Seismic risk assessment of buildings in urban areas: a case study for Denizli,Turkey

This study aims to carry out a seismic risk assessment for a typical mid-size city based on building inventory from a field study. Contributions were made to existing loss estimation methods for buildings. In particular, a procedure was introduced to estimate the seismic quality of buildings using a scoring scheme for the effective parameters in seismic behavior. Denizli, a typical mid-size city in Turkey, was used as a case study. The building inventory was conducted by trained observers in a selected region of Denizli that had the potential to be damaged from expected future earthquakes according to geological and geotechnical studies. Parameters that are known to have some effect on the seismic performance of the buildings during past earthquakes were collected during the inventory studies. The inventory includes data of about 3,466 buildings on 4,226 parcels. The evaluation of inventory data provided information about the distribution of building stock according to structural system, construction year, and vertical and plan irregularities. The inventory data and the proposed procedure were used to assess the building damage, and to determine casualty and shelter needs during the M6.3 and 7.0 scenario earthquakes, representing the most probable and maximum earthquakes in Denizli, respectively. The damage assessment and loss studies showed that significant casualties and economic losses can be expected in future earthquakes. Seismic risk assessment of reinforced concrete buildings also revealed the priorities among building groups. The vulnerability in decreasing order is: (1) buildings with 6 or more stories, (2) pre-1975 constructed buildings, and (3) buildings with 3–5 stories. The future studies for evaluating and reducing seismic risk for buildings should follow this priority order. All data of inventory, damage, and loss estimates were assembled in a Geographical Information System (GIS) database.     

Performance of seismically loaded shearwalls on nonlinear shallow foundations

If utilized, the energy dissipative capability of seismically loaded shallow foundations due to inelastic behavior can result in more economic design, provided the consequences, such as excessive deformations are accounted for. In this article, a Beam‐on‐Nonlinear‐Winkler‐Foundation (BNWF) model is used to assess the performance of shearwall‐foundation systems with different attributes, when subjected to ground motions of varied hazard levels. The numerical study indicates that the force and drift demands to the shearwall reduce significantly, when nonlinear foundation behavior is realized, while permanent settlement is well below the permissible limit. These results support the concept of shallow foundation capacity mobilization in future design. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evolution of the Acipayam (Denizli,Turkey) Rodingites

Numerous diabase and gabbro dikes intrude the Lycian peridotite thrust sheet of southwestern Turkey. Some of the dikes are rodingitized and the host harzburgite is serpentinized. The present study demonstrates that the major episodes of serpentinization (of harzburgite) and rodingitization (of dikes) predated the obduction of the Lycian peridotite thrust sheet. Hydrogrossular veins, which represent the major event of calcium metasomatism in the dikes, are locally fractured, fragmented, and offset. High-field-strength-element concentrations and Ta/Yb-Th/Yb ratios in the mafic rocks suggest that the dikes were originally emplaced in an island-arc environment; thus, they must have been transported to their current location.

Fluid-inclusion microthermometry obtained on primary fluid inclusions in hydrogrossulars indicates that the fluid involved in rodingitization and contemporaneous serpentinization was moderately saline (8 equiv. wt% NaCl) and within the range of 250°-450°C. The above salinity and temperature are consistent with microthermometric measurements obtained from rodingite minerals worldwide.

It is apparent from our study that rodingite geochemistry and mineralogy provide valuable information on the tectonic and metamorphic evolution of a region. Trace-element and REE geochemistry can define the tectonic setting of dikes, detailed mineralogy of the dikes and host serpentinite provides information on the relative timing of serpentinization and contemporaneous rodingitization, and fluid-inclusion microthermometry provides information on the temperature and composition of the Ca-rich metamorphic fluids.     

Hydrogeology and geochemistry in the Curuksu (Denizli) hydrothermal field, western Turkey

