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Influence of random heterogeneity of shear wave velocity on sliding mass response and seismic deformations of earth slopes

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Abstract

Soil shear wave velocity has been recognized as a governing parameter in the assessment of the seismic response of slopes. The spatial variability of soil shear wave velocity can influence the seismic response of sliding mass and seismic displacements. However, most analyses of sliding mass response have been carried out by deterministic models. This paper stochastically investigates the effect of random heterogeneity of shear wave velocity of soil on the dynamic response of sliding mass using the correlation matrix decomposition method and Monte Carlo simulation (MCS). The software FLAC 7.0 along with a Matlab code has been utilized for this purpose. The influence of statistical parameters on the seismic response of sliding mass and seismic displacements in earth slopes with different inclinations and stiffnesses subject to various earthquake shakings was investigated. The results indicated that, in general, the random heterogeneity of soil shear modulus can have a notable impact on the sliding mass response and that neglecting this phenomenon could lead to underestimation of sliding deformations.

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Abbreviations

A :

amplification factor

ai(t):

acceleration time history at each bottom-center point i located on the slip surface

B :

thickness of the slope’s foundation

C :

correlation matrix

CoVD :

coefficient of variation of sliding displacement

CoVkmax :

coefficient of variation of maximum seismic coefficient

CoVG0 :

coefficient of variation of initial shear modulus

D :

sliding displacement

D d :

deterministic sliding displacement

f max :

maximum frequency of input motion

G 0 :

initial shear modulus

G(xi):

normal standard random field of initial shear modulus

G 0i :

lognormal random field of initial shear modulus.

H :

height of slope

k(t):

seismic coefficient time history

k max :

maximum seismic coefficient

k maxd :

deterministic maximum seismic coefficient

k y :

yielding acceleration

m i :

mass of ith block in sliding mass

M :

magnitude of earthquake

PGA:

peak ground acceleration

T s :

natural period of sliding mass

T m :

mean period of input motion

V s :

shear wave velocity

y :

maximum depth of sliding mass

β :

inclination of slope

δ :

correlation length of initial shear modulus

Δl :

maximum length of elements in the finite-difference mesh

ξ :

Rayleigh damping ratio

μ lnG0 :

mean of log initial shear modulus

μ kmax :

mean maximum seismic coefficient

μ D :

mean sliding displacement

μ G0 :

mean initial shear modulus

ρ :

correlation coefficient

σ G0 :

standard deviation of initial shear modulus

σ lnG0 :

standard deviation of log initial shear modulus

τ :

distance between any two points of the desired random field

Φ :

normal cumulative function

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental, and Materials Engineering, University of Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento, 2, 40136, Bologna, Italy

    Pourya Kazemi Esfeh & Nicholas Fantuzzi

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, Azad University of Najafabad, Najafabad, Iran

    Bahram Nadi

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  1. Pourya Kazemi Esfeh
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  2. Bahram Nadi
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  3. Nicholas Fantuzzi
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Correspondence to Nicholas Fantuzzi.

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Esfeh, P.K., Nadi, B. & Fantuzzi, N. Influence of random heterogeneity of shear wave velocity on sliding mass response and seismic deformations of earth slopes. Earthq. Eng. Eng. Vib. 19, 269–287 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11803-020-0561-2

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