The technique of shear strength reduction and the criteria on the basis of non-convergence of iterative computations are incorporated into the large general-purpose FEM analysis software
ABAQUS
to automatically search for the most critical strength reduction factor as safety factor. Then
the non-convergence criterion of numerical solution is successfully used in the stability analysis of layered clay slope and multi-stage slope. Moreover
the consistency of Mohr-Coulomb yield criterion used in ABAQUS with that in traditional plasticity theory is demonstrated.