Dips FAQs: Stability Analysis

Below are answers to Stability Analysis FAQs for Dips. Click on the question to read the answer.

1. Does Dips do the Markland test?

   The Markland test can be performed manually. See the tutorial - Toppling, Planar Sliding, Wedge Sliding - for an example of how you can carry out this type of analysis using Dips.

   Note: at present this type of stability analysis is not "automated" in Dips, but is relatively straightforward to carry out, using the features provided in the program.

2. Are you upgrading the software with more rock stability analysis features such as: a) Automatic display of poles to intersections of great circles for wedge stability analysis, b) Contouring of poles to intersections for potential wedge instability statistics, c) Plotting of the assumed +-20 degrees envelope for planar stability analysis?

   We intend to add these features in the next major Dips upgrade (version 6). In general, the next version of Dips should provide more automated analysis options for toppling, wedge and planar stability analysis. However we cannot say when Dips version 6 will be available.

   NOTE: the next version of Swedge (version 5) will have new and improved options for the import and analysis of Dips files, and the analysis of potential wedges. Contact software@rocscience.com for more information.

3. Is it possible to automatically highlight the potential regions of instability on a stereonet? For example, in the Toppling, Planar and Wedge Sliding tutorial, these regions are highlighted in the figures, but I cannot figure out how to do this in Dips.

   In Dips version 5 it is not possible to automatically highlight regions of instability on the stereonet for toppling, planar or wedge sliding. (The highlighting in the tutorial figures was done with an external image editing program). We plan to add this capability in Dips version 6, however we cannot say when version 6 will be available.