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An unsaturated zone or a negative pore-water pressure state in the soil is present in slopes exposed to the environment. The objective of this study is to demonstrate the changes in the computed factor of safety of a slope when the unsaturated soil zone is considered or ignored. The proposed analysis is conducted using the general limit equilibrium method. The analysis considered a two-dimensional slope of a typical embankment section assuming a simplification of pore-water pressure as hydrostatic distribution, defined through a conventional seepage analysis. The shear strength is evaluated using a non-linear equation for unsaturated soils and the Mohr-Coulomb criterion for saturated soils. The results show that the factor of safety is underestimated when the negative pore-water pressure of unsaturated soil is neglected. In contrast, if the unsaturated zone is involved, the factor of safety is higher because soil suction increases the shear strength of the soil, improving the slope stability.
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