Characteristics of Soil Response in Near-Fault Zones During the 1999 Chi-Chi, Taiwan, Earthquake

Distribution of parameters characterizing soil response during the 1999 Chi-Chi, Taiwan, earthquake (M _w = 7.6) around the fault plane is studied. The results of stochastic finite-fault simulations performed in Pavlenko and Wen (2008) and constructed models of soil behavior at 31 soil sites were used for the estimation of amplification of seismic waves in soil layers, average stresses, strains, and shear moduli reduction in the upper 30 m of soil, as well as nonlinear components of soil response during the Chi-Chi earthquake. Amplification factors were found to increase with increasing distance from the fault (or, with decreasing the level of “input” motion to soil layers), whereas average stresses and strains, shear moduli reduction, and nonlinear components of soil response decrease with distance as ~ r ^?1 . The area of strong nonlinearity, where soil behavior is substantially nonlinear (the content of nonlinear components in soil response is more than ~40–50% of the intensity of the response), and spectra of oscillations on the surface take the smoothed form close to E(f) ~ f ^?n , is located within ~20–25 km from the fault plane (~ 1/4 of its length). Nonlinearity decreases with increasing distance from the fault, and at ~40–50 km from the fault (~ 1/2 of the fault length), soil response becomes virtually linear. Comparing soil behavior in near-fault zones during the 1999 Chi-Chi, the 1995 Kobe (M _w = 6.8), and the 2000 Tottori (Japan) (M _w = 6.7) earthquakes, we found similarity in the behavior of similar soils and predominance of the hard type of soil behavior. Resonant phenomena in upper soil layers were observed at many studied sites; however, during the Chi-Chi earthquake they involved deeper layers (down to ~ 40–60 m) than during lesser-magnitude Kobe and Tottori earthquakes.     

An automatic scheme for baseline correction of strong-motion records in coseismic deformation determination

Coseismic deformation can be determined from strong-motion records of large earthquakes. Iwan et al. (Bull Seismol Soc Am 75:1225–1246, 1985) showed that baseline corrections are often required to obtain reliable coseismic deformation because baseline offsets lead to unrealistic permanent displacements. Boore (Bull Seismol Soc Am 91:1199–1211, 2001) demonstrated that different choices of time points for baseline correction can yield realistically looking displacements, but with variable amplitudes. The baseline correction procedure of Wu and Wu (J Seismol 11:159–170, 2007) improved upon Iwan et al. (Bull Seismol Soc Am 75:1225–1246, 1985) and achieved stable results. However, their time points for baseline correction were chosen by a recursive process with an artificial criterion. In this study, we follow the procedure of Wu and Wu (J Seismol 11:159–170, 2007) but use the ratio of energy distribution in accelerograms as the criterion to determine the time points of baseline correction automatically, thus avoiding the manual choice of time points and speeding up the estimation of coseismic deformation. We use the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake in central Taiwan and the 2003 Chengkung and 2006 Taitung earthquakes in eastern Taiwan to illustrate this new approach. Comparison between the results from this and previous studies shows that our new procedure is suitable for quick and reliable determination of coseismic deformation from strong-motion records.     

Nonlinear Soil Behavior at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant During the Niigata Chuetsu-Oki Earthquake (July, 16, 2007)

