Dependence of fourier spectrum amplitudes of recorded earthquake accelerations on magnitude,local soil conditions and on depth of sediments

New empirical scaling equations of Fourier amplitude spectra of strong earthquake shaking are presented for the site characterization in terms of local geologic and local soil conditions simultaneously. It is shown that using only the local soil site classification may lead to biased results, and it is suggested that both soil and geologic conditions should be used together in estimation of the site specific spectrum amplitudes.     

Probabilistic Microzonation of Urban Territories: A Case of Tashkent City

—?The problem of accounting for local soil effect on earthquake ground motion is especially urgent when assessing seismic hazard – recent needs of earthquake engineering require local site effects to be included into hazard maps. However, most recent works do not consider the variety of soil conditions or are performed for generalized site categories, such as “hard rock,”“soft soil” or “alluvium.” A technique of seismic hazard calculations on the basis of the Fourier Amplitude Spectra recently developed by the authors allows us to create hazard maps involving the influence of local soil conditions using soil/bedrock spectral ratios. Probabilistic microzoning maps may be constructed showing macroseismic intensity, peak ground acceleration, response and design spectra for various return periods (probability of exceedance), that allow optimization of engineering decisions. An application of this approach is presented which focused on the probabilistic microzoning of the Tashkent City.     

Correlation of pseudo relative velocity spectra with site intensity, local soil classification and depth of sediments

Empirical regression equations are presented for scaling Pseudo Relative Velocity Spectra, PSV(T), in terms of the Modified Mercalli Intensity M.M.I., local soil classification at the recording site (‘rock’, stiff or deep soil), and local geological condition (depth of sediments). It is shown that both the local soil classification and the local geological depth of sediments should be used simultaneously in the evaluation of site specific response spectra.     

The cyclic behaviour of soils and effects of geotechnical factors in microzonation

Geotechnical site conditions that can be very different due to changes in thickness and properties of soil layers, depth of bedrock and water table are among the main factors controlling earthquake characteristics on the ground surface. Soil layers subjected to cyclic stresses may lead to degradation of stress–strain and shear strength properties. The laboratory tests were conducted to evaluate the changes in the stress–strain and shear strength characteristics in terms of threshold cyclic shear stresses and cyclic yield stress. The effects of local site conditions are assessed based on geotechnical site conditions and earthquake source characteristics.     

Site Effect and its Relationship to the Intensity and Damage Observed in the June 27, 1998 Adana-Ceyhan Earthquake

The site response at 15 stations in the Adana-Ceyhan region (Southern Turkey) is calculated from the recordings of aftershocks of June 27, 1998 Adana-Ceyhan earthquake (M_S=6.2) by using the Standard Spectral Ratio (SSR) and the Horizontal-to-Vertical Spectral Ratio (HVSR) methods. While the two methods are in good harmony at a few stations in determining the site effects, they show differences on the estimated amplifications or on the site resonance frequencies at most stations. It was not clear which one of the two methods underestimates or overestimates the amplification values. We observe that at some stations, where the local site conditions are rather complex, the vertical component records are strongly influenced from the local soil conditions. Thus, the HVSR method fails at these stations. The SSR method underestimates the amplifications at some stations since the rock site, selected as reference site, has its own site response and/or the path correction we applied, considering the geometrical spreading factor only, is insufficient. At the sites where high intensity values were observed, we found high amplifications. The fundamental soil frequencies characterize the damage properties observed in the Adana-Ceyhan earthquake. The fundamental soil frequency is nearly at 1.1 Hz at the Ceyhan site, where severe damage was observed in the 5–6 story buildings, while the fundamental soil frequency is between 3–6 Hz at the Adana site, where damage was in the low-story buildings. Therefore, in addition to inefficient construction practices, it is clear that the resonance effects have also contributed to the observed damage.     

“Site & region-specific” response spectra: a probabilistic approach

Design seismic forces depend on Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) values and on the shape of Response Spectrum (RS) curves dictated by Building Codes or which need to be evaluated in every particular case. The PGA values and RS curves strictly depend on earthquake magnitude and distance, as well as on the regional and local geological conditions. At present, there is no doubt that it is necessary to construct so-called “Site & Region-specific” Building Code provisions reflecting the influence of different magnitude events at different distances that may occur during the life time of the construction, as well as the variety of local ground conditions. A scheme of Uniform Hazard Response Spectra and PGA estimation considering local site response is described in this paper. The assessments of these design parameters are obtained on the basis of Uniform Hazard Fourier spectra using the conception of “dominant earthquakes”. The effect of local geology is included by means of the soil/reference site spectral ratios.     

