Three calculation methods for stability analysis of footwall slopes

摘要

Footwall slopes refer to bedding rock slopes in which the slope face is parallel to a set of persistent discontinuities, which exist extensively in opencast mine. Stability evaluation of the footwall slopes is significant for theoretical study and engineering application. In this paper, taking a certain footwall slope for the example, three calculation methods were compared for stability analysis of the footwall slopes. Firstly, calculation parameters of the rock masses and discontinuities were obtained through site tests and laboratory tests. Secondly, a strength reduction program was written using fish language and applied to the Ubiquitous-Joint Model in the finite difference method. Thirdly, a limit equilibrium method to calculate safety factor of the footwall slopes was proposed. In this case, the persistent discontinuities in footwall slopes were simulated by lamellar materials. Finally, comparison of the results, respectively, obtained by the finite difference method, the discrete element method and the limit equilibrium method were conducted. The results show that the safety factors determined by the three methods are consistent.