Use of line segments slip surface for optimized design of piles in stabilization of the earth slopes

Stabilization of earth slopes with various proposed methods is one of the important concerns of geotechnical engineering. In this practice, despite numerous developments, design conservativeness and high costs of stabilization are the issues yet to be addressed. This paper not only deals with pile location optimization but also studies the effects of the pile length by using line segments slip surface (non-circular). Taking into account the line segments slip surface in stabilization of earth slopes is a new topic which has been addressed in this paper. The line segments slip surface is actual slip surface and for determining the pile location it can lead to the actual length of the pile. The line segments critical slip surface is obtained by using the Alternating Variable Local Gradient (AVLG) optimization method. AVLG is an approach in optimization process and it is based on the Univariate method. The line segments form the initial and critical slip surface. Pile improper installation and inadequate length not only fails to increase the factor of safety, but also reduces it. The analyses are performed using the limit equilibrium (LE) method. Results of these analyses are acceptable and are properly consistent with the results obtained by other researchers.