Thermal signature of in situ soil damping under severe seismic actions

This paper gives a synthesis on a series of studies demonstrating the possibility to have a direct access to in situ soil damping, exploiting the thermal dissipation due to irreversible mechanical phenomena under severe seismic conditions. The introduction provides a background to the three steps of such a study: instrumentation, modelling and inverse identification problem. Section 2 recalls the principle of the Seismic Harmonic System, equipment able to generate powerful in situ soil accelerations in the vicinity of a well. Evidence of a significant in situ soil temperature elevation is given under such seismic conditions. Section 3 reviews the mechanical and related thermal simulations for the prediction by a direct problem procedure of the mean temperature elevation in the vicinity of the borehole, using a two- or three-parameter behaviour model depending on the intensity of the actions. Section 4 is a synthesis of the possibilities offered by thermal in situ measurements to contribute, in parallel with mechanical measurements, to the identification and/or the validation of the damping characteristics of an in situ soil.