Ground Motion Selection for Seismic Slope Displacement Evaluation Analysis of Earthen Levees

Abstract

Guidelines for selecting ground motions for evaluation of seismic slope displacements for earthen levees are proposed. These guidelines were developed based on results from two-dimensional equivalent-linear dynamic analyses of characteristic earthen levee cross sections using a wide range of ground motions (∼1 ;500). The effect of a number of ground motion parameters on the dynamic response of the levees in terms of seismic slope stability was studied, and the parameters that correlated best to the response were identified. For the seismic slope stability evaluation, the peak ground velocity ( PGV) best correlates to the seismic slope displacements ( u). Regression relationships between u and PGV are proposed for a series of levee types and shaking intensity levels, which are used in the proposed methodology for selecting ground motions for site specific analysis of levees.