Polygonal Failure Surface

Create Polygonal Failure Surfaces in Slope Stability Analysis (SAM, LEM).

Applicable Modules:

From the Main Menu, select Limit Equilibrium Method > Boundaries > Polygonal Failure Surface

From the Command Line, type 'PolygonalSurface'

Boundary Set

Select the Boundary Set under which the Polygonal Failure Surface has to be assigned . Click to invoke the Define Boundary Set dialog to Add, Modify or Delete Boundary Set(s).

X, Z

Mouse-click on the model view to create a Polygonal Failure Surface which registers the X, Z coordinates. The coordinates in the table can be Added, Modified or Deleted which will be reflected in the model.

After creating the boundary condition, the dialog box will close upon clicking.

Click the ESC key to close the dialog box.

After creating the boundary condition, the work process will switch to the state of new name entry upon clicking.

Note: Right-click to end defining the surface at the last point or click on Apply. This will register the boundary condition and the dialog is then ready for a new name entry.  

A Polygonal Failure Surface is generally used when a known weak ground layer is present in the slope, which is considered to be a dominant failure surface as opposed to Arc Failure Surface.