EXSLOPE - AN EXPERT SYSTEM FOR SLOPE STABILITY

Abstract

Slopes are either a natural consequence of geological and geomorphological evaluation or the result of mankind's perceived need to modify the landscape by direct or indirect means. Careful consideration of the stability and instability of natural or non-made slope is central to good engineering practices,_and_ there now exists a large body of knowledge concerning the various parameters, variables and models which are important to a clear understanding of the processes affecting. the stability of slopes. Many of the accepted and popular methods are applicable to natural slopes as well as to man-made slopes, and may be used to assess the stability of embankments and excavations both in soil and rock. It desirable to consider and understand significant factors relevant to slope stability before beginning a study of slope analysis. An attempt has been made in this dissertation to develop the knowledge base of an expert system for analysis of slope stability- so that even a person who do not have much engineering data can find out the stability of a particular slope. Within this expert system which is an effective means of transferring the knowledge of specialists, two computer programs have been developed and employed for finding out the minimum factor of safety in soil and -rock slope. The user is required to feed the soil parameters directly or can choose the appropriate parameters suggested by the expert systems itself and display an the screen. The system can take into account the various seismic and hydrological condition of the slope. The applicability of the system has been demonstrated by solving out one problem each of soil and rock slope.