Study on Seismic Amplification Effect and Active Earth Pressure of Retaining Wall Based on Pseudo-Dynamic Method and Numerical Simulation

Abstract

In this paper, the finite element numerical analysis verified that the critical failure surface of the backfill under active conditions was curved, and it was consistent with the composite form of a logarithmic spiral and a straight line assumed by the study based on the pseudo-dynamic method. On the basis of the failure surface of the backfill as a curved surface, the seismic active earth pressure on the retaining wall was calculated by the pseudodynamic method and the finite element method respectively. Results showed that in the finite element analysis, the acceleration amplitude of the backfill had an obvious amplification effect along the depth of the retaining wall, and this amplification effect was related to many factors. Under the action of low-frequency seismic load, linear amplification effect occurred, while nonlinear amplification effect occurred under the action of high-frequency seismic load. The amplification factors increased with the increase of retaining wall height. According to the characteristics of the amplification effect, after modifying the input seismic acceleration in the pseudo-dynamic method, the distribution of seismic active earth pressure on the retaining wall was close to that obtained by finite element analysis.