Plastic limit analysis on stability of jointed rock slopes using finite elements

The plastic limit analysis was applied to calculate the stability of jointed rock slopes.The mechanical characteristics of jointed rock mass were controlled by the orientation and strength of the joint set.The jointed rock materials were regarded as anisotropically homogenous ones.Anisotropic yield condition was adopted in the numerical plastic limit analysis,and the mathematical models of the lower bound and the upper bound were established.They could be used to evaluate the stability of jointed rock slope.