Assessment of a Fast Proxy of Vs30 (Vs30m)

Abstract

The most frequent parameter used to quantify seismic site response in ground motion models is time-averaged shear wave velocity in the top 30 m of a site (Vs30), used by many engineering design codes and most recently by published empirical-scaling equations to estimate the amplitudes of strong ground motion. The current study explores the potential comparison of the results from the predictive equations and formula recommendations by the international building code. A total of 53 synthetic and real data models with distinct types of vs. profile were used to determine the theoretical dispersion curves and avoid forward and inverse modeling. In the prediction equation, VR36 and VR40 were employed to estimate Vs30. Furthermore, using VR40, based on the 53 different models, shows a good agreement with Vs30. The thickness of the first layer substantially affects the correlation. The findings calculated by the correlation are not in the acceptable zone for layer thicknesses of 10 < H < 20 m and thin layers at shallow depths with lower shear wave velocity.