Spectral amplitudes of strong earthquake accelerations recorded in buildings

Fourier spectrum amplitudes of horizontal and vertical earthquake accelerations recorded at the foundation levels of 57 buildings in the Los Angeles metropolitan area have been used to study the dependence of spectral amplitudes on the building foundation sizes. Comparison of these amplitudes with those predicted by empirical models for scaling ‘free field’ Fourier amplitude spectra does not indicate any significant dependence of the spectral amplitudes on the size of the foundation. Third degree polynomials have been employed to smooth the spectra of the accelerations recorded inside the buildings and their coefficients have been examined as functions of the foundation plan dimensions. These results also indicate no significant dependence of the spectral amplitudes on the foundation dimensions. A qualitative analysis of the spectral amplitudes for possible effects caused by the phenomena associated with soil-structure interaction indicates that the Fourier spectra of the recorded accelerations may experience some amplification as the relative ‘density’ of the foundation-structure system increases.     

A note on the useable dynamic range of accelerographs recording translation

Since the late 1970s, the dynamic range and resolution of strong motion digital recorders have leaped from 65 to 135 dB, opening new possibilities for advanced data processing and interpretation. One of these new possibilities is the calculation of permanent displacement of the ground or of structures, associated with faulting or with non-linear response. Proposals on how permanent displacements could be recovered from recorded strong motion have been published since 1976. The analysis in this paper concludes that permanent displacements of the ground and of structures in the near-field can be calculated provided all six components of strong motion (three translations and three rotations) have been recorded, and the records are corrected for transducer rotation, misalignment and cross-axis sensitivity.     

Evolution of accelerographs, data processing, strong motion arrays and amplitude and spatial resolution in recording strong earthquake motion

This paper presents a review of the advances in strong motion recording since the early 1930s, based mostly on the experiences in the United States. A particular emphasis is placed on the amplitude and spatial resolution of recording, which both must be ‘adequate’ to capture the nature of strong earthquake ground motion and response of structures. The first strong motion accelerographs had optical recording system, dynamic range of about 50 dB and useful life longer than 30 years. Digital strong motion accelerographs started to become available in the late 1970s. Their dynamic range has been increasing progressively, and at present is about 135 dB. Most models have had useful life shorter than 5–10 years. One benefit from a high dynamic range is early trigger and anticipated ability to compute permanent displacements. Another benefit is higher sensitivity and hence a possibility to record smaller amplitude motions (aftershocks, smaller local earthquakes and distant large earthquakes), which would augment significantly the strong motion databases. The present trend of upgrading existing and adding new stations with high dynamic range accelerographs has lead to deployment of relatively small number of new stations (the new high dynamic range digital instruments are 2–3 times more expensive than the old analog instruments or new digital instruments with dynamic range of 60 dB or less). Consequently, the spatial resolution of recording, both of ground motion and structural response, has increased only slowly during the past 20 years, by at most a factor of two. A major (and necessary) future increase in the spatial resolution of recording will require orders of magnitude larger funding, for purchase of new instruments, their maintenance, and for data retrieval, processing, management and dissemination. This will become possible only with an order of magnitude cheaper and ‘maintenance-free’ strong motion accelerographs. In view of the rapid growth of computer technology this does not seem to be (and should not be) out of our reach.     

Wave propagation in a seven-story reinforced concrete building: I. Theoretical models

For transient, high frequency, and pulse like excitation of structures in the near field of strong earthquakes, the classical design approach based on relative response spectrum and mode superposition may not be conservative. For such excitations, it is more natural to use wave propagation methods. In this paper (Part I), we review several two-dimensional wave propagation models of buildings and show results for theoretical dispersion curves computed for these models. We also estimate the parameters of these models that would correspond to a seven-story reinforced concrete building in Van Nuys, California. Ambient vibration tests data for this building imply vertical shear wave velocity β_z=112 m/s and anisotropy factor β_x/β_z=0.55 for NS vibrations, and β_z=88 m/s and β_x/β_z=1 for EW vibrations. The velocity of shear waves propagating through the slabs is estimated to be about 2000 m/s. In the companion paper (Part II), we estimate phase velocities of vertically and horizontally propagating waves between seven pairs of recording points in the building using recorded response to four earthquakes.     

Long period Fourier amplitude spectra of strong motion acceleration

The empirical equations for scaling Fourier amplitude spectra in the frequency band from ~0·1 to 25 Hz can be extrapolated to describe the long period strong motion amplitudes. The results of this extrapolation can agree with (1) the seismological and field estimates of permanent ground displacement (near field), and with (2) the independent estimates of seismic moment and the observed frequencies of far field Fourier spectrum amplitudes.     

Comparisons between ambient and forced vibration experiments

The ambient and forced vibration techniques for testing full-scale structures are critically compared. Both methods, based on small level excitation, may be used to determine many mode shapes and frequencies of vibration and the corresponding damping values, with adequate accuracy for most purposes. The two techniques give mutually consistent results. The mode amplitudes determined by ambient and forced vibration tests show systematic departure for high modes and near the top levels of buildings tested. This phenomenon is attributed to the participation of all mode shapes and is a consequence of excitation by a concentrated force near the top of a building and at a frequency differing by only a few per cent from a natural frequency of vibrations. A new way of showing the effect of unwanted modes on the response near resonance of the mode being sought is developed. It is particularly useful for the analysis of steady, forced vibration tests of structures using eccentric mass vibration generators.     

A note on publication and citation rates of female academics in earthquake engineering

Publication and citation rates of female engineering faculty (FEF) who work in earthquake engineering are analyzed and compared with a group of leading male engineering faculty (MEF) in the same field. After correcting for the effects of rank and gender, it is found that the future performance of FEF, given the opportunity, can rank as high as the recognized leaders in the field.     

Damage distribution during the 1994 Northridge, California, earthquake relative to generalized categories of surficial geology

The spatial distributions of severely damaged buildings (red-tagged) and of breaks in the water distribution system following the 1994 Northridge, California, earthquake (M_L = 6·4) are investigated relative to the local characteristics of surficial geology. The pipe breaks are used as an indicator of nonlinear soil response, and the red-tagged buildings as indicator of severe shaking. The surficial geology is described by several generalized categories based on age, textural character and thickness of the near surface layer. Two regions are studied: the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles-Santa Monica. The analysis shows that there is no simple correlation between damage patterns and surficial geology. Single family wood-frame buildings were damaged less when built on fine silt and clay (0–3 m thick) from the late Holocene.     

Preliminary empirical model for scaling fourier amplitude spectra of strong ground acceleration in terms of modified mercalli intensity and recording site conditions

This paper presents an empirical model for scaling Fourier amplitude spectra of ground acceleration during strong earthquake shaking in terms of the reported Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) and the simplified characteristics of the geologic environment at the recording station. This analysis shows that (i) for the intermediate and high-frequency motions the spectral amplitudes approximately double for every level of the MMI; that (ii) the uncertainties associated with estimation of Fourier spectral amplitudes in terms of MMI are not greater than the uncertainties associated with similar estimation in terms of earthquake magnitude and epicentral distance; that (iii) the high frequency spectral amplitudes tend to be greater on basement rock sites relative to alluvium sites, with this trend being reversed for the low-frequency spectral amplitudes; and that (iv) the spectral amplitudes of very high-frequency vertical shaking are equal to or higher than the corresponding spectral amplitudes for horizontal shaking.