Numerical parametric study of seismic dynamic response and amplification effects of slope topography

In this paper, the implicit dynamic finite element method was applied to analyze the seismic dynamic response and amplification effects of slope topography with different slope angles and heights. With the peak displacement amplification factor （PDA） as the measurement of the amplification effects of seismic waves, the seismic dynamic response based on the PDA under the different conditions was investigated. And then the topographical amplification effects of seismic waves were investigated by analyzing the output waveforms of key monitoring points in the numerical model as well as the variation trend of PDA. Consequently, the time history curves of ground motion at the different monitoring points were obtained. The peak displacement amplification effects induced by different slope angles and heights were quantitatively analyzed and discussed. The numerical results showed that, when the monitoring points were at the same height, the PDAs at the slope surface were larger than those inside the slope. The PDA had the surface effect in horizontal direction. Namely, the more close to the surface was, the larger PDA was. Due to the superposition of the incident seismic waves and the reflected waves induced by the slope surface, the maximum amplification factor of vertical peak displacement appeared inside the slope. The numerical results can provide some guidance in predicting and evaluating the vibration intensity and disaster degree of slopes to some extent.