Abstract: In the aim of investigating the influential factors of stability of silica stone cutting slope, field survey was conducted to conclude that the failure modes of cutting slope are mainly dominated by sliding-tension and discontinuities. In the meantime, the physical and mechanical parameters of silica stone were obtained through uniaxial compressive test, tensile strength test, and direct shear test. On this basis, the influences of four factors, namely, slope gradient, spacing between discontinuities, cutting rate, and platform width, on slope stability were examined through strength reduction in finite element simulation. Results show that among the four factors, slope gradient plays a biggest role in slope stability, followed by cutting rate. Due to the special failure mode of silica stone and the diversity of cuesta cutting slope’s failure mode, various factors, rather than single factor, should be considered while evaluating the stability of silica stone cuesta cutting slope.

Key words: silica stone, cuesta, cutting slope, stability analysis, influential factors