Landslides, Ciesielczuk & Ostaficzuk (eds) ISBN 83 87431 45 1

Behaviour of Slopes during an Earthquake

M.Enoki
Department of Civil Engineering, Tottori University, Japan

ABSTRACT: The motion of the surface soil layer during an earthquake is studied under an ‘infinitely
long slope’ assumption and a ‘rigid-plastic’ assumption, and it is shown that the following four
modes of motion are possible for the surface layer: (1) the same motion as the bedrock, (2) sliding
down on the bedrock, (3) jumping up from the bedrock, and (4) sliding up on the bedrock; modes (1)
and (2) are most likely to occur. The equations governing these four modes of motion are obtained,
and a new method to calculate these slope motions of the surface soil layer is proposed. The validity
of this method is confirmed through laboratory model tests. An illustrative example is shown in
which this method is applied to analyse the slope motion during the 2000 Western Tottori Earthquake;
the results of the model are compared with the crack width observed in the field.

KEYWORDS: earthquake, motion of the surface layer, slope, Tottori

1 INTRODUCTION

Detailed investigations carried out on damaged slopes after the Western Tottori Earthquake hit
a mountainous area showed that some slopes had failed completely. However, the author also found
a great number of cracks on mountain ridges and mountainsides. These cracks are evidence that the
slopes slid during the earthquake. In order to explain why such a great number of slopes slid during
the earthquake, the author carried out kinematic analyses on the investigated slopes using the
Newmark method (Newmark 1965).
The Newmark method is a well-known method by which to analyse slope motion during an
earthquake. The method requires a possible circular slip plane, and a slip circle that gives the minimum
safety factor before the earthquake is generally used as the possible slip plane. This procedure,
especially the use of a circular slip surface, is not entirely valid from the standpoint of the theory of
plasticity. Moreover, the method of calculation is rather complicated.
In this paper, the author first proposes a new and simple model of a slope where an isolated rigid
block of soil is placed on the inclined bedrock under an ‘infinitely long slope’ assumption and
a ‘rigid-plastic’ assumption is used. The validity of these assumptions was confirmed through field
investigations.
Second, the author studies the possible motion modes of the block, and obtains four modes of
motion, although only two of these modes are likely to occur under actual conditions. The motion of
each mode is analysed and a new method to analyse the slope motion during an earthquake is
proposed.
Laboratory experiments are carried out using small model slopes on a vibrating table. The results
support the proposed method. The proposed method is applied to analyse the motion of slopes
during the Western Tottori Earthquake. The results can explain the crack width observed by the field
investigation.

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2 PROPOSED MODEL OF SLOPE AND KINEMATICS

2.1 Model for slope surface soil under earthquake motion

Most natural slopes have a thin soil layer on a surface of bedrock, which is formed by orogenic
movements and the action of weathering. When these natural slopes are subjected to a strong
earthquake, the thin soil layers slide along the surface of the bedrock.
The thickness of such a surface soil layer generally varies between zero and several metres. This
thickness is so small in relation to the general length of slope failures that the slope can be treated as
an infinitely long slope. The author has already shown that the stability analysis method for an
infinitely long slope is applicable for slope failures of H/L < 0.1, where H and L are thickness and
length of the slope failure, respectively. In surface failures caused by earthquakes, the stability
analysis method for an infinitely long slope is considered to be applicable. This means that the force
acting on every vertical section of the surface layer is the same, and the stability or the motion of the
surface layer can be evaluated without considering these forces. In other words, the surface layer
behaves like an isolated block during an earthquake. The depth of the slip plane can properly be
assumed as the bottom of the surface layer, because the safety factor decreases with depth as shown
in Eq. (1) when the soil has cohesion, and the surface soil generally has cohesion in an unsaturated
state.

tan φ c
Fs = +
tan β γH sin β cos β
The parameters appearing in this equation are shown in Figure 1.

1 +
α'v
Mα'v
α'h +
sβ
M=γH 1 /co
Mg A=

M α'h
H +
αv
N
T αh +
β
Figure 1: Model for slope in earthquake motion.

