Seismic stability of 3D piled unsaturated earth slopes using kinematic limit analysis

An approach for evaluating the seismic stability of 3D unsaturated earth slopes reinforced with a row of anti-slide piles is presented in this paper within the framework of kinematic limit analysis. The plasticity theory for estimating the lateral force acting on piles is readily extended to unsaturated conditions to account for the variation of moisture content (i.e., matric suction) on the stabilizing effect of piles. A local layer-wise summation method (LSM) was proposed to calculate the energy dissipation rate due to the resistance of piles. The yield acceleration coefficients of specific piled slopes are derived within the context of pseudo-static analysis and are compared with other analytical solutions, demonstrating the feasibility of the semi-analytical method.