Discretization-Based Kinematic Analysis Method to Seismic Stability of Geosynthetic-Reinforced Slopes Involving Differing Earthquake Approaches

Abstract

For soil slopes susceptible to a potential failure, some preemptive measures in the form of reinforced structures are commonly adopted to improve stability. In this study, the seismic stability of a geosynthetic-reinforced soil slope is assessed by applying discretization-based kinematic analysis. Emphasis is placed on the consideration of earthquake input based on the pseudo-static, simple pseudo-dynamic, improved pseudo-dynamic, and modified pseudo-dynamic approaches. The reinforcement force required for maintaining a vertical soil wall is derived from the energy-based balance equation, and comparison between the solutions from these four approaches is highlighted. In order to yield a more reliable solution, a fully coupled pseudo-dynamic analysis is proposed in seismic slope stability assessment, which considers body and Rayleigh waves.