 Curuksu is a low temperature hydrothermal system located within the upper sector of the B. Menderes Graben. The hydrologic structure of the Curuksu hydrothermal system is largely controlled by major graben faults where it is characterized by the presence of two thermal reservoirs. One is formed by Paleozoic quartzite, schist and marble units, and the second consists of Pliocene limestone-travertine units. The thermal conditions in the Curuksu region indicate that the regional tectonics and resulting local stress field control low temperatures activity. Temperatures of 30 springs emerging in the study area range between 15 and 55  °C. These springs are classified as cold fresh, warm mineral and thermal waters. Pamukkale, Karahayıt and Honaz springs are steam condensate waters, whereas Curuksu springs are commonly steam-heated waters with respect to the major anion concentrations. The reservoir temperatures have been estimated from chemical compositions by utilizing simultaneously, geothermometers and mixing models. According to these thermometric methods, the most probable subsurface temperature is in the range of 62–90  °C. However, the mixing models suggest a temperature level of 80  °C for the parent water. The system has low total dissolved solid (TDS) of ∼1000–1500 mg/l, which indicate that these waters undergo conductive cooling within the reservoir. Received: 9 September 1999 · Accepted: 14 February 2000     

Seismic risk assessment of buildings in Izmir,Turkey

Izmir, the third largest city and a major economic center in Turkey, has more than three million residents and half million buildings. In this study, the seismic risk in reinforced concrete buildings that dominate the building inventory in Izmir is investigated through multiple approaches. Five typical reinforced concrete buildings were designed, modeled and assessed for seismic vulnerability. The sample structures represent typical existing reinforced concrete hospital, school, public, and residential buildings in Izmir. The seismic assessments of the considered structures indicate that they are vulnerable to damage during expected future earthquakes.     

Neo-deterministic definition of seismic input for residential seismically isolated buildings

This paper deals with the neo-deterministic definition of the seismic input in the municipality of Nimis (Italy), aimed at the design of residential seismically isolated buildings. The seismic input is defined by the computation of realistic synthetic seismograms considering different levels of detail for the earthquake source, both for a bedrock model and taking into account the specific site conditions. The horizontal response spectrum, calculated in the centre of the municipality by modelling the most dangerous source, advises against the construction of a building with a fixed base, but it is compatible with the seismic isolation, and it has been, therefore, used for the design of a residential seismically isolated building. The maximum displacement for the isolation system has been estimated about 17 cm, a value much lower than that provided by the code design response spectrum (28 cm). The importance of the realistic modelling, which permits the generalization of empirical observations by means of, physically sound, theoretical considerations, is evident, as it allows for the optimisation of the structural design with respect to the site of interest.     

砂土管涌机理的细观试验研究

利用显微摄像可视化跟踪技术、数字信息计算机实时处理技术,结合数字图像识别分析手段,对砂土管涌的整个过程进行跟踪记录,从细观角度揭示渗流过程中系统几何特性和水力特性的复杂变化。得到水头,水力梯度,颗粒位移场和孔隙率等量的动态变化过程,并对整个渗流过程中加压速率对管涌发展的影响,颗粒的运动特点,颗粒流失的分布特点以及渗漏通道的贯穿进行分析,揭示水土相互作用贯穿于管涌发展的全过程。     

Sedimentary facies, depositional environments and palaeogeographic evolution of the Neogene Denizli Basin, SW Anatolia, Turkey

The Denizli Basin (southwestern Anatolia, Turkey) contains a record of environmental changes dating since the Early Miocene. Detailed facies analysis of the Neogene formations in this half-graben enables us to document successive depositional regimes and palaeogeographic settings. Sedimentation commenced in the Early Miocene with the deposition of alluvial-fan and fluvial facies (K?z?lburun Formation). At this stage, alluvial fans sourced from elevated areas to the south prograded towards the basin centre. The Middle Miocene time saw the establishment of marginal lacustrine and wetland environments followed by the development of a shallow lake (Sazak Formation). The uppermost part of this unit consists of evaporitic saline lake and saline mudflat facies that grade upward into brackish lacustrine deposits of Late Miocene-Pliocene age (Kolankaya Formation). The lake became shallower at the end of the Pliocene time, as is indicated by expansion shoreface/foreshore facies. In the Early Quaternary, the Denizli Basin was transformed into a graben by the activation of ESE-trending normal faults. Alluvial fans were active at the basin margins, whereas a meandering river system occupied the basin central part.Oxygen isotope data from carbonates in the successive formations show an alternation of wetter climatic periods, when fresh water settings predominated, and very arid periods, when the basin hosted brackish to hypersaline lakes. The Neogene sedimentation was controlled by an active, ESE-trending major normal fault along the basin's southern margin and by climatically induced lake-level changes. The deposition was more or less continuous from the Early Miocene to Late Pliocene time, with local unconformities developed only in the uppermost part of the basin-fill succession. The unconformable base of the overlying Quaternary deposits reflects the basin's transformation from a half-graben into a graben system.     

