based on the primary assumptions of limit equilibrium method and the mechanism of circular sliding
combining features of radial slice method
the mechanical analysis is conduced to derive a new iterative computational formula of factor of safety(FOS)of soil slope stability
and a new slice method
arc-to-center slice method
is obtained.Based on this method
aprogram is made in FORTRAN language.Through analyzing examples
it shows that the convergence of iterative computation of arc-to-center slice method is fast and stable and both the minimum FOS and critical sliding surface are close to the results of existing methods
which shows the correctness of arc-to-center slice method.Secondly
the influence of the position of normal force between slices on the results of computation is analyzed
which shows the rationality of the assumption that the position of the normal force between slices is at one third of the length of the slice side.