Development of an educational software for the assessment of natural slope stability

Resumo

The analysis of natural slope stability is critical for reducing or mitigating potential catastrophic risks associated with landslides. This kind of disaster not only generates substantial economic and material losses but also creates significant threats to human safety. Landslides occur when forces acting down-slope exceed the soil strength of slopes. In particular, critical factors such as the slope gradient and the thickness of the soil layer can increase such forces, making a slope prone to sliding. Another cause for landslides is rainfall because it can increase the forces acting in the slope (such as the soil weight) or reduce the soil strength (such as the soil cohesion and friction angle), in particular under unsaturated conditions. The deterministic approaches based on numerical or limit equilibrium methods are used to check slope stability through the computation of the Factor of Safety (FOS). However, the impact of the slope geometric features, soil properties or rainfall cannot be assessed unless sensitivity studies are carried out, making difficult the learning process of slope stability. Therefore, in this study, we introduce an educational software for the quick assessment of FOS in natural slopes. The application allows the analyses of FOS considering input data such as 3D declivity maps, soil thickness, soil properties and rainfall intensity. The application boasts user-friendly navigation and delivers real-time results, enabling sensitivity analyses of the safety factor concerning parameters, alongside risk appraisal and prognostication of local condition changes following rainfall episodes.