Seismic Analysis of a Semi-Sine Hill-Valley Topography Overlying a Subsurface Cavity Under Vertical P-SV Wave Propagation Using the DR-BEM

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Pouya Kavandi ¹

Mehdi Panji ²

Navid Ganjian ¹

Jafar Asgari Marnani ³

¹ Department of Civil Engineering, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

² Department of Civil Engineering, Zanjan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Zanjan, Iran

³ Department of Civil Engineering, CT. C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

10.22067/jfcei.2025.92202.1343

Abstract

This paper presents the efficiency of a time-domain numerical approach, known as the Dual Reciprocity Boundary Element Method (DRBEM), for the seismic analysis of combined topographic features under vertical in-plane P-SV wave propagation. First, by introducing and developing the governing equations of the method for seismic geotechnical problems based on satisfying the free-field wave conditions, a step-by-step time-history algorithm is developed. Subsequently, the accuracy of the results is validated by analyzing several classic benchmark examples available in the literature, including single semi-circular hills and valleys. Furthermore, by developing a heterogeneous topographic model consisting of a semi-sine hill-valley overlying a subsurface cavity, the displacement amplitude on the ground surface and around the cavity is investigated through sensitivity analyses in both the time and frequency domains under incident vertical in-plane waves. The numerical results indicate that the maximum response amplitude on the crest of the semi-sine hill and the base of the valley reached 3.5 and 2.5 units, respectively, at the dimensionless frequency of 0.5 under vertical P-wave propagation, corresponding to the vertical displacement component. Additionally, under vertical SV-wave propagation, the maximum response amplitude at the junction of the hill and valley reached 3 units at the dimensionless frequency of 0.5, which was attributed to the horizontal displacement component.

Keywords

Dual Reciprocity Boundary Element Method (DRBEM)

Semi-Sine Feature

Circular Cavity

P-SV Waves

Seismic Response

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