Records of the Niigata Chuetsu-Oki earthquake (July, 16, 2007, M _w?=?6.6, depth ~17?km) and its aftershocks from seismic vertical arrays deployed at the territory of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant (~15?km from the fault) are used to study the soil behavior down to ~250?m during strong ground motion. Nonlinear models of soil behavior during the main shock and six aftershocks are constructed, and stresses and strains induced by the strong motion in the soil layers at various depths are estimated. The data are processed using the method developed by Pavlenko and Irikura (Bull Seismol Soc Am 96(6): 2131–2145, 2003) and previously applied for studying the soil behavior in near-fault zones during the 1995 Kobe and 2000 Tottori earthquakes. A rather good agreement between the recorded and simulated acceleration time histories testifies to the validity of the obtained vertical distributions of stresses and strains in soil layers. In the upper, softer layers (~45?m) at the territory of the plant, the shear moduli were reduced by ~30–35% during the main shock and by ~1.5–3% during the aftershocks. The constructed models of soil behavior can be used in scenario earthquake shaking maps of Japan where, based on source modeling parameters, the level of strong motion can be evaluated for the territory of the power plant in future earthquakes with various magnitudes and fault planes. Using methods of stochastic finite-fault modeling of ground motions from the Chuetsu-Oki earthquake, we estimated input motion to the soil layers during the main shock and found that it differs from the imposed motion (recorded by the deepest sensor of the vertical array) by slightly decreased (by a factor of ~1.2) low-frequency (f?<?10?Hz) spectral components.     

ICEARRAY: the first small-aperture, strong-motion array in Iceland

A small-aperture, strong-motion array, the ICEARRAY, has been deployed in South Iceland, a region with a history of destructive earthquakes, some exceeding magnitude 7. The array’s purpose is: (1) monitoring future significant events in the region, (2) quantifying spatial variability of strong-motion over short distances and (3) shedding light on earthquake source processes. The number of array stations and their arrangement were based on an optimisation of the shape of the corresponding array transfer function (ATF). The optimal ICEARRAY configuration comprises 14 stations, has an aperture of ~1.9 km and a minimum interelement distance of ~50 m and possesses a near-azimuthally independent ATF with a sharp main lobe, negligible sidelobes and a wavenumber range of 1.5–24 rad/km. Accordingly, the ICEARRAY has the intended capabilities of capturing seismic waves in the frequency range of 1–20 Hz, which is of main interest to earthquake engineering and engineering seismology applications.     

Nonlinear soil behavior during the Chi-Chi (Taiwan) earthquake of 1999 from data of the Dahan vertical array

Records of the Chi-Chi (Taiwan) earthquake of 1999 (M _w = 7.7) obtained at the Dahan vertical array (a part of the SMART-2 array) in NE Taiwan are analyzed. The Dahan array was located at a distance of ～80 km from the fault plane of the earthquake. Using the method previously applied to the analysis of soil behavior during the Japan earthquakes in Kobe (1995) and Tottori (2000), nonlinear stress-strain relations are estimated in soil layers at depths of 0–200 m at the Dahan site for successive time intervals. The resulting soil behavior model is used for estimating variations in shear moduli and for the identification of nonlinear behavior of soil layers during an earthquake. According to the model estimates, the earthquake-related decrease in shear moduli did not exceed ～5% and the soil response was nearly linear (the amount of its nonlinear components was also no more than ～5%). The stress-strain relations describing the soil responses to the earthquakes in Kobe (1995), Tottori (2000), and Chi-Chi (1999) are similar, implying that, in principle, it is possible to describe the behavior of soils of the same type by the same stress-strain relations and predict the soil response to a future earthquake.     

Approximate recovery of coseismic deformation from Taiwan strong-motion records

Since 1990, digital strong-motion accelerographs and global positioning system (GPS) instruments have been widely deployed in the Taiwan region (Shin et al. 2003; Yu et al. 2001). The 1999 Chi-Chi, Mw 7.6 earthquake and the 2003 Chengkung, Mw 6.8 earthquake were well recorded by both digital accelerographs and GPS instruments. These data offer a good opportunity to determine coseismic displacements from strong-motion records and to compare the results with those derived from GPS measurements. As noted by Boore (2001), a double integration of the acceleration data often leads to unreasonable results, and baseline corrections are therefore required in most cases before the integration. Based on the works of Iwan et al. (1985) and Boore (2001), we developed an improved method for baseline correction and validated it using an extensive set of data from shake-table tests of a known “step” displacement on 249 accelerographs. Our baseline correction method recovered about 97% of the actual displacement from the shake-table data. We then applied this baseline correction method to compute coseismic displacements from the strong-motion data of the Chi-Chi and Chengkung earthquakes. Our results agree favorably with the coseismic displacements determined by the GPS measurements at nearby sites. The ratio of seismic to geodetic displacement varies from 0.78 to 1.41, with an average of about 1.05.     

