Parametric analysis of the seismic response of a 2D sedimentary valley: implications for code implementations of complex site effects

Urban Geology, Earthquake and Planning by Means of GIS for Development Needs, A Case Study, Iran

“…The methodology of soil and sediment quality and site effect urban microzonation adopted in these studies falls into the category of Grade-3 zoning methods of the Japanese TC4 Zoning Manual,1999 [4,5,6] and previous experiences of Author. After dividing the cities into a grid of 500×500m 2 , the following steps were taken: 1-Preparation of a seismic hazard map of each study area for a return period of 475 years; 2-Gathering and investigation of the existent geological, geotechnical, sedimentological and geophysical data of area, including field observations and Sampling and aerial photo studies; 3-Conducting complementary geophysical investigation, as well as geoelectrical and seismology measurements and sedimentological studies, throughout each area; 4-Several experimental analyses on soil and sediment samples in KHU university laboratory.…”

“…In the other word, Ground shaking and its associated damage to engineered structures can be strongly influenced, not only by source and path effects, but also by surface and sub-surface geological (depth and type of bedrock, underground sediments) and geomorphologic conditions in the vicinity, known as "local site effects". To estimate correctly the site effects, accurate modelling of the subsurface geological structure is preferentially required [5,6,7]. Site effect interpretations provide a framework for establishing a first order classification of soil suitability for reconstruction and urban planning efforts and some locations with high hazard risk are selected for installation of pre-revealing systems around the cities.…”

“…The projects focused on making detailed observations regarding the tectonic, seismology, soil, subsurface sediment, and geological properties of the each region. A primary goal of these projects is to establish the relationship between the buildings quality and the geotechnical properties of the materials beneath cities with the ultimate aim of generating an improved seismic hazard assessment [6,11].…”

Nonlinear Analysis on Seismic Site Response of Fuzhou Basin, China

“…Moczo (1989), Moczo and Bard (1993), and Moczo et al (1996) used a finite-difference technique for SH waves in 2D media using irregular grids, as applied to the seismic response problem. Makraa et al (2005) presented the main features of the seismic response for a sedimentary valley; for example, they showed that locally generated surface waves made significant contributions to ground motions, and the lateral heterogeneity at the valley had a remarkable influence on ground motions. Sun et al (2008) noted that basin geometry and special site conditions have important influences on ground-motion amplification.…”

Ground motions around a semi-circular valley partially filled with an inclined alluvial layer under SH-polarized excitation

“…Among these idealized simplified models, the most popularly adopted ones are those of the fully filled type, especially those in trapezoid shapes (e.g., Bard and Bouchon 1980;Kawase and Aki 1989;Takenaka et al 1996;Makra et al 2005; Kham et al 2006;Gelagoti et al 2010). Various numerical approximation methods were devised to evaluate the dynamic site response (e.g., Aki and Larner 1970;Boore et al 1971;Dravinski et al 1991;Clements and Larsson 1994;Fu and Bouchon 2004;Dravinski 2007;Ávila-Carrera and Sánchez-Sesma 2013).…”