Abstract: The main control variables affecting the slope stability of stone masonry retaining wall are the verticality of retaining wall i, height of retaining wall h, angle of internal friction of filler , unit weight of slope soil behind the wall , friction coefficient between the soil and the retaining wall base , friction angle between the soil and retaining wall back . In this study, the optimal orthogonal experimental design is constructed, the safety factor of stone masonry retaining wall is calculated based on Coulomb theory and the force polygon method. The slope stability is further evaluated using the cusp catastrophe theory of catastrophe. The results show that six major factors controlling slope stability of retaining wall are in an order of h, , , , I, based on their importance. In analyzing slope stability of retaining wall, slope stability can be evaluated by the mutation progression method, minimizing the effect of uncertainty in employing the traditional minimum safety factor method to evaluate the slope stability.

Key words: masonry, cusp catastrophe, slope stability, influencing factors