JW Slope Overview
Browser-based 2D limit-equilibrium slope stability analysis: geometry, materials, groundwater, slip-surface search, and multiple solvers.
JW Slope is a browser-based application for 2D limit-equilibrium (LEM) slope stability analysis. It combines a CAD-style geometry editor, material zoning, groundwater definition, applied loads, ground support, and automated slip-surface search with several factor-of-safety solvers.
All computation runs locally in your browser. Geometry editing happens on an HTML5 canvas, and the numerical work is dispatched to web workers (with some solver kernels compiled to WebAssembly) so the interface stays responsive. Your models are never uploaded: nothing leaves your machine unless you explicitly export a file.
What you can do
- Build geometry with a CAD editor: external boundary, internal material regions, water tables and piezometric lines, weak layers, tension cracks, and anisotropic surfaces.
- Define materials using four strength models: Mohr-Coulomb, Generalized Hoek-Brown, Generalized Shear Function, and Generalized Anisotropic.
- Add groundwater via a water table, piezometric lines, or pressure-head settings per material.
- Apply loads: distributed loads, line loads, and seismic (pseudo-static) coefficients.
- Add ground support: End Anchored, Grouted Tieback, Soil Nail, Geosynthetic, and Pile.
- Search slip surfaces: automated circular search plus several non-circular methods (block-search polyline and metaheuristic optimizers), or supply user-defined surfaces.
- Solve with Bishop Simplified, Janbu Simplified, Spencer, and GLE (Morgenstern-Price), selectable individually or in combination.
- Organize work into projects, groups, and scenarios, with results cached per scenario so you only re-compute when inputs change.
- Import and export: read Rocscience Slide2 archives and DXF drawings, and
save to the native
.jwsproject format.
Methods at a glance
| Capability | Options |
|---|---|
| Strength models | Mohr-Coulomb, Generalized Hoek-Brown, Generalized Shear Function, Generalized Anisotropic |
| Slip-surface search | Auto-refine circular, block-search polyline, metaheuristic (PSO / Cuckoo / Differential Evolution), user-defined |
| Analysis methods | Bishop Simplified, Janbu Simplified, Spencer, GLE (Morgenstern-Price) |
| Support types | End Anchored, Grouted Tieback, Soil Nail, Geosynthetic, Pile |
| Import / export | Slide2 (.slmd / .slim), DXF, native .jws |
There is also an experimental finite-element capability (mesh generation, groundwater seepage, and stress fields). Experimental features are flagged throughout this documentation and should not be relied on for production work.
Where to go next
- Interface Tour — learn the workspace layout.
- Quick Start: First Analysis — build and solve a model end to end.
- Units & Conventions — the unit and sign conventions used throughout.
- Projects, Groups & Scenarios — organize and compare cases.
- Import & Export — move models in and out.