Abstract:An element model in which a shear band crosses through the element is presented. By way of the minimum potential energy principle in the element,the displacements of the new internal nodes which are produced by the shear band crossing the element boundary are related with the peripheral nodes of the element;thereby the equivalent stiffness matrix and equivalent load vector are obtained. And then put the shear band elements together with the other common elements to assemble the total stiffness matrix and total load vector. The progressive failure process is simulated by using the shear band element model and the automatic tracking procedure. The effects of the cohesion,friction angle and residual strength coefficients on the slide track and safety factor of slope are analyzed. The computing results show that the slide track obtained by considering the progressive failure is similar to the catenary but not to the circular arc,which is accordant with the results obtained from practical observation and theoretical analysis. The further studies show that the slide track is not only related to the stress and strength in the slope,but also related to the history of failure. The strength parameters have slight effects on the slide track,but have relative strong effects on the safety factor of slope.