Behavior of Slopes under Multiple Adjacent Footings and Buildings

Abstract

This article examines the response of soil slopes under adjacent embedded strip foundations, subjected to increasing vertical load due to the gravity load of buildings. The study also considers slopes under closely spaced adjacent buildings. In addition, the article addresses the effects of horizontal earthquake loading using the simplified pseudostatic method. The response of two representative slopes was investigated using nonlinear two-dimensional finite element limit analysis with a strength reduction method. The effects of interaction between building, foundation, and slope on the sliding surface, factor of safety (FOS), and ultimate load intensity (ULI) were explored. Furthermore, the effects of integral action of building frame on slope-building interaction were investigated. It was found that the buildings/foundations mostly result in local failure of stable slopes under gravity and seismic loads. Consequently, the slope's FOS was found to be sensitive to foundation loading intensity, but in most of the considered cases it was insensitive to the number and distance between adjacent foundations and buildings.