Near-source ground motion attenuation relationship for PGA and PSA of the vertical and horizontal components

In this paper, empirical ground-motion models for the vertical and average horizontal components of peak ground-motion and acceleration response spectra from shallow crustal earthquakes are derived using near-source database. These attenuation relationships were derived using a worldwide dataset consisted of corrected and processed accelerograms of 678 strong-motion records recorded with 60 km of the rupture plane of earthquakes between M_w 5.2 and 7.9. Ground motion models are functions of earthquake mechanism, distance from source to site, local average shear wave velocity, nonlinear soil response, sediment depth, depth-to-top of the rupture, hanging wall effects and faulting mechanism.     

Modelling of Strong Ground Motions from 1991 Uttarkashi,India, Earthquake Using a Hybrid Technique

We present a simple and efficient hybrid technique for simulating earthquake strong ground motion. This procedure is the combination of the techniques of envelope function (Midorikawa et al. Tectonophysics 218:287–295, 1993) and composite source model (Zeng et al. Geophys Res Lett 21:725–728, 1994). The first step of the technique is based on the construction of the envelope function of the large earthquake by superposition of envelope functions for smaller earthquakes. The smaller earthquakes (sub-events) of varying sizes are distributed randomly, instead of uniform distribution of same size sub-events, on the fault plane. The accelerogram of large event is then obtained by combining the envelope function with a band-limited white noise. The low-cut frequency of the band-limited white noise is chosen to correspond to the corner frequency for the target earthquake magnitude and the high-cut to the Boore’s f _max or a desired frequency for the simulation. Below the low-cut frequency, the fall-off slope is 2 in accordance with the ω² earthquake source model. The technique requires the parameters such as fault area, orientation of the fault, hypocenter, size of the sub-events, stress drop, rupture velocity, duration, source–site distance and attenuation parameter. The fidelity of the technique has been demonstrated by successful modeling of the 1991 Uttarkashi, Himalaya earthquake (Ms 7). The acceptable locations of the sub-events on the fault plane have been determined using a genetic algorithm. The main characteristics of the simulated accelerograms, comprised of the duration of strong ground shaking, peak ground acceleration and Fourier and response spectra, are, in general, in good agreement with those observed at most of the sites. At some of the sites the simulated accelerograms differ from observed ones by a factor of 2–3. The local site geology and topography may cause such a difference, as these effects have not been considered in the present technique. The advantage of the technique lies in the fact that detailed parameters such as velocity-Q structures and empirical Green’s functions are not required or the records of the actual time history from the past earthquakes are not available. This method may find its application in preparing a wide range of scenarios based on simulation. This provides information that is complementary to the information available in probabilistic hazard maps.     

唐山响堂三维场地影响观测台阵

１９９４年７月中国地震局工程力学研究所在唐山余震区响堂镇建成了我国第一个三维场地影响观测台阵。该台阵目前有四个测点,分别布设在基岩地表、土层地表、地下１７ｍ和地下３２ｍ处。它安装了分辨率为１６位的井下数字观测系统,主机和从机同步运行,系统时钟采用Ｏｍｅｇａ导航信号自动校对（精度１ｍｓ）,地震数据采用固态方式（ＣＭＯＳ）存储,每个测点均布设一组 量力平衡式加速度计。该台阵自投入运行至１９９７年１２月     

S-wave velocity structures of sediments estimated from array microtremor records and site responses in the near-fault region of the 1999 Chi-Chi,Taiwan earthquake

