Mathematical model of probabilistic analysis for a jointed rock slope

This paper is concerned with the failure probability analysis for rock slopes with multiple planar slip surfaces or with multiple wedges. The geomechanical parameters on any slip surface of a rock slope may be corrected with those on the other slip surfaces. A Monte-Carlo simulation technique, based on the random sampling of vectors with a jointly n-dimensional normal distribution associated with the geomechanical parameters on different planar slip surfaces or on slip surfaces of different wedges, is used to simulate the failures of the slopes. The failure probabilities of rock slopes which have different slope lengths, different numbers of planar slip surfaces or different numbers of wedges are calculated. Moreover, the effect of the correlation on the failure probabilities of the rock slopes is also discussed.