Electrochemical strengthening of clayey sandy soils

Most previous studies and applications of electrochemical stabilization of soils through electroosmosis have been made on clayey soils. The object of this investigation was to find out if relatively small amounts of clay (1.5%–3.5%, by weight) present in a sandy soil would be enough for stabilization and strengthening to be possible. The results indicate increases of cohesion of the order of 100–200 lb./sq.ft. X-ray analyses of treated soils indicate that sheet structures of clays are reduced and silicates destroyed upon treatment by electroosmosis. Newly-formed minerals also cement the soil. These neoformations include gibbsite, limonite, calcite, hydrohematite, hydrogoethite (hydrolepidocrocite), hisingerite, allophane, allophanoid, gypsum, hematite, magnetite, nontronite, trona and natron (Na₂ CO₃, 10H₂O). The process seems to be irreversible.     

Drained bearing response of shallow foundations on structured soils

This paper examines the drained bearing response of circular footings resting on structured soil deposits. Numerical simulations have been carried out using a finite element formulation of the Structured Cam Clay model. A parametric study was conducted by varying the parameters that govern the behaviour of structured soils and guidelines are given for designers to identify when effects of the soil structure are important. Under fully drained conditions, deformation within the structured soil supporting the footing usually occurs as a local or punching shear failure due to high compressibility of the structured soil and the mobilised bearing pressure increases with the footing movement, without reaching an ultimate value. A novel approximate method is presented to obtain the load–displacement response of a rigid circular footing resting on the surface of a structured soil deposit. This requires the properties of the soil in the reconstituted state and two additional parameters, which govern the natural structure of the soil. The proposed method has been applied to a published case study, where plate load test results are given for rigid circular steel plates resting on structured soil deposits. Fair agreement is observed between the computed and experimental results, suggesting the approximate method may be useful in design studies of foundations on structured soil deposits.     

Determination of horizontal extension from fissure-ridge travertines: a case study from the Denizli Basin,southwestern Turkey

Travertine deposits reflect some aspects of the regional tectonics because of the close association between travertine deposits and active fractures, that later of which provide conduits along which travertine-depositing waters may rise. Fissure-ridge travertines form above extensional fissures which are located in the hanging walls of normal faults, in step-over zones between fault segments, or in active or recently active) volcanic provinces. Numerous active and inactive fissure-ridge travertines are located in the hanging walls of normal faults in the Denizli Basin. A typical fissure-ridge comprises a central fissure along its long axis and flanking bedded travertines dipping away from the fissure. Central fissures of travertine ridges have been dilating since the initiation of the fissures. Samples from both the margins and centres of banded travertine deposits were dated by Th/U methods in order to determine dilation rates. Individual fissures have been dilating at average rates of between 0.008 and 0.1 mm yr^–1 during travertine deposition, and ~ 0.001 and 0.007 mm yr^–1 after cessation of travertine deposition. There is a noticable decrease in dilation rate from west to east in the Denizli Basin, and this decrease in dilation rate may be related to decrease in overall extension in southwest Turkey, which decreases eastward.     

砂土应力-应变关系的加载速率效应分析

分析研究了两种砂土在排水平面应变压缩PSC试验和不排水三轴压缩TC试验条件下的加载速率效应,既实现了不同恒定应变率加载条件下的试验,也实现了不同的加载阶段采用不同的恒定应变率（即应变率分阶段变化）的试验。在加载速率为不同恒定应变率时,砂土的应力-应变响应是唯一的,与应变率无关。在加载速率分阶段变化时,依据应力-应变关系对应变率突变的响应程度,对砂土的加载速率效应进行了评价。分析结果表明,砂土应力-应变关系的加载速率效应表现为黏性消散特性,在应变率发生突变的瞬间,由于应变加速度的影响,应力-应变曲线也相应地突变并表现为刚度很大,近似弹性的特性,随着应变的进一步增加,这一近似弹性的行为逐渐消失。     

Vulnerability assessment of reinforced concrete buildings subjected to seismically triggered slow-moving earth slides

