Abstract
This research deals with the computational accuracy impact factors of elasto-plastic spectral element applications to slope stability. It contains three categories of impact factors: 1) modelling domain related parameters, 2) spectral parameters, and 3)X elasto-plastic parameters. Each category has many accuracy impact factors. The modelling domain and elasto-plastic related impact factors can be equally applied to the elasto-plastic finite element method, however spectral corrections can only be applied for spectral element applications. This work presents a numerical evaluation of all three impact factors to the stability factor of a slope in three representative theoretical domains of slope angle, of 26.26°, 36.69°, and 45°. In addition, the study focuses on spectral element applications to slope stability evaluation, because it is a new and reliable approach in slope stability modelling. It has several benefits over the existing modelling methods to apply for slope stability modelling: 1) geometric flexibility of the finite elements, 2) high computational efficiency, 3) reliable spectral accuracy, and 4) high numerical stability.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge to the suggestions provided by Professor Padma Bahadur Khadka from the Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University, Nepal.