In this study, a modified pseudo-dynamic Bishop method (MPDBM) is developed incorporating spatial variability in peak ground acceleration (PGA) and initial phase by way of random field theory. The proposed MPDBM is validated against existing results and illustrated through a large-scale soil slope emphasising the effect of scale of fluctuation on the failure probability of seismic slope stability. The numerical simulations reveal that neglecting the spatial variability of PGA and the initial phase results in a larger failure probability. The maximum increment in the failure probability can be up to almost two orders of magnitude. Ignoring the spatial variability of the PGA and the initial phase tends to overestimate the failure probability or underestimate the seismic slope stability, resulting in a conservative design. The failure probability is more sensitive to exposure time as the spatial variability of the PGA and initial phase becomes more significant.
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1 December 2025
Research Article|
September 10 2025
Probabilistic pseudo-dynamic method for seismic slope stability analysis Available to Purchase
Jiahui Wen;
Jiahui Wen
School of Civil Engineering,
Qingdao University of Technology
, Qingdao, PR China
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Hongliang Jing;
Hongliang Jing
School of Civil Engineering,
Qingdao University of Technology
, Qingdao, PR China
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Xueyu Geng;
Xueyu Geng
School of Engineering,
University of Warwick
, Coventry, UK
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Liang Li
School of Civil Engineering,
Qingdao University of Technology
, Qingdao, PR China
Corresponding author Liang Li (liliang@qut.edu.cn)
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Corresponding author Liang Li (liliang@qut.edu.cn)
Publisher: Emerald Publishing
Received:
November 06 2024
Accepted:
July 18 2025
Online ISSN: 1751-8563
Print ISSN: 1353-2618
Funding
Funding Group:
- Award Group:
- Funder(s): Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation
- Award Id(s): ZR2023ME007
- Funder(s):
- Funding Statement(s): The authors would like to thank Lian Zhu, Jun Hu and Hongbin Zhang for their assistance with language editing and data preparation. The work described in the paper was supported by the Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation (grant no. ZR2023ME007). The financial support is gratefully acknowledged.
© 2025 Emerald Publishing Limited
2025
Emerald Publishing Limited
Licensed re-use rights only
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Geotechnical Engineering (2025) 178 (7): 820–831.
Article history
Received:
November 06 2024
Accepted:
July 18 2025
Citation
Wen J, Jing H, Geng X, Li L (2025), "Probabilistic pseudo-dynamic method for seismic slope stability analysis". Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Geotechnical Engineering, Vol. 178 No. 7 pp. 820–831, doi: https://doi.org/10.1680/jgeen.24.00434
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