Abstract:
Many construction projects incorporate fill or excavated slopes and require support of excavation systems and retaining walls as part of the necessary site development. These structures create unbalanced loads that require that a professional engineer perform global (overall) stability analyses to evaluate the potential failure surfaces that can develop behind and below the structure due to the unbalanced loading condition. Global stability analyses are a crucial part of the design process for these structures. If these analyses are not performed correctly, it can lead to unexpected movement or potential catastrophic failure, which poses a significant risk to public safety and adjacent property damage.
Global stability analyses are frequently performed using commercially available limit equilibrium software packages that are user-friendly, allowing an engineer to perform multiple analyses quickly and efficiently. However, the simplicity of the software interfaces and a failure to understand the details of the software analysis methodology can lead to the use of inappropriate assumptions, inaccurate analyses, and potentially unsafe analysis results.
Our presentation will detail common limit equilibrium analysis methodologies, common pitfalls encountered during global stability analyses, and strategies for successful performance.