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Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology
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Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology; 1979; v. 12; issue.1; p. 3-7;
DOI: 10.1144/GSL.QJEG.1979.012.01.02
© 1979 Geological Society of London

Article

Simple equations for determining the Factor of Safety of a planar wedge under various groundwater conditions

B. Stimpson

Dept of Mineral Engineering, University of Alberta, , Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2G6, Canada.

In this paper, some simple equations are developed for determining the Factor of Safety of slopes against planar sliding under a variety of groundwater conditions. The latter include a dry slope (with or without a tension crack), a saturated slope (with or without a tension crack), and partly saturated slopes with conditions of horizontal or bi-linear phreatic surfaces. The simple equations provide a means of rapidly determining Factors of Safety using a pocket calculator in situations where an approximate first estimate is required. The general equation can be used to calculate Factors of Safety for non-linear phreatic surfaces.