A Novel Chart Method for Seismic Stability of 3D Hoek–Brown Rock Slope Considering Dynamic Characteristics of Ground Motion

Abstract

A novel stability chart solution is presented to help the rapid assessment of the seismic stability of three-dimensional rock slopes subjected to the Hoek–Brown criterion. The present method incorporates the dynamic characteristics of the ground motion, addressing the significant limitation of most previous charts that are based on the pseudostatic (PS) assumption. In the current investigation, the seismic safety factors (Fs) required in the chart were first calculated using the kinematic analysis method with a pseudodynamic (PD) assumption. The proposed method can well capture the effect of the seismic dynamic characteristics on Fs, its high efficiency being of particular importance to the larger computational demand for constructing the chart solutions. The difference between the estimated Fs of this study and the PS results are highlighted, and the underlying reasons are explained. Then the new chart method is proposed, based on two correction factors, and with their assistance, a PS-based chart solution can be readily modified to that of the PD Fs. The factor functions were deduced by fitting 1,600 sets of data, verified by additional data. Finally, a case study is presented that shows that the present chart method provides a more realistic Fs for the seismic stability analysis of rock slopes.