• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.35-41
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• 2009

It is necessary to consider the site amplification for estimating SSI (soil structure interaction) and seismic source with more confidence. The horizontal to vertical (H/V) ratio technique in spectral domain is one of several techniques to estimate empirical site transfer function. The technique, originally proposed by Nakamura (1989), is applied to analyze the surface waves in the microtremor records. However, the application of this technique has been widened to the shear wave energy of strong motions for estimating site amplification. The purpose of this paper is to estimate spectral ratio using observed data at the seismic stations distributed within Southern Korean Peninsula from the Fukuoka earthquake including 11 aftershocks. The results show that each station has the its own characteristics of the specific resonance, high-band, and low-band frequency. The characteristics of the resonance frequency is more important because the quality of the seismic records are dependent on the resonance frequency. The result can be used for the study of site classification and removal of the site amplification effects from observed records can give us more reliable seismic source parameters.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.273-281
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• 2014

In most current seismic design codes, design earthquake ground motions are defined by a reference spectrum, based on bedrock and site amplification factors that quantify the geotechnical dynamic conditions. Earthquake engineering bedrock is the fundamental geotechnical formation where the seismic waves are attenuated without amplification. To better define bedrock in an earthquake engineering context, shear wave velocity ($V_S$ ) data obtained from in-situ seismic tests were examined for several rock strata in Korea; these data were categorized by borehole drilling investigations. The $V_S$ values for most soft rock data in Korea are > 750 m/s, which is the threshold $V_S$ value for identifying engineering bedrock from a strong motion station. Conversely, VS values are < 750 m/s for 60% of $V_S$ data in weathered rock in Korea. Thus, the soft (or harder) rock strata below the weathered rock layer in Korea can be regarded as earthquake engineering bedrock.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.101-115
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• 2005

For the site characterization at two inland areas, Gyeongju and Hongsung, which represent geomorphic and geologic characteristics of inland region in Korea, in-situ seismic tests containing borehole drilling investigations and resonant column tests were peformed and site-specific seismic response analyses were conducted using equivalent linear as well as nonlinear scheme. The soil deposits in Korea were shallower and stiffer than those in western US, from which the site coefficients and site classification system in Korea were derived. Most sites were categorized as site classes C and D based on the mean shear wave velocity $(V_s)$ of the upper 30 m $(V_s30)$, ranging between 250 and 650 m/s. According to the acceleration response spectra determined from the site response analyses, the site coefficients specified in the current Korean seismic design guide underestimate the ground motion in the short-period band and overestimate the ground motion in mid-period band. These differences can be explained by the differences in the bedrock depth and the soil stiffness profile between Korea and western US. The site coefficients, $F_a$ for short-period and $F_v$ for mid-period, were re-evaluated and the site classification system, in which sites C and D were subdivided according to $V_s20,\;V_s15,\;and\;V_s10$ together with the existing $V_s30$ was introduced accounting for the local geologic conditions at inland region of the Korean peninsula. The proposed site classification system in this paper is still rudimentary and requires modification.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.36 no.7
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• pp.632-642
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• 2015

Seismograms are composed of 3 characteristics, that is, seismic source, attenuation, and site amplification. Among them, site amplification characteristics should be considered significantly to estimate seismic source and attenuation characteristics with more confidence. This purpose of this study is to estimate the site amplification characteristics at each site using horizontal to vertical (H/V) spectral ratio method. This method, originally proposed by Nakamura (1989), has been applied to study the surface waves in microtremor records. It has been recently extended to the shear wave energy of strong motion and applied to the study of site amplification. This study analyzed the H/V spectral ratio of 6 ground motions respectively using observed data from 4 sites nearby in Yedang Reservoir. And then, site amplification effects at each site, from 3 kinds of seismic energies, that is, S waves, Coda waves energy, and background noise were compared each other. The results suggested that 4 sites showed its own characteristics of site amplification property in specific resonance frequency ranges (YDS: ~11 Hz, YDU: ~4 Hz, YDD: ~7 Hz). Comparison of this study to other studies using different analysis method can give us much more information about dynamic amplification of domestic sites characteristics and site classification.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.183-190
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• 2007

The site effects of seismic stations were evaluated by conducting a simultaneous inversion of the stochastic point-source ground-motion model (STGM model; Boore, 2003) parameters based on the accumulated dataset of horizontal shear-wave Fourier spectra. A model parameter $K_0$ and frequency-dependent site amplification function A(f) were used to express the site effects. Once after a H/V ratio of the Fourier spectra was used as an initial estimate of A(f) for the inversion, the final A(f) which is considered to be the result of combined effect of the crustal amplification and loca lsite effects was calculated by averaging the log residuals at the site from the inversion and adding the mean log residual to the H/V ratio. The seismic stations were classified into five classes according to $logA_{1-10}^{max}$(f), the maximum level of the site amplification function in the range of 1 Hz < f < 10 Hz, i.e., A: $logA_{1-10}^{max}$(f) < 0.2, B: 0.2 $\leq$ $logA_{1-10}^{max}$(f) < 0.4, C: 0.4 $\leq$ $logA_{1-10}^{max}$(f) < 0.6, D: 0.6 $\leq$ $logA_{1-10}^{max}$(f) < 0.8, E: 0.8 $\leq$ $logA_{1-10}^{max}$(f). Implication of the classified result was supported by observing a shift of the dominant frequency of average A(f) for each classified stations as the class changes. Change of site classes after moving seismic stations to a better site condition was successfully described by the result of the station classification. In addition, the observed PGA (Peak Ground Acceleration)-values for two recent moderate earthquakes were well classified according to the proposed station classes.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.201-213
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• 2015

