Optimization variant of the shear strength reduction method and its usage for stability of embankments with unconfined seepage

Abstract

In this paper, an optimization variant of the shear strength reduction method is introduced and used for the solution of embankment stability problems with unconfined seepage. The optimization framework is based on approximations of non-associated Mohr–Coulomb plastic models with associated ones, especially by using various Davis’ approaches. Next, the finite element method is considered and mesh adaptive solution concepts are developed for both the unconfined seepage and stability problems. In-house codes in Matlab are used for their implementation. Finally, two numerical examples inspired by geotechnical practice are investigated in order to demonstrate the accuracy of the optimization framework and to evaluate three different Davis’ approaches. The results are compared with commercial codes in Plaxis and Comsol Multiphysics.