• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 1998.10a
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• pp.407-412
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• 1998

Amplification factor spectrum, using the observed strong ground motions database, has been obtained and compared with Standard Response Spectrum, which were suggested by US NRC. The observed ground motions from the Yongwol and the Kyoungju Earthquake, respectively, which are suppose to represent domestic seismotectonic characteristics such as seismic source, attenuation, and site effect, are used for the analysis of amplification factor spectrum. Amplification factors have been calculated by comparing the observed peak ground motions with results from responses to the observed horizontal and vertical ground motions. The comparison shows that the amplification factors resultant from this study exceeds those of Standard Response Spectum at relatively higher frequencies. The results suggest that the characteristics of the seismic strong ground motion, which are supposed to represent the domestic seismotectonic characteristics, differs from those of Standard Response Spectrum, especially at hither frequencies

• Proceedings of the International Union of Geodesy And Geophysics Korea Journal of Geophysical Research Conference
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• 2003.05a
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• pp.18-18
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• 2003

Three-dimensional finite-difference simulation of earthquake ground motion is performed using a locally variable time-step (LVTS) scheme matching with discontinuous grids. Discontinuous grids in three directions and extension of the discontinuous grids' boundary to the free-surface in the LVTS scheme minimize the cost of both the computational memory and the CPU time for models like the localized sedimentary basin. A simplified model of sedimentary basin is dealt to show the feasibility and efficiency of the LVTS scheme. The basin parameters are examined to understand the main characteristics on ground-motion response in the basin. The results show that the seismic energy is concentrated on a marginal area of the basin far from the source. This focusing effect is mainly due to the constructive interference of the direct S-wave with the basin-edge induced surface waves. The ground-motion amplification over the deepest part of the basin is relatively lower than that above the shallow basin edge. Therefore the ground-motion amplification may be more related to the source azimuth or the direction of the incident waves into the basin rather than the depth of it.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.663-674
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• 2015

Many seismically vulnerable regions in India and worldwide are located on deep soil deposits which extend to several hundred meters of depth. It has been well recognized that the earthquake shaking is altered by geological conditions at the location of building. As seismic waves propagates through uppermost layers of soil and rock, these layers serve as filter and they can increase the duration and amplitude of earthquake motion within narrow frequency bands. The amplification of these waves is largely controlled by mechanical properties of these layers, which are function of their stiffness and damping. Stiffness and damping are further influenced by soil type and thickness. In the current study, an attempt has been made to study the seismic site response of deep soils. Three hypothetical homogeneous soil models (e.g., soft soil, medium soil and hard soil) lying on bedrock are considered. Depth of half space is varied from 30 m to 2,000 m in this study. Controlled synthetic motions are used as input base motion. One dimensional equivalent linear ground response analyses are carried out using a computer package DEEPSOIL. Conventional approach of analysing up to 30 m depth has been found to be inadequate for deep soil sites. PGA values are observed to be higher for deeper soil profiles as compared to shallow soil profiles indicating that deeper soil profiles are more prone to liquefaction and other related seismic hazards under earthquake ground shaking. The study recommends to deal the deeper soil sections more carefully for estimating the amplification factors for seismic hazard assessment at the surface.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.367-380
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• 2024

Investigations has shown that the correct estimation of the effective amplification period is as important as the amplification value itself. It gets more important in 2D basins. This study presents a quantitative coefficient for consideration of the nonlinearity effect in terms of amplification value and the shift in its period which is missing or ineffectively considered in the previous studies. To attain this goal, by the application of a time domain fully nonlinear method, the deviation of the more common equivalent linear results from the basin nonlinear behavior under strong ground motions is investigated quantitatively. Also, despite the increase in the damping ratio, the possibility of the increase in the amplification due to the increase in motion strength is shown. To make the results useful in engineering practice, by introducing nonlinearity ratio, the effect of the nonlinearity is quantitatively estimated for two soft and stiff clayey basins with three different depths under a set of motions scaled to two target spectrum. Results show that at the 100 m depth soft clayey basin, while the nonlinearity ratio shows a 35% deviation at the basin edge part under DD1 motion level, its effect moves to the central part with 20% effect under DD3 motion level. By the increase in depth to 150 m, the results show a decrease in the overall effect of the nonlinear behavior for both clay types. At this depth, the nonlinearity ratio gives a 30% and 17% difference on a limited distance from outcrop at the soft clayey basin under DD1 and DD3 motion levels, respectively. At the 30 m depth basins, the nonlinearity ratio shows up to 25% difference for different cases. The presented ratio would be introduced as nonlinearity coefficients for consideration of the nonlinearity effects in the codes. The presented quantitative margins will help the designer to have a better understanding of the amplification period change because of nonlinearity over 2D basin surface.

• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 2000.10a
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• pp.98-107
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• 2000

Free-field ground motion during earthquake is significantly affected by the local site conditions and it is essential for the seismic design to perform the ground response analysis In this study, ground response analyses based on the equivalent linear method were carried out to evaluate the effects of various ground conditions on the site amplification. Four major factors including the depth of the site(very soft and dense soil), the impedance ratio between soil layer and bed rock, linear analysis versus equivalent linear analysis, and the location of soft soil layer were deeply discussed. Based on the analysis results, the importance of various local site conditions on the site amplification was emphasized.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.233-247
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• 2006

Most codes of practice state that for large in-plane structures it is necessary to account for the spatial variability of earthquake ground motion. There are essentially three effects that contribute for this variation: (i) wave passage effect, due to finite propagation velocity; (ii) incoherence effect, due to differences in superposition of waves; and (iii) the local site amplification due to spatial variation in geological conditions. This paper discusses the procedures to be undertaken in the time domain analysis of a cable-stayed bridge under spatial variability of earthquake ground motion. The artificial synthesis of correlated displacements series that simulate the earthquake load is discussed first. Next, it is described the 3D model of the International Guadiana Bridge used for running tests with seismic analysis. A comparison of the effects produced by seismic waves with different apparent propagation velocities and different geological conditions is undertaken. The results in this study show that the differences between the analysis with and without spatial variability of earthquake ground motion can be important for some displacements and internal forces, especially those influenced by symmetric modes.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.4 no.5
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• pp.557-585
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• 2013

The recent huge earthquake ground motion records in Japan result in the reconsideration of seismic design forces for nuclear power stations from the view point of seismological research. In addition, the seismic design force should be defined also from the view point of structural engineering. In this paper it is shown that one of the occurrence mechanisms of such large acceleration in recent seismic records (recorded in or near massive structures and not free-field ground motions) is due to the interaction between a massive building and its surrounding soil which induces amplification of local mode in the surface soil. Furthermore on-site investigation after earthquakes in the nuclear power stations reveals some damages of soil around the building (cracks, settlement and sand boiling). The influence of plastic behavior of soil is investigated in the context of interaction between the structure and the surrounding soil. Moreover the amplification property of the surface soil is investigated from the seismic records of the Suruga-gulf earthquake in 2009 and the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku earthquake in 2011. Two methods are introduced for the analysis of the non-stationary process of ground motions. It is shown that the non-stationary Fourier spectra can detect the temporal change of frequency contents of ground motions and the displacement profile integrated from its acceleration profile is useful to evaluate the seismic behavior of the building and the surrounding soil.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.411-429
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• 2017

A Spectral Element Method for 3D seismic wave propagation simulation is derived based on the three-dimensional fluctuating elastic dynamic equation. Considering the 3D real terrain and the attenuation characteristics of the medium, the topographic effect of Wenchuan earthquake is simulated by using the Spectral Element Method (SEM) algorithm and the ASTER DEM model. Results show that the high PGA (peak ground acceleration) region was distributed along the peak and the slope side away from the epicenter in the epicenter area. The overall distribution direction of high PGA and high PGV (peak ground velocity) region is parallel to the direction of the seismogenic fault. In the epicenter of the earthquake, the ground motion is to some extent amplified under the influence of the terrain. The amplification effect of the terrain on PGA is complicated. It does not exactly lead to amplification of PGA at the ridge and the summit or attenuation of PGA in the valley.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.211-217
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• 2018

The Pohang earthquake with a magnitude of 5.4 occurred on November 15, 2018. The epicenter of this earthquake located in south-east region of the Korean peninsula. Since instrumental recording for earthquake ground motions started in Korea, this earthquake caused the largest economic and life losses among past earthquakes. Korea is located in low-to moderate seismic region, so that strong motion records are very limited. Therefore, ground motions recorded during the Pohang earthquake could have valuable geological and seismological information, which are important inputs for seismic design. In this study, ground motions associated by the 2018 Pohang earthquake are generated using the point source model considering domestic geological parameters (magnitude, hypocentral distance, distance-frequency dependent decay parameter, stress drop) and site amplification calculated from ground motion data at each stations. A contour map for peak ground acceleration is constructed for ground motions generated by the Pohang earthquake using the proposed model.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.285-295
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• 2018

In this study, the effect of local site conditions (site class and site amplifications) and structural variability are investigated on fragility functions of typical building structures. The study area is chosen as Eastern Turkey. The fragility functions are developed using site-specific uniform hazard spectrum (UHS). The site-specific UHS is obtained based on simulated ground motions. The implementation of ground motion simulation into seismic hazard assessment has the advantage of investigating detailed local site effects. The typical residential buildings in Erzincan are represented by equivalent single degree of freedom systems (ESDOFs). Predictive equations are accomplished for structural seismic demands of ESDOFs to derive fragility functions in a straightforward manner. To study the sensitivity of fragility curves to site class, two sites on soft and stiff soil are taken into account. Two alternative site amplification functions known as generic and theoretical site amplifications are examined for these two sites. The reinforced concrete frames located on soft soil display larger fragilities than those on stiff soil. Theoretical site amplification mostly leads to larger fragilities than generic site amplification more evidently for reinforced concrete buildings. Additionally, structural variability of ESDOFs is generally observed to increase the fragility especially for rigid structural models.