Abstract: A new method was presented to evaluate the stability of a slope with strain-softening behavior through introducing a simplified strain compatibility equation of the slope and expanding the concept of Swedish slice method. The formula of the simplified method were derived and their algorithm was programmed into a software. The method was confirmed to be reliable and efficient by the practical applications. The slice number and assumed initial slide surface have little effect on the stability analysis accuracy. The stability factors and corresponding critical surfaces of slopes with different strain-softening behaviors were analyzed with the presented method. The results show that the factor of stability of a strain-softening slope depends not only on the strength parameters but also on the shear stress-strain relationship of soil, which is less than the one corresponding to peak strength and more than the one corresponding to residual strength by the limit equilibrium method.

Key words: slope, stability, strain-softening, slice method