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.     

Nonlinear response of surface soil and NTT building due to soil–structure interaction during the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu (Kobe) earthquake

The 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu (Kobe) earthquake brought about enormous damage to structures in the Hanshin and Awaji areas. In this paper the importance of investigating the relationship between ground motion and structural damage is pointed out.

Strong seismic motion was observed at the NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone) Building during this earthquake. The structural damage to this building was relatively slight. In order to evaluate the relationship between ground motion and structural damage, it is necessary to assess the effects of the soil–structure interaction. In this study, the seismic response of the building and of the surface soil were evaluated by means of a nonlinear soil–structure interaction analysis using FEM.

It was found that, the nonlinearity of surface soil near the building had a great effect on the soil–structure interaction, especially the rocking of the building.     

Estimation of Nonlinear Time-dependent Soil Behavior in Strong Ground Motion Based on Vertical Array Data

To improve our understanding of nonlinear elastic properties of soils, a method is proposed of estimation of stress-strain relations of soils in situ in strong ground motion based on vertical array data. Strong motion records provided by seismic vertical arrays allow estimation of nonlinear stress-strain relations in soil layers at different depths, from the surface down to the location of the deepest device. As an example, records obtained during the main shock of the 1995 Kobe earthquake at Port-Island, SGK, and TKS sites were used to estimate the stress-strain relations in the soil profiles. For different layers, different types of nonlinear stress-strain relations were selected, according to the profiling data. To account for temporal changes in the soil behavior, consecutive parts of records were examined, and for successive time intervals, the relations were found showing the best-fit approximation to the observed data. At Port Island and SGK sites, where the strongest accelerations were recorded, the obtained stress-strain relations showed systematic changes in the upper layers (0–14 m), such as, a progressive reduction of the slopes of the stress-strain curves due to liquefaction at Port Island and reduction and recovery of the slopes at SGK and TKS sites. At the three sites, the stress-strain relations remained stable in layers below 11–14 m. Thus, the proposed approach gives us a representation of the soil behavior in layers at different depths in strong ground motion; it allows calculation of the propagation of arbitrary seismic signals in the studied profiles and estimation of nonlinear components in the ground response by the nonlinear system identification technique. The method can also be applied to evaluate the ground response at sites where profiling data are available and an imposed motion can be estimated.     

Simulation analyses of buildings damaged in the 1995 Kobe,Japan, earthquake considering soil–structure interaction

A series of studies was conducted on three buildings of steel reinforced concrete structures with RC shear walls damaged in the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake. These buildings are located in an area where structural damage centred around. Two of these buildings suffered severe damage, while the third was not structurally damaged. Our studies deal with site inspections, including micro-tremor measurement of buildings, the evaluation of input motions, and the response analyses considering soil–structure interaction. The results of simulation analyses of the two severely damaged buildings correspond to their actual damage state. From the response analyses of the one slender building with no structural damage, it was concluded that uplifting is the main reason it did not suffer any structural damage. Through these studies, the importance of soil–structure interaction and effective input motion is fully understood. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of surface topography on seismic ground response in the Egion (Greece) 15 June 1995 earthquake

The Greek coastal town of Egion on 15 June 1995 was shaken by a strong, small epicentral distance, earthquake that caused heavy damages to buildings and loss of life. The damages were concentrated in the central elevated part of the town whereas the flat coastal region remained almost intact. This non-uniform distribution of damage is studied in this article in terms of surface topography effects by conducting seismic response analyses of a simplified 2-D profile of the town. A dynamic finite element code implementing the equivalent-linear soil behavior (FLUSHPLUS) was used for the analyses and it was found that the step-like topography amplified greatly the intensity of motion without affecting its frequency content. The analyses showed that the motion recorded by an accelerograph installed at the center of the town is in agreement with the computed values; they also indicated a particularly intense amplification close to the crest of the steep slope, where a multi-story RC residential building partially collapsed. In contrast, the level of motion was found to be low at the flat coastal zone of the town where the earthquake damages were insignificant. It is concluded that the characteristic surface topography of the town played an important role in modifying the intensity of base motion.