Empirical Relationships for Frequency Content Parameters of Earthquake Ground Motions

2004 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen M. Rathje ◽  
Fadi Faraj ◽  
Stephanie Russell ◽  
Jonathan D. Bray
Keyword(s):  
Ground Motion ◽  
Ground Motions ◽  
Earthquake Ground Motion ◽  
Rupture Directivity ◽  
Frequency Content ◽  
Deep Soil ◽  
Empirical Relationships ◽  
Strong Ground Motions ◽  
Site Classes ◽  
Strong Ground

The frequency content of an earthquake ground motion is important because it affects the dynamic response of earth and structural systems. Four scalar parameters that characterize the frequency content of strong ground motions are (1) the mean period (Tm), (2) the average spectral period (Tavg), (3) the smoothed spectral predominant period (To), and (4) the predominant spectral period (Tp). Tm and Tavg distinguish the low frequency content of ground motions, while To is affected most by the high frequency content. Tp does not adequately describe the frequency content of a strong ground motion and is not recommended. Empirical relationships are developed that predict three parameters (Tm, Tavg, and To) as a function of earthquake magnitude, site-to-source distance, site conditions, and rupture directivity. The relationships are developed from a large strong-motion database that includes recorded motions from the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Taiwan. The new relationships update those previously developed by the authors and others. The results indicate that three site classes, which distinguish between rock, shallow soil, and deep soil, provide a better prediction of the frequency content parameters and smaller standard error terms than conventional “rock” and “soil” site classes. Forward directivity significantly increases the frequency content parameters, particularly Tm and To, at distances less than 20 km. Each of the frequency content parameters can be predicted with reasonable accuracy, but Tm is the preferred because it best distinguishes the frequency content of strong ground motions.

Simplified R-Factor Relationships for Strong Ground Motions

2003 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel Cuesta ◽  
Mark A. Aschheim ◽  
Peter Fajfar
Keyword(s):  
Ground Motion ◽  
Ground Motions ◽  
Structural Systems ◽  
Code Design ◽  
Frequency Content ◽  
Design Spectrum ◽  
Strong Ground Motions ◽  
R Factor ◽  
N2 Method ◽  
Strong Ground

Recent studies have demonstrated the need to consider the ground motion frequency content in the development and use of R−μ−T relationships. Results from two different approaches to determining these relationships are unified in the present paper. Two bilinear R−μ−T/Tg relationships are recommended for most strong ground motions and structural systems. One is more accurate, while the other, more conservative relationship is used in FEMA 273, ATC-32, and the simple version of the N2 method. Both relationships are indexed by the characteristic period of the ground motion, Tg. Simple methods to determine Tg from smoothed design spectra and recorded ground motions are provided. Neither recommended relationships are applicable to the nearly harmonic ground motions that may be generated at sites containing soft lakebed deposits. An example illustrates the application of these relationships to a code design spectrum in both the acceleration-displacement and yield point spectra formats.

Source model of the 1995 Hyogo-Ken Nanbu earthquake and simulation of near-source ground motion

1998 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 400-412
Author(s):  
Katsuhiro Kamae ◽  
Kojiro Irikura
Keyword(s):  
Ground Motion ◽  
Stress Drop ◽  
Ground Motions ◽  
Source Region ◽  
Source Model ◽  
Rupture Directivity ◽  
Strong Ground Motions ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Initial Source ◽  
Strong Ground

Abstract The 1995 Hyogo-Ken Nanbu earthquake struck the heavily populated Kobe and adjacent cities in western Japan. More than 6400 people were killed, and more than 150,000 buildings were destroyed. The characteristics of mainshock ground motions in the heavily damaged area are needed to understand how buildings and bridges performed and why they reached failure. Unfortunately, very few strong ground motions were recorded in the heavily damaged area during the mainshock. In this study, we attempt to estimate mainshock ground motions by using the empirical Green's function method (EGF method). First, we assume an initial source model with the asperities based on the rupture process obtained by inversion of strong-ground-motion records. For simplicity, we consider each asperity as a subevent with uniform stress drop in a finite extent. Then, the initial model was improved by matching the synthetic and observed ground motions using a trial-and-error procedure. The final model consists of three subevents: subevent 1 with stress drop of 163 bars, under the Akashi Strait around the rupture starting point; subevent 2 with stress drop of 86 bars, under the Nojima Fault in Awaji Island; and subevent 3 with stress drop of 86 bars, under Kobe. Finally, we estimate strong ground motions using aftershock records at sites where the mainshock was not recorded. The near-source motions in Kobe synthesized with the best-fit model are characterized by two large pulses with a duration of 1 to 3 sec. The pulses are caused by forward rupture directivity effects from subevents 1 and 3. Peak horizontal acceleration and velocity of the synthesized motions at the heavily damaged sites are about 1000 cm/sec2 and 130 cm/sec, respectively, while those at a rock site in the near-source region are about 300 cm/sec2 and 60 cm/sec.

