Energy-driven micro-macro modeling of earthquake-induced landslides via peridynamics-discrete element method framework

Earthquake-induced landslides involve multiscale catastrophe processes integrating fracture propagation, slip surface coalescence, and localized disintegration. The conventional discrete element method (DEM) has limitations in characterizing nonlocal bond evolution mechanisms, which are addressed by a dynamically-statically coupled peridynamics (PD)-DEM model that explicitly simulates bond fracture dynamics and energy transfer within critical interaction radii. A tri-phase elastic-strengthening-fracture constitutive model with stiffness transition coefficients overcomes linear simplification in progressive failure simulation, while explicit representation of nonlocal interactions through PD bond forces enables accurate energy transfer modeling. The framework further incorporates an energy dissipation hotspot methodology to identify slip surfaces using spatiotemporal gradients of kinetic-frictional energy densities, revealing fundamental energy-driven failure mechanisms. Validations against benchmark landslides, including the Nigawa landslide in Japan and the Xishan landslide in China, along with laboratory shaking table experiments, demonstrate the ability to capture bond breakage-controlled slip surface development, topography-amplified dynamic responses, and cross-scale energy dissipation-to-macrorupture correlations, thereby fully elucidating seismic energy input-accumulation-dissipation chains. This PD-DEM framework establishes a nonlocal theoretical basis for landslide dynamics, enabling a paradigm shift from geometric criteria to energy field-driven prognostic systems for hazard early warning.