The thickness of the surface soil layer is also very small compared with the typical wavelength of
an ordinary earthquake, where the dominant period is 0.1 to 10 s and the S-wave velocity is about
100 m/s, which produces a typical wavelength of 10 to 1000 m. This means that the motion of every
part (shallow or deep) of the surface layer can be treated as the same, so the rigid-plastic assumption
for the surface layer is adoptable.
The absence of a groundwater table can properly be assumed during an earthquake unless the
earthquake is accompanied by heavy rain. This will allow us to treat the unsaturated soil of the
surface layer as c-ö material without considering liquefaction.
These assumptions will simplify the modeling and mathematical calculations. The model for the
surface soil of a slope during an earthquake is as shown in Figure 1. The slope has an inclination â
and a surface soil layer of thickness H. ñ is the density of surface soil. The vertical and horizontal

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accelerations of earthquake motion in the bedrock are denoted as α v and α α h, and the accelerations
of earthquake motion in the surface soil are denoted as α ’v and α ’h, respectively. The problem here
is to calculate the accelerations in the surface soil, α ’v and α ’h, from the given or observed
accelerations in the bedrock, α v and α h. According to D’Alembert’s principle and the infinitely
long slope assumption, the forces acting on a mass of unit width can be considered as Mg, Mα ’v,
Mα ’h, N and T, as shown in Figure 1, where N and T are normal and tangential forces to the possible
slip plane, respectively.
2.2 Four modes of motion
When the model shown in Figure 1 is subjected to an earthquake motion propagated upward through
the bedrock, the following four modes of motion are possible.
(1) The surface soil layer has the same motion as the bedrock, while the given accelerations, α v
and ah, are small. In this case α v = α ’v and α h = α ’h.
(2) The surface soil layer slides down on the bedrock. In this case α n = α ’n, where α n and α ’n
are the accelerations of surface soil and bedrock, respectively, normal to the slip plane. In
the direction parallel to the slip surface, only the tangential force T acting upward is transmitted
through the slip surface.
(3) The surface soil layer separates from the bedrock. This separation is caused when the normal
force N becomes zero, because a soil has no tensile strength. During the separation, the
surface soil layer exhibits a parabolic motion under the effect of the force of gravity. However,
this separation will diminish after the surface soil layer lands on the bedrock.
(4) The surface soil layer slides up on the bedrock. In this case α n is equal to α ’n. In the direction
parallel to the slip plane, only the tangential force T acting downward is transmitted through
the slip surface.
The mass of a surface soil element of unit width is written as follows:
M = ρH (2)
For all modes except (3) above, the following fundamental equations can be written.
In the direction normal to the slope:
N = M {(α 'v + g )cos β − c 'h sin β } (3)
In the direction parallel to the slope:
T = M {(α 'v + g )sin β + α 'h cos β } (4)
Failure condition:

S = N tan φ + c cos β ≥ T (5)

2.3 Condition for the mode to change

At the beginning of the earthquake, the motion mode of the surface soil layer is mode (1), and α v
= α ’v and α h = α ’h. When the acceleration, α v or α h, increases, the motion mode of the surface soil
layer will change from the initial motion mode (1) to other motion modes according to the conditions
below.

Condition for the motion mode to change from mode (1) to mode (3)
When the acceleration α v or α α h changes, the normal force N might be negative. When N becomes
zero the surface soil layer separates from the bedrock, and the condition that causes the separation
can be written as
α ≤ α tan β − g
v h
(6)
Condition for the motion mode to change from mode (1) to mode (2)
When T increases up to S in Eq. (5), the surface soil layer slides downward on the bedrock. From
equations (4) and (5), the condition that causes the sliding-down motion of mode (2) can be written
as

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(α 'v + g )(tan ϕ − tan β ) < α 'h (1 + tan β tan ϕ ) − c (ρH cos β )2
(7)
When sliding down commences, α v = α ’v and α h = α ’h; then, the following equations are obtained:
( ) {
when Φ>β α ≤ α tan ϕ − β − g − c ρH cos 2 β tan ϕ − tan β
v h ( )} (8)

when Φ<β α v ≥ α h tan (ϕ − β ) − g − c {ρH cos 2 β (tan ϕ − tan β )} (8/)

Condition for the motion mode to change from mode (1) to mode (4)
In the same way, the condition that causes the sliding-up motion of mode (4) can be written as

α v ≤ − α h tan (ϕ + β ) − g − c {ρH cos 2 β (tan ϕ + tan β )} (9)

These conditions are drawn in α v- α h space for the case of β = 30°, Φ = 40° and
c/( ρ H ) = 0.2g, as shown in Figure 2. This figure helps to identify the modes of motion that will
take place after the α v- α h orbit of the earthquake is drawn.

