Empirical Study of Sediment-Filled Basin Response: The Case of Taipei City

2000 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 681-707 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladimir Yu Sokolov ◽  
Chin-Hsiung Loh ◽  
Kuo-Liang Wen

We analyze the site response of the Taipei basin using the records obtained by the Taiwan Strong Ground Motion Instrumentation Program (TSMIP) network. Records of 66 earthquakes of M=2.6-6.5 with a hypocentral depth varying from 1 km to 118 km and hypocentral distances of up to 150 km are studied for 35 stations located within this triangle-shaped alluvium structure. The site response is obtained in terms of spectral ratios calculated by dividing of the site spectrum by the reference spectrum estimated for a hypothetical “very hard rock” site. The recently developed empirical source scaling and attenuation models for the Taiwan region are used for the reference spectra calculation. This approach allows us to evaluate the variability of spectral ratios due to uncertainties introduced by source and propagation path effects and variability in the site response itself. The characteristics of site response in the Taipei basin depend on the properties of soil deposits and, in general, may be described by 1-D models. However, there are some peculiarities of spectral ratios that show the influence of subsurface topography.

1991 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 974-984 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamel Elhmadi ◽  
Arthur C. Heidebrecht

Results of a parametric study on site response effects due to seismic strong ground motions are used in this paper to develop a new "dynamic foundation factor" for the National Building Code of Canada. In order to capture the effect of the site resonance, the proposed dynamic foundation factor, F*, is given as a function of the ratio between the fundamental period of the building and the site period, T/Ts (i.e., F* spectra in terms of T/Ts). The parametric study results suggested that the proposed F* spectra be dependent on four different classes of soil deposits. These classes are deep cohesive (class 1), deep cohesionless (class 2), shallow cohesive and cohesionless (class 3), and dense sand (class 4). For classes 1 and 2, the F* spectra are independent of the ratio of peak acceleration to peak velocity, av, of the seismic ground motion. For classes 3 and 4, however, the F* spectra are an increasing function of the ratio a/v. A scaling multiplier is introduced to take into account the influence of level of intensity, v. The proposed dynamic foundation factor is compared with the National Building Code of Canada 1990 foundation factor. Finally, actual sites are used to check the validity and consistency of the proposed dynamic foundation factor. Key words: seismic, foundation factor, soil, site, amplification, building, shear, force, period, spectra.


1999 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
John F Cassidy ◽  
Garry C Rogers

Three-component, digital recordings of two recent moderate earthquakes provide valuable new insight into the response to seismic shaking in the greater Vancouver area, particularly on the Fraser River delta. The 1996 M = 5.1 Duvall, Washington, earthquake (180 km southeast of Vancouver) triggered strong-motion seismographs at seven sites and the 1997 M = 4.3 Georgia Strait earthquake (37 km west of Vancouver) triggered instruments at 13 sites in the greater Vancouver area. The latter data set is especially important because it contains the first three-component recordings made on bedrock in greater Vancouver. Both data sets represent weak ground motion, with peak horizontal accelerations of 0.5-1.5% gravity (g) for the Duvall earthquake, and 0.2-2.4% g for the Georgia Strait earthquake. Using the method of spectral ratios, we estimate the site response for each of the strong-motion instrument soil sites. On the Fraser River delta amplification is observed over a relatively narrow frequency range of 1.5-4 Hz (0.25-0.67 s period), with peak amplification of 4-10 (relative to competent bedrock) for the thick soil delta centre sites, and about 7-11 for the delta edge sites. Relative to firm soil, the peak amplification ranges from 2 to 5 for the thick soil delta centre sites, and 2 to 6 for the delta edge sites. At higher frequencies, little or no amplification, and in many cases slight attenuation, is observed.Key words: seismic site response, Fraser delta, earthquakes.