The 1999 Chi-Chi, Taiwan earthquake, M_W = 7.6, caused severe damage in the near-fault region of the earthquake. In order to evaluate site effects in the near-field strong motions we estimate S-wave velocity structures of sediments at four sites using array records of microtremors. We also recalculated S-wave velocity structures at other four sites previously reported. To show the validity of the estimated S-wave velocity structures we separate empirical site responses from aftershock records using the generalized inversion method and show the agreement between empirical and theoretical site responses. We also show an observed fact that suggests soil nonlinearity during the Chi-Chi earthquake by comparing horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratios (HVRs) for main shock records with HVRs for aftershock records. Then we calculate one-dimensional equivalent-linear site responses using the estimated S-wave velocity structures and the main shock records observed on the surface. It is found that site amplification due to thick (about 6 km) sediments is one of the important factors for explaining the long-period velocity pulses of about 5 to 10 sec observed at sites in the footwall during the Chi-Chi earthquake. It is also found that the theoretical site responses of shallow soft sediments at sites that sustained severe damage in the hanging wall shows significant amplification around 1 sec. As the amplitude of velocity pulses with period around 1 sec is most critical in causing damage to ordinary buildings of moderate heights, our results suggest that the 1-sec period velocity pulses, amplified by the site response of shallow sediments should contribute to the severe damage during the Chi-Chi earthquake.     

Atypical soil behavior during the 2011 Tohoku earthquake (<Emphasis Type="Italic">М</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">w</Emphasis></Subscript> = 9)

To understand physical mechanisms of generation of abnormally high peak ground acceleration (PGA; >1g) during the Tohoku earthquake, models of nonlinear soil behavior in the strong motion were constructed for 27 KiK-net stations located in the near-fault zones to the south of FKSH17. The method of data processing used was developed by Pavlenko and Irikura, Pure Appl Geophys 160:2365–2379, 2003 and previously applied for studying soil behavior at vertical array sites during the 1995 Kobe (М _w ?=?6.8) and 2000 Tottori (М _w ?=?6.7) earthquakes. During the Tohoku earthquake, we did not observe a widespread nonlinearity of soft soils and reduction at the beginning of strong motion and recovery at the end of strong motion of shear moduli in soil layers, as usually observed during strong earthquakes. Manifestations of soil nonlinearity and reduction of shear moduli during strong motion were observed at sites located close to the source, in coastal areas. At remote sites, where abnormally high PGAs were recorded, shear moduli in soil layers increased and reached their maxima at the moments of the highest intensity of the strong motion, indicating soil hardening. Then, shear moduli reduced with decreasing the intensity of the strong motion. At soft-soil sites, the reduction of shear moduli was accompanied by a step-like decrease of the predominant frequencies of motion. Evidently, the observed soil hardening at the moments of the highest intensity of the strong motion contributed to the occurrence of abnormally high PGA, recorded during the Tohoku earthquake.     

Side effect of using response spectral amplification ratios for soil sites—variability and earthquake-magnitude and source-distance dependent amplification ratios for soil sites

We investigate a special type of variability in response spectral amplification ratios computed from numerical “engineering” models for a soft soil site. The engineering models are defined by shallow soil layers over “engineering” bedrock with a shear-wave velocity over 600–700 m/s and the model is subjected to vertical propagating shear waves. The variability, perhaps unique in earthquake engineering, is a result of the “perfectly accurate” computational procedure. For example, an engineering soil site model, subjected to two rock site records or the two horizontal components of a rock site record, produces different response spectral amplification ratios. We use a large number of strong-motion records from “engineering” rock sites, with a reasonably balanced distribution with respect to magnitude and source distance, generated by subduction earthquakes in Japan, to investigate the nature of the variability. In order to avoid any approximation in removing the effect of soil nonlinear response, we use a simple model, a single horizontal soil layer over a bedrock, modelled as elastic. We then demonstrate that a similar type of variability observed in the one- or two-dimensional nonlinear soil models is caused by the nature of response spectral amplification ratios, not a direct result of soil nonlinear response. Examination of variability reveals that the average of response spectral amplification ratios systematically depends on both earthquake magnitude and source distance. We find that, at periods much longer than the site natural periods of the soil sites, the scatter of the amplification ratios decreases with increasing magnitude and source distance. These findings may have a potential impact in establishing design spectra for soft soil sites using strong-motion attenuation models or dynamic numerical modelling.     

