FIDING THE CRITICAL SLIP SURFACE OF A SOIL SLOPE WITH THE AID OF PARTICLE SWARM OPTIMIZATION

11th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM2011, www.sgem.org, SGEM2011 Conference Proceedings/ ISSN 1314-2704, June 20-25, 2011, Vol. 1, 459-466 pp

ABSTRACT

In the analysis of geotechnical engineering problems, limit equilibrium methods are often engaged to analyze the forces and model the problem. On the other hand, the rapid development of computing technology has equipped a large number of methods to be
employed in engineering problems, as well as geotechnical issues. These enhancement
consequences the popularity of analytical limit equilibrium methods based on computer
aid process. Finding the most critical slip surface is a challenging global optimization
problem that is always improved by the latest problem solving procedures. The recent
advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods are making it possible to incorporate advance learning capability into finding procedure of this unique surface. The Particle
Swarm Optimization (PSO) is a suitable search method for optimizing the non-linear functions which employs the concept of bird flock or fish school to gain this goal. This
paper utilizes a PSO algorithm in a limit equilibrium slope stability analysis based on
the Simplified Bishop Method to find the most critical circular slip surface of a homogenous slope as a real case study. Results show that the applied technique is able
to find the critical slip surface with a reasonable accuracy.

Keywords: Particle swarm optimization, PSO, Genetic algorithm, Slope Stability, Critical slip surface