages, were listed in the book. In 1994, the SWASE program was incorporated into the REAME program, and a separate program for three-dimensional analysis, named REAME3D, was developed. In 1996, the first Windows version of REAME for both two- and threedimensional analyses was released and used widely by the mining industries. The program has been continuously improved, and a new version has been released every four years, culminating in the latest REAME2012. Because the name REAME is a misnomer and the computer software associated with this book is very similar to REAME2012 with only some minor changes, the name REAME has been changed to LEAME (Limit Equilibrium Analysis of Multilayered Earthworks) in this book to refl ect the capabilities of the software better. Further evolutions of the book and software have prompted their separati