Figure 2: Four motion modes of surface soil.

Some actual studies have shown that although mode (2) is most likely to occur, modes (3) and (4)
may take place when the slope is steep and the earthquake acceleration is high. It should be noted
that the conditions given in equations (6), (7), (8), (8’) and (9) are for the motion to change from the
initial mode (1) to other modes. Although the details are omitted here, other equations can easily be
obtained for the motion to change from a mode other than (1) to other modes.

3 GOVERNING EQUATIONS AND NUMERICAL CALCULATION

3.1 Governing equations for motions in modes (2), (3) and (4)
When the surface soil layer is in motion mode (2), the acceleration an of the bedrock normal to the
slip plane and the tangential force T equal to the shear strength S will be transmitted through the slip
plane as follows:
(10)
T =S

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 α ' n = α n = α ' v cos β − α ' h sin β = α v cos β − α h sin β (11)

The acceleration of surface soil layer α ’ β parallel to the slip plane is given in equation (11).

α ' β = α ' v sin β + α ' h cos β (12)

From equations (10), (11) and (12), α ’ β is expressed by bedrock accelerations α v and α h as
equation (13), and the acceleration of bedrock α ’ β parallel to the slip plane is given in equation
(14).

α ' β = (α v + g )cos β tan ϕ − (α h tan ϕ + g )sin β + c (ρH cos β ) (13)

α β = α v sin β + α h cos β (14)

Sliding-down motion will diminish when the relative velocity reduces to zero, and the motion
mode returns from mode (2) to mode (1). Relative displacement which is caused during the sliding
down or sliding up is calculated by the integration of relative acceleration ∆ α β = α β - α ’ β ,
and the equation governing the motion in mode (4) can easily be obtained by changing the sign of T.
When the surface soil layer is in motion mode (3), the surface soil layer takes on a parabolic
motion under the effect of the gravity force until the surface soil layer lands back on the bedrock.
This landing or collision can properly be considered to be non-elastic or perfectly plastic, and after
the landing the surface soil layer takes on the same motion as the bedrock.
However, as mentioned later, modes of motion (3) and (4) seldom appear in an actual earthquake.
3.2 Procedure of calculation
The method proposed in this paper is similar in basic concept to the well-known Newmark method.
However, in Newmark’s method only two motion modes, (1) and (2), are treated, whereas the proposed
method considers four motion modes. In Newmark’s method a possible circular slip plane is required,
and a slip circle that gives the minimum safety factor just before the earthquake is generally used as
the possible slip plane. In contrast, in the proposed method the boundary between surface soil layer
and bedrock is used as the possible slip plane. Moreover, the analysis, whose main part consists of
the distinction of motion modes and the calculation of relative displacements, can easily be done by
using a personal computer and table calculation software.
First, the geometry of the target slope (inclination β , thickness H and compass direction of the
slope) and the strength parameters (cohesion c, internal friction angle Φ and density ρ ) of the
surface soil need to be investigated. Then, North-South, East-West and Up-Down components of
accelerations for an actual or probable earthquake must be obtained. As these accelerations are used
as the motion of bedrock, the observation site should be on solid ground located near the target
slope. These acceleration data can also be downloaded in tabular form (the three components are
listed in digital values at a number of intervals) from the internet. The baseline and compass direction
corrections are made for the acceleration data beforehand, and the orbit or trace of earthquake
acceleration in α v- α h space is drawn. Using this locus the possibility of every motion mode is
predicted before the analysis. The analysis is started using table calculation software before the
earthquake motion is propagated, or the motion is in mode (1). For every step the motion mode is
examined by equations (6), (7), (8), (8’) and (9). When the motion mode changes, for example from
mode (1) to mode (2), the governing equation of the new motion mode, equation (13), is adopted,
and the relative velocity and displacement are calculated by numerical integration. The present
mode of motion, mode (2), will change to mode (1) after the relative velocity becomes zero.