基于台阵记录的局部场地条件地震动效应分析

基于自贡西山公园山体地形影响台阵和唐山响堂土层场地台阵的地震动记录, 采用互相关分析、 相干系数分析、 傅里叶谱比法和考虑相干系数的傅里叶谱比法, 对比研究了山体地形和土层场地两种局部场地条件对地震动的影响。 结果表明, 局部场地条件下的地震动效应与地震波的频率成分相关。 低频地震波由于其波长较长, 易于穿过土层场地和山体地形发生衍射, 从而导致二者地震动显著相关, 但二者在该频段的地震动场地效应差异不大; 较高频率的地震波由于其波长较短, 更容易受土层场地条件和山体地形条件的影响, 造成二者地震动场地效应差异显著。 此外, 由于山体顶部的尺寸变小, 低频长波长地震波容易在该位置发生衍射, 导致山顶周边测点的地震动相关性增加, 而较高频率的地震波则容易引起山顶局部场地发生共振效应。 山体地形上相邻位置的地震动差异一般较大, 相关性较低, 这与山体地形不同位置的几何形状对较高频率的地震波影响有关; 山底基岩的地震动受山体地形的影响较小, 该位置的地震动效应机制尚需作进一步研究。      

Comparison between different techniques for evaluation of predominant periods using strong ground motion records and microtremors in Pereira Colombia

This paper presents a comparison between different techniques for evaluation of predominant periods in soft soil, for the urban area of Pereira city, Western Colombia. In this study we used microtremor and strong ground motion records obtained by a local array of seven accelerographs stations deployed in the city. Response spectra and spectral ratios have been calculated and compared with strong seismic events recorded in solid rock and soft soil stations. These observations allowed the determination of dominant response spectra for several sectors in the urban area. For the microtremor measurements and earthquake data, dominant periods were determined using interpretation of Fourier amplitude spectra and Nakamura's technique. A comparison between dominant periods obtained from strong ground motion records and those obtained from microtremor measurements show similarities, which is in the range 0.2–0.5 s. A preliminary version of a site response map for Pereira city was obtained from this analysis.     

基于强震动记录确定的场地卓越周期

本文介绍了3种根据场地强震动记录获取场地卓越周期的方法: ① 地表记录的傅里叶谱分析法; ② 地表水平/垂直傅里叶谱比法; ③ 地表/地下傅里叶谱比法. 基于日本强震动观测台网KiK-net中两个基岩台站和两个Ⅲ类场地台站获取的数百条强震动记录, 分别使用上述3种方法确定场地的卓越周期, 并对比分析各种方法的优缺点及其适用情况. 结果表明: 对于基岩场地, 由于记录信息复杂, 局部场地条件对地震动影响较小, 地震动自身特性突出, 导致3种方法所得到的结果均比较分散; 对于土层场地, 场地条件影响比较显著, 3种方法基本都可以得到一个较为准确的数值; 但对于某些场地, 地表水平/垂直傅里叶谱比法所得结果存在不确定性, 相比之下, 地表/地下傅里叶谱比法则能给出一个更为准确的场地卓越周期值.      

Two-dimensional nonlinear site response analysis of Adapazarı plain and predictions inferred from aftershocks of the Kocaeli earthquake of 17 August 1999