The Simulation of Strong Ground Motion Using Empirical Green Function and Stochastic Method for Southern Taiwan Area

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsung-Jen Teng ◽  
Pei-Ting Chen ◽  
Ting-Wei Chang ◽  
Yuan-Sen Yang ◽  
Chien-Kuo Chiu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Green Function ◽  
Ground Motion ◽  
Strong Ground Motion ◽  
Ground Motions ◽  
Large Earthquake ◽  
Green Function Method ◽  
Strong Ground Motions ◽  
Empirical Green Function ◽  
Southern Taiwan ◽  
Strong Ground

This study presents strong ground motion simulation methods for the future fragility study of a power plant in Southern Taiwan. The modified stochastic method and empirical Green function method are utilized to synthesize the strong ground motions of specific events. A modified physical random function model of strong ground motions for specific sites and events is presented in this study with verification of sample level. Based on the special models of the source, path, and local site, the random variables of the physical random function of strong ground motions is obtained. The inverse Fourier transform is used to simulate strong ground motions. For the empirical Green function method, the observed site records from small earthquake events occurring around the source area of a large earthquake are collected to simulate the broadband strong ground motion from a large earthquake event. Finally, an application of proposed two simulated methods of this study for simulating the ground motion records of Nishi-Akashi Station at 1995 Kobe earthquake and 2006 Southern Taiwan PingDong earthquake are presented.

On the Seismic Response of the Faculty of Architecture and Engineering Building at Tohoku University

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 523-545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Wang ◽  
Enrique Villalobos ◽  
Santiago Pujol ◽  
Hamood Al-Washali ◽  
Kazuki Suzuki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Response ◽  
Ground Motion ◽  
Structural Damage ◽  
Ground Motions ◽  
Strong Ground Motions ◽  
First Motion ◽  
Strong Ground

The Faculty of Architecture and Engineering Building at Tohoku University survived two strong ground motions. This is not surprising because the structure was stiff and strong. What is surprising is that the first ground motion did not cause severe structural damage but the second one caused so much structural damage that the building had to be evacuated and demolished. The damage occurred despite two key facts: (1) the intensities of the mentioned ground motions are understood to have been similar and (2) the building was strengthened after the first motion (and before the second) following stringent standards.

Analysis and Simulation of Strong Earthquake Ground Motions Using ARMA Models

2011 ◽  
Vol 418-420 ◽  
pp. 1786-1795
Author(s):  
Abderrazak Menasri ◽  
Malek Brahimi ◽  
Abderrahmane Bali
Keyword(s):  
Ground Motion ◽  
Strong Earthquake ◽  
General Procedure ◽  
Ground Motions ◽  
Gaussian White Noise ◽  
Soil Layer ◽  
Earthquake Ground Motion ◽  
Frequency Content ◽  
Arma Models ◽  
Earthquake Ground Motions

The acceleration record of an earthquake ground motion is a nonstationary process with both amplitude and frequency content varying in time. The paper presents a general procedure for the analysis and simulation of strong earthquake ground motions based on parametric ARMA models. Structural design spectra are based on smoothed linear response spectra obtained from different events scaled by their peak values. Such an approach does not incorporate other characteristics of the excitation represented by measured data. This study investigate the use of non-stationary models which can be considered characteristic and representative of specific historical earthquakes. An earthquake record is regarded as a sample realization from a population of such samples, which could have been generated by the stochastic process characterized by an Autoregressive Moving Average (ARMA) model. This model is capable of reproducing the nonstationary amplitude as well as the frequency content of the earthquake ground accelerations. The moving time-window technique is applied to synthesize the near field earthquakes, Boumerdes-1, Boumerdes -2, and Boumerdes -3 2003 recorded on dense soils in Algeria. This model, is based on a low-order, time-invariant ARMA process excited by Gaussian white noise and amplitude modulated using a simple envelope function to account for the non-stationary characteristics. This simple model gives a reasonable fit to the observed ground motion. It is shown that the selected ARMA (2,1) model and the algorithm used for generating the accelerograms are able to preserve the features of the real earthquake records with different frequency content. In this evaluation, the linear and non linear responses of a given soil layer have been adopted. This study suggests the ability to characterize the earthquake by a minimum number of parameters.

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