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4 Laboratory experiments
4.1 Apparatus and procedure
In order to confirm the validity of the above-mentioned theory, some laboratory experiments on the
model slopes are carried out. The apparatus consists of an isolated block, which plays the role of a
surface soil layer, on an inclined plate, which plays the role of bedrock. Accelerometers are installed
on both block and plate. The inclined plate is tightly fixed on a shaking table, as shown in Figure 3.
To prevent the rotational movement of the block, a set of guide rails and rollers is attached to the
apparatus. Then, a series of sinusoidal waves in the horizontal direction is provided as a seismic
motion, and the accelerations and displacements are obtained.
4.2 Comparison of experimental results with theory
Table 1 shows the typical conditions of the experiment.

Table 1. The condition of experiment.

Strength parameters c=0, f=30 °

Period 0.25 seconds
Acceleration amplitude Approx. 323 gal
Inclination 20°

Figure 3. Model experiment apparatus.

Figure 4 shows the observed accelerations in the tangential direction, together with the theoretical
ones. The observed acceleration of the soil layer agrees with the theoretical one, although some
high-frequency noise is included in the observed acceleration.
Figure 5 shows a comparison between the relative displacement calculated from the observed
accelerations and the measured relative displacement at the end of the experiment. These comparisons
show the validity of the above-mentioned theory.

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 400 400
bedrock bedrock
soil layer soil layer
200 200
áâ (Gal)

á â (g a l)
0 0
0 0,1 0,2 0 0,1 0,2
Ti me (s)

-200 -200

Ti me (sec)

-400 -400

observed theoretical
Figure 4. Observed and theoretical accelerations.

7 observed displacement
6
displacement (cm)

1 calculated fromthe acceleration

0
0 1 2 3 4
Time (s)

Figure 5. Calculated and measured relative displacements.

5 APPLICATION OF THE METHOD TO AN ACTUAL EARTHQUAKE

5.1 Outline of the Western Tottori Earthquake
An earthquake of magnitude 7.3, the Western Tottori Earthquake, hit the western part of Tottori
Prefecture, Japan on 6 October 2000. The location of the epicentre is shown in Figure 6. The maximum
recorded accelerations were 927 Gal (North-South) and 776 Gal (Up-Down). Although the epicentre
was in a mountainous area, more than 400 buildings were totally destroyed, about 3000 buildings
were partially destroyed, and more than 150 people were injured, throughout Tottori and its
neighbouring prefectures. Liquefaction also took place in the coastal areas, and more than 300
slopes failed in the mountains. The author carried out several field investigations in the damaged
mountains, and found many cracks (from 1 cm to 1 m in width), especially at ridges or on
mountainsides where the slope was convex. The geometry of slopes with cracks was explored, and
soil samples were taken on which direct shear tests were carried out in the laboratory in undisturbed
and residual states. A typical crack found at the top of Mt. Kamakura is shown in Figure 7. Most of
the failed slopes were natural slopes, and the thickness of sliding mass was so thin that the proposed
method could be adopted.

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 Figure 6. The epicenter of the Western Tottori Earthquake and investigated sites.

Figure 7. Typical crack at the top of Mt. Kamakura near

the epicenter.

Figure 9. α v - α h trace in slope A.

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5.2 Geometries of slopes with cracks
Figure 8 shows a route map; damage observed around the investigation route is shown, along
with the geometries of typical slopes. Parameters used in the theoretical calculation are listed in
Table 2.

SlopeA
Length about100m
Inclination 37•
‹

Crack
3m (A ssum ed)
Slope B
Crack

Slope B
SlopeA
Length about100m
Crack Inclination 38•
‹

3m (A ssum ed)

Crack

C ra ck
500m

Figure 8. Route map and section of Slope A and B in Mt. Kamakura, Saihaku town.

5.3 Analysed motion of slopes

The traces of earthquake accelerations in α v - α h space are shown in Figure 9 for slope A, where α h
is the component of horizontal acceleration in the compass direction of slope A. The acceleration
record obtained at Hino observation point was employed. This figure shows that motion modes (1)
and (2) existed in this case. The same traces obtained for the other slopes show that motion mode
(3), the separation mode, could be possible on steeper slopes.
5.4 Analysed displacement of slopes
The motion of slope A in the Western Tottori Earthquake, analysed by the proposed method, is
shown in Figure 10 as a typical result. At the beginning of the earthquake the surface layer moves
with the bedrock, but when the horizontal acceleration increases up to a certain level, it slides down
on the bedrock, and the relative displacement is caused, as shown by the broken line in Figure 10.
This sliding-down motion occurs twice during the earthquake, and gives the total relative displacement
of 4 cm.
Table 2 lists the analysed displacements of all the investigated slopes, together with the geometries
and the strength parameters. As the crack width is the difference between the displacement of the
upper slope and that of the lower slope, it appears that the proposed method gives reasonable
displacements.

