Seismic stability analysis of a layered rock slope

In general, the determination of the factor of safety and the location of the critical slip surface are two major challenges in seismic slope stability analysis. In this paper, a new approach for determining the factor of safety and the corresponding critical slip surface of a layered rock slope subjected to seismic excitations is presented, through a case study based on the combination of the shear strength reduction technique and distinct element method. According to this proposed method, the seismic factor of safety and the critical slip surface of the slope are estimated and compared with those obtained by the pseudo-static approach, combined with the limit equilibrium method. It is found that the factor of safety obtained from the proposed method is slightly greater than that computed by the pseudo-static analysis, with a difference of 4.2%, and that the critical slip surface obtained from the two methods is identical, which confirms the reasonability and feasibility of the proposed method.