The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of local site conditions in the Adapazarı plain crossing the severely damaged central part of Sakarya during the 17th August earthquake. A two-dimensional model has been used to obtain the free-field motions in the valley and on surface formations. A preliminary geotechnical profile model developed from available but limited soil data was checked using recordings of some specific locations where a strong ground motion accelerometer array was in operation after the main earthquake. The range of validity of the model was assessed and modifications were made to compare with the actual recorded motions. The purpose of building such a model, which was used to study the aftershocks in Adapazarı, is to provide an improved database to be used for the design of structures in the city. This study also attempts to provide greater insight into the local site response phenomena through the use of a two-dimensional nonlinear analysis. Simulated site responses are in global agreement with the recorded data. In general agreement between the amplification functions of the computed and recorded data is satisfactory for the frequencies of engineering interest. Alluvial sites show amplification factors in the range of 4–6 in the frequencies between 0.6 and 2 Hz. A relatively shallow alluvial station, HASTAHANE, experienced considerable amplification for small aftershocks and deamplification for the strongest aftershock in frequencies between 0.5 and 2 Hz. Another station, TOYOTA, with significant deamplification characteristics and a clearly observed peak response frequency shift at the soil resonant frequency may have experienced soil shear failure during the strongest aftershock. Other alluvial stations, SEKER and GENC, show deamplification characteristics at 0.55 and at around 1 Hz. with the peak frequency shifts during the magnitude 5.8 aftershock. In general, site responses are larger in the alluvial basin for all aftershocks except the magnitude 5.8 event.     

Fourier amplitude spectra of strong motion acceleration: Extension to high and low frequencies

It is shown how the empirical equations for scaling the Fourier amplitude spectra in the frequency band from ～0.1 to 25 Hz can be extended to describe the strong motion amplitudes in a much broader frequency range. At long periods, the proposed equations are in excellent agreement with (1) the seismological and field estimates of permanent ground displacement (near field) and (2) the independent estimates of seismic moment (far field). At high frequencies, f ≥ 25 Hz, the spectral amplitudes can be described by exp (? πkf), where k ranges from 0·02 (near source) to about 0·06 at an epicentral distance of about 200 km. It is also shown how amplification by local soil and geological site conditions can be defined to apply in the same broad frequency range.     

Characterizing and quantifying earthquake-induced site nonlinearity

This study proposes a recording-based approach to characterize and quantify earthquake-induced site nonlinearity, exemplified as soil nonlinearity and/or liquefaction. Alternative to Fourier spectral analysis (FSA), the paper introduces time–frequency analysis of earthquake ground motion recordings with the aid of so-called Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT), and offers justification for the HHT in addressing the nonlinear features shown in the recordings. With the use of the 2001 Nisqually earthquake recordings, this study shows that the proposed approach is effective in characterizing site nonlinearity and quantifying the influences in seismic ground responses. Major results from this study are listed below.

1. HHT-based site amplification is defined as the ratio of marginal Hilbert amplitude spectra, similar to the Fourier-based one that is the ratio of Fourier amplitude spectra. The HHT-based site amplification can be used in effectively quantifying site nonlinearity in terms of frequency downshift in the low-frequency range and amplification-reduction factor in intermediate-frequency range in comparison with the Fourier-based one.

2. Instantaneous damping, and Hilbert and marginal Hilbert damping spectra are defined in ways similar to instantaneous frequency, and Hilbert and marginal Hilbert amplitude spectra, respectively. Consequently, the HHT-based site damping is found as the difference of marginal Hilbert damping spectra, which can be used as an alternative, complementary index to measure the influences of site nonlinearity in seismic ground responses.

Identification of non-linear and non-stationary soil properties during the 1995 Hyogoken-nanbu earthquake

An extended Kalman filter algorithm with local iteration is presented for the identification of non-linear and non-stationary soil properties. Borehole-array strong motions were recorded at a liquefied site during the 1995 Hyogoken-nanbu earthquake. In this study, a modified Kalman filtering method in which the extended Kalman filter is iteratively used at every local time-step to track rapid parameter changes is proposed. The method is then applied to the instrumented soil layer, which is modeled by an equivalent linear model. An identification of non-linear and non-stationary soil properties was conducted successfully; and non-linear restoring force–displacement relationships including progression with time were obtained.     

Effects of local site conditions on the seismic response of municipal solid waste landfills

Over the last decade, the seismic response of landfills made of municipal solid waste has drawn attention mainly due to the environmental and public-health issues that could be raised in the event of a failure. Nevertheless, there are several associated technical issues that have not been adequately investigated. One of these is the impact of local site conditions on the earthquake-induced accelerations and, thereby, on the seismic design of a landfill. This study presents the results of a parametric numerical simulation that has been performed in order to examine the effects of local site conditions on the dynamic response of a typical landfill. Emphasis is given on the special characteristics of ground motion, while the material nonlinearity of both soil and waste is taken into account by an equivalent-linear procedure. Results indicate that local site conditions may play a significant role in the seismic response of a landfill. However, this role cannot be judged a priori as beneficial or detrimental, as it depends not only on soil conditions and seismic excitation, but also on the material and geometric characteristics of the landfill.     

