Seequent, The Bentley Subsurface Company, has announced the release of SLOPE3D, an advanced slope stability analysis tool that, it says, empowers geotechnical engineers and engineering geologists to design safer slopes.

Building on the capabilities of GeoStudio’s trusted 2D SLOPE/W product, SLOPE3D is an intuitive limit equilibrium solution for analysing rock and soil slopes in mining and civil projects – for example, hillslopes, open-pit mines, and engineered structures such as dams and levees.

Chris Kelln, Director, Technical Solutions for GeoStudio, said, “SLOPE3D combines the most up-to-date research on 3D slope analysis techniques with the capabilities in SLOPE/W, a trusted tool for assessing 2D slope stability for over 30 years, providing a practical approach for capturing slope failure mechanisms for simple to complex geotechnical models.”

Kelln added: “Ensuring the safety and reliability of engineered projects is at the heart of geotechnical engineering. We specifically designed SLOPE3D to empower geotechnical and geological engineers to make confident decisions, improve safety, reduce project risks and costs and ultimately design better infrastructure.”

GeoStudio’s powerful and easy-to-use interface provides a unique modelling and analysis experience, according to the company. Multiple 3D geometries and analyses can be added to a single project and solved simultaneously. Geo-professionals can include SLOPE3D analyses in existing 2D stability projects for efficient results comparison.

SLOPE3D connects directly with Seequent’s geological modelling software, Leapfrog, via Seequent Central, and integrates with GeoStudio’s SEEP3D. This creates a seamless workflow with smooth data exchange and simpler data management to improve project accuracy and outcomes.