The objective of this paper is to develop an efficient analytical method for assessing the vulnerability of low-rise reinforced concrete buildings subjected to seismically induced slow-moving earth slides. Vulnerability is defined in terms of probabilistic fragility curves, which describe the probability of exceeding a certain limit state of the building, on a given slope, versus the Peak Horizontal Ground Acceleration (PHGA) at the assumed “seismic bedrock”, allowing for the quantification of various sources of uncertainty. The proposed method is based on a two-step, uncoupled approach. In the first step, the differential permanent landslide displacements at the building’s foundation level are estimated using a dynamic non-linear finite difference slope model. In the second step, the calculated differential permanent displacements are statically imposed at the foundation level to assess the building’s response to differing permanent seismic ground displacements using a finite element code. Structural limit states are defined in terms of threshold values of strains for the reinforced concrete structural components. The method is applied to typical low-rise reinforced concrete frame buildings on shallow foundations with varying strength and stiffness characteristics (isolated footings and continuous slab foundation), standing near the crest of a relatively slow-moving earth slide. Two different slope models are selected representing a cohesive and a purely frictional soil material. The paper describes the method and the derived fragility curves for the selected building and slope typologies that could be used in quantitative risk assessment studies at site-specific and local scales.     

高层建筑天然地基基础形式的运用

结合工程中的成功实例，分析介绍了高层和超高层建筑选用天然地基基础的成功经验，分析了地基、桩筏与上部结构协同工作的工程实例。     

Vertical harmonic vibration of piled raft foundations in layered soils

This paper develops a method to analyze the piled raft foundation under vertical harmonic load. This method takes into account the interactions among the piles, soil, and raft. The responses of the piles and raft are formulated as a series of equations in a suitable way and that of layered soils is simulated with the use of the analytical layer‐element method. Then, according to the equilibrium and continuity conditions at the piles–soil–raft interface, solutions for the piled raft systems are obtained and further demonstrated to be correct through comparing with the existing results. Finally, some examples are given to investigate the influence of the raft, pile length‐diameter ratio, and layering on the response of the piled raft foundations. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seismic performance of masonry buildings during the 2007 Bala,Turkey earthquakes

A field investigation was conducted near the town of Bala after two strong earthquakes struck the region on December 20 and 27, 2007. The main objectives of this study are to present the results of the field investigation and examine the characteristics of the recorded ground motions and the corresponding response spectra. The focus of the research was on the causes of damage and failures commonly observed in masonry structures. This study classifies single family masonry dwellings in rural areas and investigates the seismic damage in unreinforced masonry structures. Turkish Earthquake Code requirements for masonry buildings are summarized and compared with the field observations. Our field investigation showed that there has been lack of quality control and regulation for the masonry construction. Diagonal shear cracking and out-of-plane failure were the two major factors that contributed to widespread damage in masonry structures.     

Reducing monopile rotation under lateral loading in sandy soils

Many structures (including transmission-line towers, bridges, tall buildings and coastal structures) are founded on piles, which are designed to transmit both vertical and horizontal forces, and resulting moments, to the load bearing strata. The design of such foundations for large lateral repeating loads (e.g. caused by wind, wave action, earthquake) and lateral earth pressures is a challenging task. This paper presents an experimental study that investigates the use of concentric rings (CRs) of small diameter (displacement) piles (SDPs) surrounding a monopile installed in dry sand, with the intention of limiting its rotation (lateral displacement) under repeated lateral loading. The test results showed that the rotation of the monopile, investigated for a range of different repeated lateral loading schemes, was reduced by 35?75% on account of the densification of the sand achieved during installation of the SDPs and also the lateral confinement they provided to the sand located within the CRs. Significant increases to both the cyclic stiffness and load carrying resistance of the monopile under lateral loading are documented with the inclusion of the SDPs. Further experimental as well as numerical studies are necessary to validate this novel technique and to optimise the geometrical size and network pattern of the SDPs and the CRs.     

Impedances of rigid cylindrical foundations embedded in transversely isotropic soils

A complete formulation and implementation for assessment of the response to dynamic loads of cylindrical rigid structures embedded in transversely isotropic elastic half‐spaces is presented. The analysis is performed in the frequency domain and the steady‐state structure response is obtained. The method is based on a non‐singular version of the indirect boundary element method which uses influence functions, instead of Green's functions, as fundamental solutions. These influence functions are the response of an elastic half‐space to distributed, internally applied loads. The proposed method imposes full bonding contact between the foundation and the surrounding soil. Numerical results for displacement (vertical and horizontal) and rotation (twisting and rocking) impedances, showing the influence of the soil anisotropy, are presented. Results for the soil–structure interface tractions and for the displacement field throughout the half‐space are also shown. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.