Slope stability analysis under seismic load by vector sum analysis method

Abstract The vibration characteristics and dynamic responses of rock and soil under seismic load can be estimated with dynamic finite element method (DFEM). Combining with the DFEM, the vector sum analysis method (VSAM) is employed in seismic stability analysis of a slope in this paper. Different from other conventional methods, the VSAM is proposed based on the vector characteristic of force and current stress state of the slope. The dynamic stress state of the slope at any moment under seismic load can be obtained by the DFEM, thus the factor of safety of the slope at any moment during earthquake can be easily obtained with the VSAM in consideration of the DFEM. Then, the global stability of the slope can be estimated on the basis of time-history curve of factor of safety and reliability theory. The VSAM is applied to a homogeneous slope under seismic load. The factor of safety of the slope is 1.30 under gravity only and the dynamic factor of safety under seismic load is 1.21. The calculating results show that the dynamic characteristics and stability state of the slope with input ground motion can be actually analyzed. It is believed that the VSAM is a feasible and practical approach to estimate the dynamic stability of slopes under seismic load.