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Table 2. Geometries and strength parameters of investigated slopes, and relative displacements calculated by
the proposed method.

MT. KAMAKURA IN SAIHAKU

INVESTIGATED SITE
TOWN
SLOPES
A B
ALTITUDE 560M 500M
INVESTIGATION ITEMS
COMPASS DIRECTION OF SLOPE (°) 90 90
GEOMETRY

SLOPE INCLINATION (°) 37 38

SLOPE

SLOPE LENGTH (M) > 100 >100

SURFACE LAYER THICKNESS (M) 3.0 1) 3.0 1)
DENSITY (T / M3) 1.69 1.76

φ (°)
UNDISTURBE

41.2 52.9
D SAMPLE
PARAMETERS

(TF / M2)
STRENGTH

C 2.1 0.5

φ (°)
DISTURBED

44.9 43.8
SAMPLE

C (TF / M2) 0.31 0.00

LENGTH (M) 50 25
OBSERVED DEPTH (M) 0.5 0.4
CRACK WIDTH (CM) 30 20
EARTHQUAKE MAX H 927
(EMPLOYED EARTHQUAKE)
Calculated displacement

RECORDS GAL 3.9 (CM) 12.1

AT HINO POINT V 776 GAL
EARTHQUAKE
RECORDS)

RECORDS
MAX H 720
(cm)

GAL 0.16 (CM) 1.49

AT HAKUTA
POINT V 630 GAL
EARTHQUAKE
RECORDS
MAX H 443
GAL 0 (CM) 0.011
AT HOKUBOU
POINT V 167 GAL

60
 800 gal

600 No relative movement

Slide down
400
¿ v)
Verticalacceleration (ƒ

200

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
sec
-200

-400

-600

-800

800 gal

600 No relative movement

400 Slide down

¿ h)
Horizontalacceleration (ƒ

200

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
sec
-200

-400

-600

-800

4.5 cm

3.5
Relative displacem ent

2.5

1.5

0.5

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
sec

Figure 10. Motion of slope A in the Western Tottori Earthquake calculated by the proposed method.
Figure 13: Motion of slope surface of Slope A in Western Tottori Earthquake
calculated by the proposed method

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6 CONCLUSIONS
Using the ‘infinitely long slope’ assumption and the ‘rigid-plastic’ assumption, it is shown that four
modes of motion take place in a slope surface soil during an earthquake. A new method to calculate
the slope motion is proposed, which is identical in concept to the Newmark method but more precise
and easier to calculate.
Some laboratory tests were carried out using the model slopes on a shaking table, and the validity
of the proposed method was confirmed.
The method was applied to several slopes affected by the Western Tottori Earthquake. The
calculation results gave reasonably accurate displacements, which are supported by the actual cracks
observed in the field investigation.
When the stability of a slope is analysed under the assumption that the maximum acceleration of
an earthquake is given statically, the safety factors of all slopes are far less than 1. This means that
the stability of a slope during an earthquake cannot be predicted by ordinary stability analysis
methods. Engineers should judge the slope stability using the estimated displacement of the slope
for a probable earthquake.
The reason why some slopes failed completely during or after the earthquake but many underwent
only a little displacement and remained stable requires further investigation.

LITERATURE AND REFERENCES

Enoki, M. 2001. Mechanism of rain-induced failures of slope surface and restraining effects of
plants on slope failure. Report for Grant-in-aid from the Ministry of Education and Science: 25-
26. [in Japanese]
Newmark, N. M. 1965. Effect of earthquakes on dams and embankments, Fifth Rankine Lecture,
Geotechnique, 2: 139-160.

Published in:

Landslides
PROCEEDINGS OF THE TENTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
AND FIELDTRIP ON LANDSLIDES (ICFL) / POLISH LOWLANDS -
CARPATHIANS - BALTIC COAST / POLAND / 6 - 16 SEPTEMBER 2002

Edited by: Justyna Ciesielczuk & Stanislaw Ostaficzuk

Reviewed by Professor Zygmunt Glazer

© Copyright by Mineral and Energy Economy Research Institute

of Polish Academy of Sciences Cracow 2002

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