Introduction

The shear strength of a soil comprises three components: 1) frictional; 2) cohesive; and, 3) suction. In a SLOPE/W analysis, the limit equilibrium formulation requires that the frictional and cohesive components are defined regardless of the material model selected. The user can elect to set either value to zero for modeling certain pore-water pressure conditions. In contrast, suction strength is only included if the parameters are explicitly defined. The objective of this example is to review the fundamental theory, discuss various loading conditions, and then demonstrate how the strength inputs are manifest in the software.