Abstract: There are many natural hazards caused by the slope instability, in this paper, the stability simulation of a clayey slope using the strength reduction method is compared with the theoretical method. A better way to predict and to prevent hazards caused by the slope instability in advance are obtained through the numerical analysis. In this paper, the numerical simulation software ABAQUS is used to establish the prediction model. Then, the theoretical method includes Sweden slice method and the Bishop’s slice method are used to evaluate the model. Through the comparative analysis, the results of ABAQUS numerical simulation software are very close to the theoretical methods, but the numerical simulation is more convenient and fast, and the stability and the safety factor of the slope can be obtained directly without assuming the position of the sliding surface in advance, and the displacement, stress and plastic zone of each point of slope at different times can be obtained.

Key words: Strength Reduction, Sweden Slice Method, Bishop’s Slice method, Slope Stability