Slope stability of earth dams with incline cores (static and seismic models)

One of the major domains of the field of geotechnical design is the stability evaluation of slope stability of earth dams, as the collapse of the sides could result in serious loss of human life or property destruction. To satisfy both safety and costs, it is crucial to set up the dam in this way. The Geo-Studio is used in this work to calculate the factor of safety upstream and downstream for an earth dam structure with an inner core of an inclination α = (90°, 50°, 30°) for various dam materials (by using different permeability for core and shell) and geometrical layouts in both static and dynamic situations. It was found that the decrease in the slope of the core affects the value factor of safety upstream and downstream. As the core angle is decreased α (90° to 30°), the rate of reduction is 3.67% and 2.09% for F.SU/S and F.SD/S, respectively. While decreasing α (90° to 50°), causes a rate of reduction of 0.91% and 0.52% for F.SU/S and F.SD/S, respectively. F.SU/S and F.SD/S have a larger static than dynamic (seismic) load, with an average range (0.75-2) % for F.SU/S, and (1-11) % for F.SD/S. Based on the results, empirical equations are developed with a correction factor (R2) of more than 92%, used to estimate the factor of safety for both upstream and downstream dam slopes.