Response of sedimentary basin to obliquely incident SH waves

This research studies the impact of the incident angle of SH waves on the seismic response of two-dimensional sedimentary basins by using a nonlinear method. At first Ricker wavelet is input for a detailed analysis, followed by a statistical analysis based on a total of 100 real earthquake motions recorded at rock sites. The results show that the incident angle has a significant implication on the basin ground motion. First, the incident angle affects the short-period components more than the long-period ones of the spectral response acceleration, but the dominant period of the spectral response acceleration is insensitive to incident angle and location. Second, the MDIA of a basin is not necessarily 0° (vertical incidence) but in the range of approximately 0°–30°, and hence due attention should be paid to the influence of incident angle in seismic response analysis. Third, basin central areas are seismically preferable to edge regions for short-period buildings located on the basin, while, for long-period buildings, the edge areas become preferable. However, with the increase in incident angle, the difference between edge and central areas diminishes gradually. Finally, given that the dimensions of a basin are perceivable to incidence waves, the slope angle has a considerable impact on the PGA distribution pattern by controlling whether or not peak appears in the edge area. The MDP is most likely to be in the edge area of a basin with small slope angle when subjected to excitation with small incident angle (including vertical incidence).