Limitations of stability analysis in geotechnical practice

Case histories are used to illustrate the empirical fracture that influence the selection of the design Factor of Safety as calculated by limit equilibrium methods of stability analysis. These case histories are concerned with: 1) the behaviour of a plastic clay fill placed wet of optimum moisture content, 2) the behaviour of a structured, contractant alluvial clay subjected to embankment loading, 3) progressive failure along a weak bentonite layer during an excavation, 4) progressive failure along a brittle clay of high plasticity beneath a dam, 5) cumulative deformations in a weak dam foundation as a result of cyclic reservoir loads.