Seismic slope failures: a numerical investigation by the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH)

Seismic slope failure is one of the most devastating geo-hazards, and development of rational mitigation strategy has the top priority accounting for both human and economic losses. The insight mechanics of slope failures under seismic triggering provides plausible information to seismic mitigation policy. Considering the inherent limitation of experimental analysis and traditional numerical methods, this research work aims to develop a fully three-dimensional particle method using smoothed particle hydrodynamics to capture the dynamics of slope failures subjected to different seismic actions. The sensitivity of two important seismic properties, frequency and peak ground acceleration, has been checked out and the significant effect observed from a set of scaled model analysis. Normalized run-out has been found to increase about 14% and 6% with an increase in frequency and acceleration, respectively. Unlike other methods, the displacement of scratched mass has been evaluated, and somewhat comprehensive slip surface with highly displaced particles has been seen. Later, the effect of soil properties and slope gradient has been checked out and effect of slope gradient considered to be one of the critical factors other than seismic parameters. A decrease of about 60% in run-out is seen with an increase in frictional angle values. Again, about 65% drop in run-out is observed with a decrease in the steepness of slopes. In a nutshell, the research works successfully develop a tool for seismic slope failure analysis and can be a prospective tool for further verification.