Variations of local seismic response in Benevento (Southern Italy) using earthquakes and ambient noise recordings

The city of Benevento (Southern Italy) has been repeatedly struck by large historical earthquakes. A heterogeneous geologic structure and widespread soft soil conditions make the estimation of site effects crucial for the seismic hazard assessment of the city. From 2000 until 2004, we installed seismic stations to collect earthquake data over zones with different geological conditions. Despite the high level of urban noise, we recorded more than 150 earthquakes at twelve sites. This data set yields the first, well documented experimental evidence for weak to moderate local amplifications. We investigated site effects primarily by the classical spectral ratio technique (CSR) using a rock station placed on the Benevento hill as reference. All sites in the Calore river valley and in the eastern part of the Benevento hill show a moderate high-frequency (f > 4 Hz) amplification peak. Conversely, sites in the Sabato river valley share weak-to-moderate amplification in a wide frequency band (from 1–2 to 7–10 Hz), without evident frequency peaks. Application of no-reference-site techniques to earthquake and noise data confirms the results of the CSRs in the sites of the Calore river valley and of the eastern part of the Benevento hill, but fails in providing indications for site effects in the Sabato river valley, being the H/V ratios nearly flat. One-dimensional modeling indicates that the ground motion amplification can be essentially explained in terms of a vertically varying geologic structure. High-frequency narrow peaks are caused by the strong impedance contrast existing between near-surface soft deposits and stiff cemented conglomerates. Conversely, broad-band amplifications in the Sabato river valley are likely due to a more complex layering with weak impedance contrasts both in the shallow and deep structure of the valley.     

地震预警仪观测地脉动差异与评估场地条件的可行性研究

根据台站场地条件进行地震动参数校正,有助于提高地震预警的有效性和准确性。针对我国地震预警台网中部分台址场地条件信息不完整及观测仪器的多样性,通过采用不同灵敏度的力平衡式加速度仪、速度仪和MEMS烈度仪,同时进行大量不同类别场地的地脉动观测,多角度对比分析时、频差别,探讨基于地震预警仪观测地脉动评价场地条件的可行性。结果表明,加速度仪灵敏度越高,H/V谱比卓越频率越易识别;速度仪与力平衡式加速度仪观测的地脉动,三分向傅氏谱和H/V谱比的谱形与卓越频率均一致;与TAG-33M强震仪相比,TMA-53烈度仪观测的地脉动整体幅值略高,波形较差,但随着振幅增大趋于一致;在近80%的场地上,TAG-33M强震仪与TMA-53烈度仪观测的地脉动傅氏谱卓越频率相差＜0.5 Hz;当幅值均方根值＞0.05 Gal时,TAG-33M强震仪与TMA-53烈度仪观测的地脉动竖向和水平向傅氏谱均趋于一致;当幅值均方根值为0.02 Gal～0.05 Gal时,TAG-33M强震仪与TMA-53烈度仪观测的地脉动竖向和水平向傅氏谱谱形均有较高的相似性;当幅值均方根值＜0.02 Gal时,TAG-33M强震仪与TMA-53烈度仪观测的地脉动傅氏谱谱形相差较大,相似性低;依据TAG-33M强震仪观测地脉动H/V谱比的卓越频率判定场地类别,准确率达83.3%;TMA-53烈度仪观测地脉动的H/V谱比过于平坦,大多数场地上卓越频率识别困难。     

Simultaneous identification of time and space variant dynamic soil properties during the 1995 Hyogoken-Nanbu earthquake

Time and space variant soil properties at a liquefied site were simultaneously identified in the time domain by using borehole array strong motion records. During soil liquefaction at a site, soils usually show a wide variety of non-linear behavior along the depth as well as non-stationary behavior. Strong ground motion records were obtained at Port Island borehole array observatory, Kobe, during the 1995 Hyogoken-Nanbu earthquake. In this study, the instrumented soil was modeled by the equivalent linear MDOF system, and an extended Kalman filter with local iteration was employed for the identification of the soils. The identification process was successfully conducted, and the stress–strain relationships of the soils at the liquefied site were obtained from different depths all at once.     

