Introduction

The primary means of defining the weight of the soil in a slope stability analysis is to specify the total unit weight. Generally, unit weight is seen as being substantially less above the water table, given that, this soil is unsaturated. In reality, there is no sharp break in unit weight at the water table as the soil remains saturated in the capillary zone (above the water table) and diminishes with distance above this zone. Ultimately, the unit weight above the water table is variable because it depends on the water content. This example considers three different options for defining the total unit weight of a soil in SLOPE/W analyses.