Investigation of the seismic response characteristics of a rock mass slope containing weak structural planes under seismic excitation based on multi-domain coupling analysis

Abstract

Because of the complexity of interactions between seismic waves and rock masses, the dynamic response of slopes has typical multi-domain characteristics. To fully consider the multi-domain characteristics of ground motion, the dynamic response of a rock slope containing weak structural planes was systematically investigated in the time domain, frequency domain, and time-frequency domain. Two-dimensional dynamic analyses were carried out on two numerical models, including the homogeneous slope- and slope-containing structural planes. The results show that slopes containing structural planes have dynamic topographic and geological amplification effects. Based on the frequency-domain analysis, the relationship between the frequency of waves and the dynamic response of slopes was further studied. The geological structure influences the high-frequency components of waves in slopes containing structural planes. The analyses of the marginal spectrum show that seismic energy is mainly concentrated in the frequency band of waves (7–10 Hz). In addition, the seismic failure mechanism of slopes containing structural planes was explored. Structural planes have an important effect on the seismic failure mode of slopes containing structural planes. Multi-domain coupling analysis can reveal the seismic response characteristics of slopes more comprehensively and provide a reference for the seismic design of rock slopes.

Keywords

• seismic response
• multi-domain coupling analysis
• rock slope
• structural plane
• numerical dynamic analyses