Determination of dispersive phase velocities for SASW method using harmonic wavelet transform

The spectral analysis of surface waves (SASW) method is an in situ, seismic method for determining the shear wave velocity (or maximum shear modulus) profile of a site. The SASW test consists of three steps: field testing, evaluation of dispersion curve by phase unwrapping method, and determination of shear modulus profile by inversion process. In general, field testing and dispersion curve evaluation are regarded as simple work. However, because of characteristic of Fourier transform used in the conventional phase unwrapping method, dispersion curve is sensitive to background noise and body waves in the low frequency range. Furthermore, under some field conditions such as pavement site, the usual phase unwrapping method can lead to erroneous dispersion curve. To overcome problem of the usual phase unwrapping method, in this paper, a new method of determining dispersion curve for SASW method was applied using time–frequency analysis based on harmonic wavelet transform as an alternative method of a current phase unwrapping method. To estimate the applicability of proposed method to SASW method, numerical simulations at various layered soil and pavement profiles were performed and the dispersion curves by proposed method are more reliable than those by the usual phase unwrapping method.     

Estimation of site effects using strong motion data of BYTNet array in Turkey

Simultaneous estimation of effects of source, propagation path, and local site amplification was carried out using observed strong motion records in a frequency range from 0.8 to 20 Hz for the purpose of empirical evaluation of the local site effects in different geological conditions in the northwestern part of Turkey. The analyzed data are S-wave portions of 162 accelerograms from 39 shallow events observed at 14 sites of BYTNet array. A spectral separation method was applied to the observed S-wave spectra. The solutions for source spectra, inelasticity factor of propagation path for S-waves (Q _s-value), and factor of site amplification at each site were obtained in a least squares sense. In the analysis, we assumed that the factor of the site amplification at a reference site is the same as that of theoretical amplification of S-waves to the soil model whose bottom layer has an S-wave velocity around 2.15 km/s. The estimated Q _s-value of the propagation path is modeled as Q _s(f)?=?87.4f^0.78. The estimated site amplifications are characterized into three groups. The sites in the first group belong to rock site with no dominant peaks at a frequency range of 2 to 10 Hz. The second group of hard soil sites is characterized with moderately dominant peaks at a frequency of 5 Hz. The last group for soft soil sites has common peaks at a frequency of 4 Hz with larger amplitudes than those in the hard soil group. We, then, compare the amplifications with average S-wave velocity in top 30 m of the shallow S-wave profiles and proposed linear empirical formula between them at each frequency. We, furthermore, inverted the observed amplification factors into S-wave velocity and Q _s-value profiles of the deep soil over the basement.     

基于小田原试验场地数据的不同基岩输入模型对预测地震动特征的影响研究

随着强震台网的密布及观测记录的增加,为研究各类局部场地地震反应预测模型的合理性提供了有效的参考依据,也使利用强震记录及场地条件研究地震动特征成为可能。选取场地地质参数资料和地震记录数据齐全的日本小田原（Ashigara Valley）盲测试验场地,通过对比不同地震动输入方式及场地反应分析模型,研究地震动特征,分析现有模型的优劣。基于1990年8月5日M5.1强震事件的地表基岩记录和地下基岩地震记录,采用地下台强震记录直接输入、地表基岩台强震记录减半为基底地震动输入、地表基岩台强震记录反演为基底地震动输入作为3种基岩地震动输入。基于局部场地条件分别建立一维等效线性模型、二维黏弹性模型及二维时域等效线性化模型等工程中常用的场地数值分析模型,进行局部场地地震反应分析,预测该盲测场地的地表地震动特征,并与对应的实测强震记录结果进行对比,分析不同基岩地震动输入方式对预测地震动特征及地表土层反应谱特征的影响,重点分析地震动输入、土体非线性、场地横向不均匀性及几何与非线性特征共同作用等因素对地表地震动特征的影响,以期为地表地震动的合理预测提供参考。