USING THE DISTINCT ELEMENTS METHOD TO SHOW THE INADEQUACY OF THE LIMIT EQUILIBRIUM METHOD IN STUDYING THE STABILITY OF FRACTURED ROCKY SLOPES

Abstract

This work is part of an area of research related to the methods used in the study of the stability of fractured rocky slopes, more precisely the classical methods based on the analysis of forces in a situation of limit equilibrium and the method of distinct elements (DEM). The two-dimensional UDEC software is used to analyze a well-designed model of a rock slope.The results obtained show that the two methods give different results in terms of sliding and reversal of the blocks constituting the slope.This study also shows the inadequacy of these classical methods in the study of the stability of rock masses in which discontinu-ities play a prevailing role.