Three-dimensional aspects of the slope stability analysis

Slope stability analysis is essentially a three-dimensional problem. This is a direct consequence of irregular shaped sliding body and specifically refers to a number of landslides in Serbia. However, until now, a general three-dimensional stability analysis procedure has not been developed that would be applied for the sliding bodies of arbitrary shape. Instead of this, the two-dimensional cross-sectional analysis of the critical three-dimensional sliding body is the most frequently done. However, if the side or three-dimensional effects of a slope are significant, then they should be included in the stability analysis. This paper presents an approximate procedure that introduces the three-dimensional effects in the calculation of stability, and starting from this, the three-dimensional stability analysis of the landslide 'Sebecevac' was carried out. In the case when the three-dimensional effects are significant, their inclusion in the analysis makes it possible to obtain the realistic data on slope stability. This is particularly important in determining the remedial actions of landslides.