A comparative study of the design spectra defined by Eurocode 8, UBC, IBC and Turkish Earthquake Code on R/C sample buildings

Earthquake codes have been revised and updated depending on the improvements in the representation of ground motions, soils and structures. These revisions have been more frequently seen in recent years. One of the key changes in earthquake codes has been performed on the design spectra. In this paper, the design spectra recommended by Turkish Earthquake Code and three other well known codes (Uniform Building Code, Eurocode 8, and International Building Code) are considered for comparison. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the differences caused by the use of different codes in the dynamic analysis and seismic verification of given types of buildings located at code defined different sites. The differences in expressions and some important points for elastic and inelastic spectra defined by the codes are briefly illustrated in tables and figures. Periods, base shears, lateral displacements and interstory drifts for the analyzed buildings located at code defined ground type are comparatively presented.     

Seismic Displacement of Gravity Walls by a Two-body Model

Gravity walls retaining dry soil are modeled as a system of two bodies: (a) the gravity wall that slides along the wall-foundation soil boundary and (b) the critical soil wedge in the soil behind the wall. The strength of the system is defined by both the frictional and the cohesional components of resistance. The angle of the prism of the critical soil wedge behind the wall is obtained using the limit equilibrium method. The model accounts for changes in the geometry of the backfill soil behind the wall by considering the displacements at the end of each time step under limit equilibrium. The model shows that the standard (single) block model is over-conservative for the extreme case of critical-to-applied-seismic acceleration ratios less than about 0.30, but works well for cases where this ratio ranges between 0.5 and 0.8. The model is applied to predict the seismic displacement of gravity walls (a) tested in the shaking-table and (b) studied numerically by elaborate elasto–plastic analyses.     

Seismicity before and after the two great Sumatra earthquakes of 2004 and 2005

The Harvard CMT catalogue contains 481 shallow earthquakes that occurred between 1 January 1977 and 30 November 2005 within a broad region defined by the geographical latitude from 3°S to 14°N and by the longitude from 91°E to 102°E. There are 230 events that occurred before the great earthquake of 26 December 2004. Their surface distribution is not uniform and the source area of the 2004 great event appears as an area of seismic quiescence with a radius of about 100 km. There are 186 events that occurred between the two great earthquakes of 26 December 2004 and 28 March 2005. Practically all of them are located to the northwest from the great earthquake of 2005, that in turn was followed by 63 events, mostly located to the southeast. The cumulative seismic moment from earthquakes before the occurrence of the great event of 2004 increased rather regularly with time, with sudden increase about twenty years and two years before the occurrence of the great event. The seismic moment of earthquakes between the two great events increased rapidly during the first ten-fifteen days, then flattened out and increased slowly with time. After the great event of 2005 the seismic moment shows quiet increase during some 115 days, then sudden jump, followed by very small activity till the end of our observations. From the spatial distribution of seismic moment of earthquakes that occurred before the great event of 2004 it follows that its largest release appeared to the southeast from the great event, around the rupture area of the great earthquake of 2005. The largest release of seismic moment from earthquakes between the two great events is observed in the vicinity of the 2004 event and further up to the north. The seismic moment from earthquakes that occurred after the great event of 2005 was mostly released in its vicinity and further down to the south.     

Seismic hazard assessment for derivation of earthquake scenarios in Risk-UE

The main features of the Risk-UE project approach to assessing the ground-shaking (and related hazards) distribution within urban areas are described, as a basis for developing seismic damage scenarios for European cities. Emphasis was placed in the project on adoption of homogeneous criteria in the quantitative treatment of seismicity and in constructing the ground-shaking scenarios, despite wide differences in amount and quality of data available for the cities involved. The initial steps of the approach include treatment of the regional seismotectonic setting and the geotechnical zonation of the urban area, while the hazard assessment itself takes the form of both a deterministic analysis, and of a probabilistic, constant-hazard spectra analysis. Systematic 1D site response analyses were used, mostly in the softer soil zones, to modify (when needed) the obtained ground motion maps. Earthquake induced hazard effects, such as liquefaction and landsliding, are also briefly dealt with at the end.     