基于小波方法分析汶川地震近断层地震动的速度脉冲特性

选取断层距小于200 km的64组强震记录数据,基于小波方法分析汶川地震近断层速度脉冲的地震动特性,并将此次地震中获取到的速度脉冲周期和幅值参数与Chi-Chi 地震和Northridge地震进行了比较,统计分析地震震级、距离对速度脉冲的周期和幅值参数的影响.研究表明:(1)汶川地震近断层速度脉冲具有周期长、幅值小的特点.速度脉冲周期主要分布在6~14 s之间,其中51MZQ台沿平行断层的分量脉冲周期最大为14.2 s,速度脉冲幅值与Chi-Chi 地震和Northridge地震相比明显偏小.(2) 速度脉冲记录出现在沿着地震断层破裂传播的方向上,且与地表断裂的距离都在30 km以内,这些长周期速度脉冲的形成可能主要由破裂传播的向前方向性效应引起.(3)速度脉冲的周期随矩震级呈对数线性增大,且随断层距增大有减小趋势.在矩震级小于M_w7.5时,观测到的地震动脉冲幅值为50~150 cm/s之间,与100 cm/s的典型断层滑动速率非常接近;而震级大于M_w7.5时,断层距10km范围内脉冲的幅值已经超过100 cm/s,个别记录的脉冲幅值甚至达到200 cm/s,远超过前人给出的饱和值,这可能与大的永久形变或该处土层介质条件有关.     

Source study of two small earthquakes of Delhi, India, and estimation of ground motion from future moderate, local events

We study source characteristics of two small, local earthquakes which occurred in Delhi on 28 April 2001 (Mw3.4) and 18 March 2004 (Mw2.6). Both earthquakes were located in the heart of New Delhi, and were recorded in the epicentral region by digital accelerographs. The depths of the events are 15 km and 8 km, respectively. First motions and waveform modeling yield a normal-faulting mechanism with large strike-slip component. The strike of one of the nodal planes roughly agrees with NE–SW orientation of faults and lineaments mapped in the region. We use the recordings of the 2004 event as empirical Green’s functions to synthesize expected ground motions in the epicentral region of a Mw5.0 earthquake in Delhi. It is possible that such a local event may control the hazard in Delhi. Our computations show that a Mw5.0 earthquake would give rise to PGA of ~200 to 450 gal, the smaller values occurring at hard sites. The estimate of corresponding PGV is ~6 to 15 cm/s. The recommended response spectra, Sa, 5% damping, for Delhi, which falls in zone IV of the Indian seismic zoning map, may not be conservative enough at soft sites for a postulated Mw5.0 local earthquake.     

Nonlinear identification of the soil response at Dahan downhole array site during the 1999 Chi–Chi earthquake

Records of the 1999 Chi–Chi earthquake, provided by the Dahan downhole array were analyzed, and nonlinear hysteretic stress–strain relations in the soil layers were estimated by the method previously used for studying the response of soils during the 1995 Kobe and the 2000 Tottori earthquakes. The obtained models of the soil behavior were applied for evaluating changes of the shear moduli in the soil layers and for the nonlinear identification of the soil behavior at Dahan site during the Chi–Chi earthquake. We found that reduction of the shear moduli in the soil layers did not exceed 5%, and the soil response was virtually linear. The content of the nonlinear components in the soil response was about 5% of the intensity of the response, and it was mostly due to the odd-order nonlinearities. A similarity in the stress–strain relations describing the behavior of soils during the 1995 Kobe earthquake, the 2000 Tottori earthquake, and the 1999 Chi–Chi earthquake was found, which indicates the possibility to describe the behavior of similar types of soils at different sites by similar stress–strain relations and predict soil behavior in future earthquakes.     

