To transcend the limitations of traditional limit-equilibrium-based slope stability analysis methods, the Force-equilibrium-based Finite Displacement Method (FFDM) was developed in 2012 by Dr. C.-C. Huang at the Department of Civil Engineering, National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, Taiwan. FFDM transforms conventional slope stability analysis into a displacement-based approach by integrating a stress-displacement constitutive law into the force equilibrium of sliced soil masses.

     FFDM serves as the core of the previous iteration of SLICE-DISP program, which has been employed in preliminary studies on groundwater-table-induced slope displacements. Follow-up experimental studies, including direct shear tests and back-analyses of slope failures, have further validated FFDM’s effectiveness in predicting slope displacements caused by internal and external factors.