Abstract:With the c-tanj reduction,the FEM model of slope reaches instability,and the value of the nodal displacement just after slope failure has a big jump compared with that before failure. This actually means that no stress distribution can be achieved to satisfy both the yield criterion and global equilibrium. Slope failure and numerical non-convergence take place at the same time. So non-convergence in finite element program can be taken as a suitable evaluation criterion of slope failure. The influence on safety factor precision of different yield criterions,flow rule,FEM itself is thoroughly analyzed. At the same time some measures to improve the precision are put forward. A cone characterizes the Mohr-Coulomb surface in three-dimensional stress space with the vertices in deviatoric cross section. It brings difficulty to numerical analysis. For convenience this surface can be replaced by a smooth surface yield criterion,Mohr-Coulomb equivalent area circle DP yield criterion,which was proposed by professor Xu Gancheng and Zheng Yingren in 1990. The results show that the average error of safety factors obtained by FEM with Mohr-Coulomb equivalent area circle DP yield criterion and by Spencer method is about 5%. The average error of safety factor obtained by FEM with the plane strain Mohr-Coulomb matching DP yield criterion and by Spencer method is about 2%. The strength reduction FEM can also be used in the jointed rock slope. Through a series of case studies,the applicability of the proposed method is clearly exhibited.