Effects of weathering on site response

Nearly all studies of site response under seismic excitation employ idealized site models in which uniform layers of homogeneous soils are separated by perfect interfaces. The impedance mismatch at each interface gives rise to wave reflections which strongly affect the calculated free surface response. In reality, these perfect interfaces may often not exist. Instead, a zone in which materials from both above and below are mingled may form a blurred interface between layers. This article examines the effects of such weathered zones. The zone is modelled by a linearly varying shear modulus so that no abrupt impedance change occurs. Significant differences in response of weathered and unweathered profiles are found.