Site effects resulting in the amplification of earthquake ground motion are strongly influenced not only by the subsurface soil conditions and structure, but also by the surface topography. Yet, over the last several decades, most studies of site-specific seismic responses in Korea have focused primarily on the seismic amplification associated with geologic and soil conditions. For example, the effects of local geology are now well established and have been incorporated into current Korean seismic design codes, whereas topographic effects have not been considered. To help address this shortcoming, two-dimensional (2D) seismic site response analyses, using finite element (FE) ground modeling with three different slope angles, were performed in order to assess the site effects of surface topography. We then compared our results, specifically peak ground acceleration (PGA) and acceleration response spectrum, to those of one-dimensional (1D) FE model analyses conducted alongside our study. Throughout much of the upper slope region, PGAs and spectral accelerations are larger in the 2D analyses than in the 1D analyses as a result of the topographic effect.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.3C
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• pp.187-196
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• 2008

An earthquake of magnitude 5.0 occurred at Ssang-gye-sa, a Buddhist temple in Jirisan, located near the southern border of the Korean peninsula on 4 July 1936. It resulted in severe damage of several buildings and structures in Ssang-gye-sa. Particularly, the top component of a five-story stone pagoda in the temple was tipped over and fell down during the earthquake. This earthquake damage case would be usefully applied to estimating the intensity of ground motion in the Korean peninsula, a moderate seismicity region, where strong motion has never been recorded with the exception of historic seismic events. In order to estimate the local site effects and the corresponding ground motion at Ssang-gye-sa site, intensive site investigations including borehole drilling and in-situ seismic tests such as crosshole and SASW tests were performed in the temple area. Based on the site characteristics, site-specific seismic response analyses using various input motions were conducted for a representative Ssang-gye-sa site by means of both one-dimensional equivalent-linear and nonlinear methods with six input rock outcrop acceleration levels ranging from 0.044g to 0.220g. The resultant site-specific seismic responses indicated the amplified ground motions in the short-period range near the site period of Ssang-gye-sa. Furthermore, the intensity on rock outcrop of the 1936 Jirisan earthquake was estimated by making a comparison between the site responses analysis results in this study and the full-scaled seismic test of pagoda model in the prior study.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.250-255
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• 2017

When an earthquake occurs, it is necessary to evaluate the site-specific ground response while considering ground characteristics in seismic design. The design seismic force of Korean seismic design criteria is borrowed from the Uniform Building Code(UBC-1997). However, the criteria are based on the ground characteristics of the United States, which are different from the ground characteristics in Korea, and using them could cause over-or under-designing. Therefore, it is important to develop a proper design response spectrum for Korean ground characteristics. In this study, 158 ground sites in Korean urban areas were selected and compared to those in the western part of the United States, and their site-specific ground responses were analyzed. The classification standard in the seismic design criteria classifies the 158 sites into 37 sites, 107 sites, and 14 sites. Using 7 earthquake inputs, the criteria were compared for each group.The Korean design response spectrum underestimates the amplification of the short-period range and overestimates the amplification in the long-period range. There were large differences in the results of the and sites,which account for 77 percent of the 158 sites. Therefore, there is a need to modify the amplification factor in the Korean seismic criteria to properly reflect Korean ground characteristics.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.36 no.12
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• pp.77-86
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• 2020

In this study, the importance of implied strength correction for shallow depths at a region of moderate to low seismicity with primary focus on its effect upon site natural period and mean period of the ground motion is investigated. In addition to the most commonly used Modified Kondner-Zelasko (MKZ) model, this paper uses a quadratic/hyperbolic (GQ/H) model that can capture the stress - strain response at large strains as well as small strain stiffness dependence. A total of six site profiles by downhole tests are used and 1D site response analyses are performed using three input motions with contrasting mean periods. The difference between non-corrected and corrected analyses is conditional on the site period as well as mean ground motion period. The effect of periods is analyzed by correlating them with the effective peak ground acceleration, maximum shear strains and amplification factors. The comparative study reveals that the difference is more prominent in soft sites with long site periods. Insignificant differences are observed when soil profiles are subjected to ground motion with very short mean period.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.103-110
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• 2020

In the recent seismic design code KDS 41 17 00, selection and modification procedures of ground motions which are used for nonlinear dynamic analyses were adopted. However, its practical applications are still limited due to the lack of literatures. This paper introduces case studies which used site-response analyses to select and modify ground motions for nonlinear dynamic analyses. Based on the case studies, design criterion for site-response analyses were reviewed thoroughly in the viewpoint of practical applications. It was found that design requirements related with bedrock motions are too conservative that ground motions are selected and modified in the excessive manner. It is especially true for low-rise building structures with period ranges including acceleration-sensitive regions. Even though surface motions have shown appropriate responses, such building structures have to re-select and re-modify ground motions based on pre-analysis procedures rather than post-ones according to the current seismic design code. Also, it was observed that building structures with soft soils under strong ground motions need more comprehensive investigations on soil properties and efficient analysis methods in order to perform site-response analyses. This is due to the fact that lack of reliabilities on soil properties and analysis methods could result in unstable site-responses.