Estimating the near surface amplification factor to minimize earthquake damage: a case study at West Wadi Hagoul area, Egypt

The damage caused by earthquake occurrences in different localities all over the world necessitates the evaluation of the underground and/or sub-soil structure for strategic projects. The case study is the proposed area for a new factory construction that lies 3 km west of Suez Cement factory, in the area between Kottamiya and Ain Sokhna. The shallow seismic refraction survey was carried out through 10 major lines (grid lines), comprising 30 seismic profiles. The microtremor measurements were done at 25 locations at the grid intersection points. The obtained compressional (P) and horizontal shear (SH) wave velocities, with the horizontal to vertical (H/V) spectral ratios, are used to deduce the subsurface structures, to evaluate the elastic and dynamic properties and the transfer function at both the surface and bedrock. The results illustrate that there is a good correlation between the fundamental frequencies deduced through the theoretical transfer function and the H/V spectral ratio. The maximum value of ground motion amplification factor of the study area is 3.3 at a corresponding frequency of 7.8 Hz.