Combined-intensity-measures matching approach for improved performance-based design of slopes

摘要

Earthquake-induced deformations constitute the primary component of seismic performance of slopes, and their proper estimation is the key to performance-based design. Deformations are usually assessed with analytical (e.g., sliding-block) or numerical methods that strongly depend on input motions, commonly characterized by seismic intensity measures (IMs). The uncertainty of the assessed performance due to variability of input motions is one of the main contributors to the total degree of uncertainty related to performance-based design procedures. The possibility to correlate earthquake-induced deformations with IMs has been previously investigated, but a general agreement on those IMs that allow the best correlation with deformations is yet to be reached. This paper proposes a combined-IM matching approach to characterize, select, and generate input motions for displacement-based analyses. By applying the proposed approach, more consistent earthquake-induced deformations, comparable levels of damage, and less uncertain estimates of slope performance can be reached.