Stability Analysis of Rock Slopes Subjected to Block-Flexure Toppling Failure Using Adaptive Moment Estimation Method (Adam)

Finding the failure surface and analyzing the stability of an anti-dip bedding rock slope (ABRS) with the potential of block-flexure toppling failure are still a troublesome issue. In this work, we combine force-transfer model (FTM) and Adaptive Moment Estimation method (Adam) to propose a new approach called FTM–Adam method for analyzing the stability of ABRSs. The results of a centrifuge test and 4 UDEC models are used to verify the feasibility of this method. Moreover, a comparison of the FTM–Adam and FTM–GA is carried out. The results show that the FTM–Adam can efficiently find the failure surface and the corresponding safety factor of ABRSs. The comparison between the results of FTM–Adam and the simulation results shows that the RMSE of the failure surface (represented by the artificial design variables) is 0.2198, and the deviation of the safety factor is 5.39%, which is sufficient for the application in practice. Results show that the efficiency of the FTM–Adam method is 30 times higher than that of FTM–GA. The main limitation of the FTM–Adam method is that the choosing of the initial failure surface has inevitable influence on the final optimization result. An inclined plane located 10°–20° above the normal plane to the continuous joints is suggested to be the initial failure surface according to previous observations. Highlights A theoretical method is proposed for assessing the stability of rock slopes against block-flexure toppling failure using Adam. The complex failure surface of rock slopes subjected to block-flexure toppling can be found using the proposed method. The proposed method has high computational efficiency and can be applied in practice.