Frequency variation in site response as observed from strong motion data of the L��Aquila (2009) seismic sequence

Previous works based mainly on strong-motion recordings of large Japanese earthquakes showed that site amplification and soil fundamental frequency could vary over long and short time scales. These phenomena were attributed to non-linear soil behaviour: the starting fundamental frequency and amplification were both instantaneously decreasing and then recovering for a time varying from few seconds to several months. The recent April 6, 2009 earthquake (M _W 6.3), occurred in the L’Aquila district (central Italy), gave us the possibility to test hypotheses on time variation of amplification function and soil fundamental frequency, thanks to the recordings provided by a pre-existing strong-motion array and by a large number of temporary stations. We investigated the intra- and inter-event soil frequency variations through different spectral analyses, including time-frequency spectral ratios and S-Transform (Stockwell et al. in IEEE Trans Signal Process 44:998–1001, 1996). Finally, analyses on noise recordings were performed, in order to study the soil behaviour in linear conditions. The results provided puzzling evidences. Concerning the long time scale, little variation was observed at the permanent stations of the Aterno Valley array. As for the short time-scale variation, the evidence was often contrasting, with some station showing a time-varying behavior, while others did not change their frequency with respect to the one evaluated from noise measurements. Even when a time-varying fundamental frequency was observed, it was difficult to attribute it to a classical, softening non-linear behaviour. Even for the strongest recorded shocks, with peak ground acceleration reaching 0.7 g, variations in frequency and amplitude seems not relevant from building design standpoint. The only exception seems to be the site named AQV, where the analyses evidence a fundamental frequency of the soil shifting from 3 Hz to about 1.5 Hz during the mainshock.     

1999年台湾集集地震近断层竖向与水平反应谱比值的研究

选取了1999年9月21日台湾集集7.6级地震主震中68组断层距在20km以内的近断层台站记录和46组断层距在40~70km的东部台站记录,按台站的上下盘位置、场地条件和断层距分组,对其竖向和水平加速度反应谱比值V/H进行了统计分析。研究表明:1)断层的滑动方向和断层破裂的传播方向对断层距在3km以内的台站上的地面运动谱比值V/H有一定影响,且主要体现在中短周期范围内,例如平行断层方向的谱比值要比垂直断层方向的谱比值大。在下盘断层距3~20km的范围内,场地条件对V/H基本没有影响。2)在集集地震中长周期(>3s)部分的谱比值通常>32,且有一个较高的峰值,表明其竖向运动加速度中的长周期分量大于其它地震。3)对于下盘的台站,地面运动在短周期(<0.2s)段的谱比值不随断层距的增加而减少。与中远(>40km)距离的台站相比较,近断层台站的V/H在工程界关心的周期范围内普遍较大。4)场地条件对谱比值V/H的影响在近断层处不显著。在远离断层的东部台站上,硬土场地谱比值V/H在长周期段大于软土场地     

Calibration of the specific barrier model to Iranian plateau earthquakes and development of physically based attenuation relationships for Iran

Earthquake ground-motion relationships for soil and rock sites in Iran have been developed based on the specific barrier model (SBM) used within the context of the stochastic modeling and calibrated against up-to-date Iranian strong-motion data. A total of 171 strong-motion accelerograms recorded at distances of up to 200 km from 24 earthquakes with moment magnitudes ranging from Mw 5.2 to 7.4 are used to determine the region-specific source parameters of this model. Regression analysis was conducted using the “random effects” methodology that considers both earthquake-to-earthquake (inter-event) variability and within-earthquake (intra-event) variability to effectively handle the problem of weighting observations from different earthquakes. The minimization of the error function in each iteration of the “random effects” procedure was performed using the genetic algorithm method. The residuals are examined against available Iranian strong-motion data to confirm that the model predictions are unbiased and that there are no significant residual trends with distance and magnitude. No evidence of self-similarity breakdown is observed between the source radius and its seismic moment. To verify the robustness of the results, tests were performed to confirm that the results are unchanged if the number of observations is changed by removing different randomly selected datasets from the original database. Stochastic simulations, using the derived SBM, are then performed to predict peak ground-motion and response spectra parameters for a wide range of magnitudes and distances. The stochastic SBM predictions agree well with the new empirical regression equations proposed for Iran, Europe and Middle East in the magnitude–distance ranges well represented by the data. It has been shown that the SBM of this study provides unbiased ground-motion estimates over the entire frequency range of most engineering interests (1–10 Hz) for the Iranian earthquakes. Our results are also important for the assessment of hazards in other seismically active environments in the Middle East and Mediterranean regions.     

