The Factor of Safety in Slope Stability Analysis is defined as the ratio of the sum of shear

strength capacity to the shear stress of the failure surface. The most common presumption is that

the factor of safety is assumed to be a constant along the entire slip surface. In order to obtain the

driving and resisting force, the horizontal and vertical forces and moment equilibrium of each

slice must be determined. (Cheng & Lau, 2008) The factor of safety can be defined as follows:

Figure 2.4 Figure 2.5

Where

W -the weight of the soil

C -cohesion
x -the weight moment arm
Su -the total stress strength
R -the resisting force

A. Force Equilibrium

This method is commonly used for translational or rotational failures of slopes consisting of

planar or non-circular slip surfaces. The factor of safety with respect to force is given by:

Fr
FOS=
Fd

Where

Fr is the resisting force

Fd is the driving force
B. MOMENT EQUILIBRIUM

This method is commonly used for rotational failures of slopes considering a circular or

planar base of critical slip surface. The factor of safety with respect to moment is given

by:

Mr
FOS=
Md

Where
Mr is the resisting moment
Md is the driving moment