Seismic bearing capacity of non-uniform soil slopes using discretization-based kinematic analysis considering Rayleigh waves

Abstract

This study aims to present a procedure for predicting the bearing capacity of a soil slope under seismic loading. The emphasis is on the variations of soil strength parameters. In order to account for soil profile with varying friction angles in the generation of a potential collapse mechanism, the discretization technique is introduced. The kinematically admissible failure surface is gradually formed by ‘point-to-point’ method. The modified pseudo-dynamic approach is employed to represent seismic accelerations and forces, with considerations to the Rayleigh wave apart from the primary and shear waves. The upper bound solution of limiting surcharge is formulated from the work rate-based balance equation. The results obtained from the discretization-based kinematic analysis are compared with those computed with the conventional upper bound analysis using the pseudo-static approach. In order to better understand the implication of non-uniform strength parameters on the ultimate bearing capacity and the extent of critical failure surface, a parametric study is carried out to encompass a range of spatial variations of soil strength parameters.