Dissipated Energy as the Evaluation Index for the Double Reduction Method

The double reduction method (DRM) is used to evaluate slope stability by weakening the two strength parameters in the Mohr-Coulomb criteria with two different reduction coefficients. The literature suggests various optimal reduction coefficient combinations (RCCs), but there is a lack of a suitable index to evaluate these combinations. The dissipated energy corresponds to the degree of material damage and the release of anti-sliding force of a slope. The higher the released anti-sliding force, the more serious the damage of the slope and the greater the associated dissipation of energy. Homogeneous slope examples show that different RCCs result in different dissipated energies when a slope becomes unstable. The dissipated energy can be used as an evaluation index to find the relative optimal RCC, which releases the greatest anti-sliding force of a slope from alternative RCCs. At the present stage, this method is limited only to homogeneous slope with two reduction coefficients.

Automated summary

The double reduction method (DRM) is a method used to evaluate slope stability by weakening the strength parameters and using different reduction coefficients. Dissipated energy is used to measure the degree of material damage and release of anti-sliding force. Different reduction coefficients result in different dissipated energies.