Variations of near-surface atmospheric CO2 and H2O concentrations during summer on Muztagata

Expeditions during the summers of 2002 and 2003 implemented continuous monitoring of near-surface (2 m height) atmospheric CO₂ and H₂O concentrations at the 4500 m elevation on Muztagata. The resultant data sets reveal a slight decrease of CO₂ concentrations (of about 5 μmol·mol^-1) and changes in the diurnal variations from the end of June to the middle August. The daily maximum CO₂ concentrations occur between 02:30-05:30 AM (local time) and the minimum levels occur between 12:00-15:30 PM. The atmospheric CO₂ concentrations in the summer of 2002 were around 5 μmol·mol^-1 lower than those during the same period of 2003, whereas the diurnal amplitude was higher. In contrast, we found that the daily mean atmospheric H₂O content in 2003 was much lower than that in 2002 and there exists a striking negative correlation between CO₂ and H₂O concentrations. We therefore suggest that the near-surface atmospheric CO₂ concentration is affected not only by photosynthesis and respiration, but also by the air H₂O content in the glaciated region around Muztagata.     

基于GIS的地震专题图制图中的功能开发

在探索基于GIS的地震专题制图自动化中,开发建立了基于TrueType技术的地震专题符号库,提出了地震制图自动化中线型和面型的解决方法,利用二次开发弥补了MapInfo软件在标注功能上的不足,基本满足了地震专题制图的要求。     

利用多元地震属性预测测井特性

通过寻找井旁地震数据与测井曲线的关系,将这一关系应用到远离井的区域(只有地质数据,但无测井)来预测测井的有关特性,其方法有单属性分析和多属性分析[1]。本文通过实例描述了多属性分析的特点及预测结果。从单属性回归到多属性预测、再到神经网络预测过渡时,预测能力持续提高。同时对地震属性的选择和有效性进行了讨论,将结果应用到整个二维地震剖面上,能更好地确定井以外区域的测井特性。     

TSP在隧道超前地质预报的应用研究

由于隧道施工经常遇到严重的地质灾害,施工前进行超前地质预报是十分必要的。本文介绍了TSP超前地质预报系统的技术特点和基本原理,结合工程实例探讨了在使用TSP过程中的一些技术问题。结果显示利用工程地质调查结论可以确定合理的探测方案和提高TSP的预报精度。     

印尼8.7级巨震后云南地震活动的频度变化

0引言 2004年12月26日在印尼苏门答腊西北近海发生了8．7级巨震，3月29日在距8．7级地震破裂区东南160km又发生了一次8．5级地震。8．7级地震发生后，余震向震中以北扩展达千米以上。如此剧烈的能量释放，对我国的地震活动有何影响是令人关注的，但清晰解答这个问题并非易事，主要原因是，一个地区的大地震发生后如何影响另一个地区地震活动的机制目前我们并不清楚。这个机制可能很复杂，涉及到应力在地壳和地幔内的传播、积累，以及与地质构造等的关系。因此，仅从时间尺度上判定一个地区的大地震对另一个地区地震活动是否有影响在认识上就存在分歧。例如，是一个地区的大地震发生后的波动在传播到另一个地区时直接触发的地震活动才被看作是影响？还是由于一个地区的大地震发生后的应力释放和调整影响到另一个地区的地震活动才被看作是影响？显然，这两方面的影响在时间尺度上存在差异。8．7级地震发生后不到20分钟，在我国云南的宾川发生了4．6级地震，其发震时间也是8．7级地震的面波到达该地区的时间（李刚等，2005）；     

云南地区地震视应变时空演变与强震发震地区的对应关系

在前人研究的基础上，利用云南及周边地区的地震资料，研究了1970年以来云南地区地震视应变场的分布和时空演化特征。结果表明，云南地区地震视应变的时空演变与强震具有较好的对应关系。在所研究的9个强震中，8个震前出现地震视应变异常区，5个发生在异常区内，3个发生在异常区附近。最后，对研究结果进行了初步论证。