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Cesare Comina

Other affiliations: Polytechnic University of Turin
Bio: Cesare Comina is an academic researcher from University of Turin. The author has contributed to research in topics: Surface wave & Electrical resistivity tomography. The author has an hindex of 17, co-authored 134 publications receiving 1194 citations. Previous affiliations of Cesare Comina include Polytechnic University of Turin.


Papers
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present guidelines for the acquisition and analysis of surface wave data by giving some basic principles and specific suggestions related to the most common situations, which are primarily targeted to non-expert users approaching surface wave testing, but can be useful to specialists in the field as a general reference.
Abstract: Surface wave methods gained in the past decades a primary role in many seismic projects. Specifically, they are often used to retrieve a 1D shear wave velocity model or to estimate the VS,30 at a site. The complexity of the interpretation process and the variety of possible approaches to surface wave analysis make it very hard to set a fixed standard to assure quality and reliability of the results. The present guidelines provide practical information on the acquisition and analysis of surface wave data by giving some basic principles and specific suggestions related to the most common situations. They are primarily targeted to non-expert users approaching surface wave testing, but can be useful to specialists in the field as a general reference. The guidelines are based on the experience gained within the InterPACIFIC project and on the expertise of the participants in acquisition and analysis of surface wave data.

275 citations

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TL;DR: In this paper, a Monte Carlo approach for the inversion problem has been used to obtain a set of equivalent shear-wave velocity models, which are then used to evaluate the seismic response with a conventional one-dimensional analysis.

143 citations

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TL;DR: In this paper, the reliability of surface-wave tests for the evaluation of VS,30 in seismic site characterization is assessed with respect to both uncertainty and accuracy, focusing on the implications of solution nonuniqueness in inverse problems; only the inversion uncertainty is considered within this work, omitting other possible issues such as nontrivial geological settings (e.g., lateral variations) or the influence of different processing procedures.
Abstract: The reliability of surface-wave tests for the evaluation of VS,30 in seismic site characterization is assessed with respect to both uncertainty and accuracy. The discussion of uncertainty is mainly focused on the implications of solution nonuniqueness in inverse problems; only the inversion uncertainty is considered within this work, omitting other possible issues such as nontrivial geological settings (e.g., lateral variations) or the influence of different processing procedures. A Monte Carlo approach has been used to select, through a statistical test, a set of shear-wave velocity models that can be considered equivalent with respect to fitting the experimental dispersion curve according to the information content (dispersion velocities and frequency range) and the experimental uncertainties. This set of equivalent solutions is then used to evaluate the uncertainty in the determination of VS,30. Moreover, comparisons between the results obtained by surface-wave tests and invasive seismic methods are re...

59 citations

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TL;DR: In this paper, a field scale BTES living lab was built up nearby Torino (Northern Italy) within unsaturated alluvial deposits, where approximately 9.1 GJ were transferred to the ground during the first year, raising the undisturbed temperature by 2°C.

46 citations

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TL;DR: In this article, the effect of high temperatures as a degrading factor of rock materials is investigated, and the increase of crack density with temperature and the consequent porosity increases were found to be the main causes of degradation of physical and mechanical properties.

46 citations


Cited by
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01 Jan 1997
TL;DR: In this article, the spectral ratio between horizontal and vertical components (H/V ratio) of microtremors measured at the ground surface has been used to estimate fundamental periods and amplification factors of a site, although this technique lacks theoretical background.
Abstract: The spectral ratio between horizontal and vertical components (H/V ratio) of microtremors measured at the ground surface has been used to estimate fundamental periods and amplification factors of a site, although this technique lacks theoretical background. The aim of this article is to formulate the H/V technique in terms of the characteristics of Rayleigh and Love waves, and to contribute to improve the technique. The improvement includes use of not only peaks but also troughs in the H/V ratio for reliable estimation of the period and use of a newly proposed smoothing function for better estimation of the amplification factor. The formulation leads to a simple formula for the amplification factor expressed with the H/V ratio. With microtremor data measured at 546 junior high schools in 23 wards of Tokyo, the improved technique is applied to mapping site periods and amplification factors in the area.

1,130 citations

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601 citations

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TL;DR: A comprehensive review of the literature in the main scientific journals provides historical perspective, methodological issues, applications, and most promising recent approaches as discussed by the authors, and a best-practices guideline is also outlined.
Abstract: Today, surface-wave analysis is widely adopted for building near-surface S-wave velocity models. The surface-wave method is under continuous and rapid evolution, also thanks to the lively scientific debate among different disciplines, and interest in the technique has increased significantly during the last decade. A comprehensive review of the literature in the main scientific journals provides historical perspective, methodological issues, applications, and most-promising recent approaches. Higher modes in the inversion and retrieval of lateral variations are dealt with in great detail, and the current scientific debate on these topics is reported. A best-practices guideline is also outlined.

407 citations

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TL;DR: A review of the history of microstructure investigation in unsaturated soils and the engineering significance of this research to date can be found in this article, where the authors focus on the evaluation of the current state of use and the development of two widely used techniques to study the micro-structure of partially saturated soils.
Abstract: With the advent of modern microstructural testing techniques and microstructure based constitutive models the microstructural characterisation of soils is gaining prominence. This paper reviews the history of microstructure investigation in unsaturated soils and discusses the engineering significance of this research to date. After a brief overview of the main microstructural techniques, the paper focuses on the evaluation of the current state of use and the development of two widely used techniques to study the microstructure of partially saturated soils, namely mercury intrusion porosimetry and the environmental scanning electron microscopy. The details of these techniques, their advantages and limitations, are first covered, followed by the presentation of selected test results. These results highlight the use of these techniques for understanding different hydro-mechanical behavioural features observed at macroscopic scale. Specifically, the paper shows the use of these techniques to explore the fundamental properties of water retention characteristics, water permeability, and micro and macrostructural interactions along different hydro-mechanical paths.

405 citations