Stability analysis method for bedding rock slopes under seismic load

The seismic load is considered as a dynamic load, which results in the loss of the cohesion and tensile strength of the structural face. A new stability analysis method is proposed based on the dynamic analysis approach and the limit equilibrium method. For getting the dynamic safety factor, the continuum-based discrete element method considered as a dynamic analysis approach is adopted to get the residual strength, and then the limit equilibrium method is used to calculate the safety factor under gravity according to the residual strength. The analysis shows that it is unsuitable using the pseudo-static method to evaluate the dynamic stability of bedding rock slopes. Three-stage feature (horizontal stage, quick-decline stage and horizontal stage) of dynamic safety factor can be obviously gotten by the proposed method, while the safety factor decreases gradually with the increase of the fortification intensity by the pseudo-static method. Moreover, the dynamic safety factor affected by the seismic frequency can also be obtained by the new method.