Directional damage due to near-fault and site effects in the M6.4 Changureh–Avaj earthquake of 22 June 2002

The Changureh–Avaj earthquake (M = 6.4) occurred 220 km northwest of Tehran on June 22, 2002. According to the official report, 226 people were killed, 1300 injured and 33,000 houses were seriously damaged or collapsed. Two villages located in the near-fault region with a population more than 200 people were completely destroyed. The damage survey was conducted within 30 km of the epicenter. During damage investigation, an observable pattern of damage in toppled masonry and concrete block fences was recognized. The data of damaged fences were documented and analyzed to study the effect of direction and distance from the epicenter. From the 109 fences, 85 fences were built within 15° of either north or east, providing an opportunity to study the effect of orientation. The results of analysis revealed that the east–west oriented fences toppled 2.6 times more than those oriented north–south. More than 70% of toppled fences were oriented in east–west direction, with more falling towards the north than to the south. This preferred direction of damage for toppled fences was observed in all four quadrants about the epicenter and at distance up to 15 km. In the northern quadrants almost all toppled fences were oriented east–west. Two possibilities, namely, near-fault effect and 2D or 3D site response, are examined to find an explanation for the observed damage pattern at the sites. Since the preferred direction of damage inferred from toppled fences within 15 km of epicenter was found to be parallel to the direction of rupture propagation, the near-fault forwarded rupture directivity was investigated as the most possible reason for the observed phenomenon at the sites. However, there were no records of strong motions available in near-fault zone. Thus, the near-fault ground motions were theoretically simulated by using developed local source parameters and heterogeneous slip model. Next, the principal axes were calculated by using eigenvector analysis of simulated horizontal motions. The preferred direction of damage in over 90% of the sites is well predicted by the directional dependence of near-fault ground motion. Nevertheless, the preferred direction of damage in Avaj station, where the main shock was recorded, demonstrates totally different result from the one predicted by the source. The shear-wave polarization is investigated as an alternative reason at the sites. The polarization of motion is found to be the greatest at frequencies with peaks in maximized and H/V spectra, suggesting that directional motion is associated with local site and geologic conditions. The dominant direction of motion due to source mechanism and local site conditions was identified and compared with the preferred direction of damage observed at the sites. It is found that the near-fault source effects can strongly control the motion directionality and even dictate its dominant direction to the one caused by local geologic or site conditions. Finally, the outcome provides field evidence of directional damage due to near-fault effects and local site conditions. This may aid in predicting the directions of damaging earthquake motions, and serve as an important factor in the design of critical facilities.     

山地与平原地形对地震动影响的对比分析

山地和平原地形在破坏性地震中对震害和地震动有很大影响,不同地形对地震动有不同的地形效应。为研究山地和平原地形对地震动的影响规律,基于集集地震后续M L6.6余震的强震观测记录,对位于不同地形且与震中位于同一直线上的四个强震台记录处理计算,从波形特征、频谱分析、加速度反应谱计算、与规范谱比较等方面进行对比分析,完成长周期地震动反应谱分布的计算。研究表明,山地地形对地震动的高频成分有地形放大效应,沉积平原对地震动的低频长周期部分有放大作用,并且长周期反应谱的峰值区域始终位于沉积平原中部。平原上强震记录产生的长周期放大系数谱已超出规范谱,沉积平原上长周期建筑的抗震设防应引起重视。