Choosing the Safety Factor [FOUNDATIONS AND EARTH STRUCTURES]

Choosing the Safety Factor

Fundamental :

A probabilistic value must be associated with the global safety factor $F_{s}$ . Experience has shown that, barring major errors in the calculation assumptions:

Slopes always remain stable if $F_{s}$ >1.5

Sliding is almost inevitable if $F_{s}$ <1

There is an increasing risk of sliding as $F_{s}$ decreases, when 1< $F_{s}$ <1.51