1996 ◽  
Vol 86 (2) ◽  
pp. 519-523
Author(s):  
Igor A. Beresnev ◽  
Kuo-Liang Wen

Abstract Spectral ratios between soft soil and reference rock sites are often used to predict the sedimentary site response to earthquakes. However, their relationship with the genuine site-specific amplification function is often unclear. We compare the soil-to-rock spectral ratios between the stations that are 3.3 km apart with the “genuine” response given by the ratios between the surface and 17 and 47 m downhole. Data from the SMART1 array in Taiwan are used. The “weak” and “strong” motion records are addressed separately to allow for nonlinear soil response. The soil-to-rock spectral ratios are nearly identical to the “true” amplification at the frequencies from 1 to 10 Hz, if the finite depth of the borehole is taken into account. They correctly capture the strong-motion deamplification effect. However, the soil-to-rock spectral ratios are roughly 1.4 times more uncertain than surface-to-47-m ratios. In summary, the soil-to-rock spectral ratios can be considered as the reliable estimates of the real site response.


Author(s):  
Mauro Aimar ◽  
Sebastiano Foti

ABSTRACT The possible amplification of seismic waves in soil deposits is crucial for the seismic design of buildings and geotechnical systems. The most common approaches for the numerical simulation of seismic site response are the equivalent linear (EQL) and the nonlinear (NL). Even though their advantages and limitations have been investigated in several studies, the relative field of applicability is still under debate. This study tested both methods over a wide population of soil models, which were subjected to a set of acceleration time histories recorded from strong earthquakes. A thorough comparison of the results of the EQL and the NL approaches was carried out, to identify the conditions in which the relative differences are significant. This assessment allowed for the definition of simplified criteria to predict when the two schemes are or are not compatible for large expected shaking levels. The proposed criteria are based on simple and intuitive parameters describing the soil deposit and the ground-motion parameters, which can be predicted straightforwardly. Therefore, this study provides a scheme for the choice between the EQL and the NL approaches that can be used even at the preliminary design stages. It appears that the EQL approach provides reliable amplification estimates in soil deposits with thickness up to 30 m, except for very deformable soils, but this depth range may be extended at long vibration periods. This result reveals a good level of reliability of the EQL approach for various soil conditions encountered in common applications, even for high-intensity shaking.


1991 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 551-561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Rovelli ◽  
Shri K. Singh ◽  
Luca Malagnini ◽  
Alessandro Amato ◽  
Massimo Cocco

We explore the feasibility of the use of microtremors in estimating the amplification of seismic waves at soft sites in Italy. Microtremors were measured at three soft sites and nearby hard sites at night when the cultural noise was minimum. These soft sites were selected as those showing the largest amplifications of ground motion during earthquakes as compared to the records on the hard sites or with respect to the predicted spectra. We compare the soft-to-hard site microtremor spectral ratios with the corresponding acceleration spectral ratios. A rough estimate of the shape and level of spectral amplification is obtained from the microtremor data in all three cases. However, the details of the soft-to-hard site spectral ratio are not reproduced and some differences appear in (a) the frequency at which the maximum amplification occurs, and (b) the bandwidth of the significant amplification. More testing of the method is needed before its wider use for microzonation in Italy can be recommended.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (06) ◽  
pp. 2050024
Author(s):  
Zhengru Tao ◽  
Xinyan Wang ◽  
Baihui Zhu ◽  
Tao Shang

Kappa ([Formula: see text]) describes the amplitude decay of acceleration Fourier spectrum at high frequencies. Using the records of K-NET and KiK-net stations during the mainshock of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, we examine if the typical measurement method of [Formula: see text] can be extended to this size of event and how propagation path and site condition affect [Formula: see text]. The strength of the linear relationship between epicentral distance and [Formula: see text] is the most apparent in the KiK-net borehole data; for other data sets, the statistical significance of the best-fitting logarithmic model is more tenuous. Our study on site effects reveals that high-frequency amplitudes diminish about 20% at soft soil stations than they do at hard rock stations. The effect on high-frequency filters is around diminution in most cases. And, the effect of nonlinear site response on [Formula: see text] values can be observed.


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