Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 

About: Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering is an academic journal published by Elsevier BV. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Liquefaction & Geotechnical engineering. It has an ISSN identifier of 0267-7261. Over the lifetime, 5656 publications have been published receiving 137442 citations.

Semi-empirical procedures for evaluating liquefaction potential during earthquakes

Abstract: Semi-empirical procedures for evaluating the liquefaction potential of saturated cohesionless soils during earthquakes are re-examined and revised relations for use in practice are recommended. The stress reduction factor ( r d ), earthquake magnitude scaling factor for cyclic stress ratios (MSF), overburden correction factor for cyclic stress ratios ( K σ ), and the overburden normalization factor for penetration resistances ( C N ) are discussed and recently modified relations are presented. These modified relations are used in re-evaluations of the SPT and CPT case history databases. Based on these re-evaluations, revised SPT- and CPT-based liquefaction correlations are recommended for use in practice. In addition, shear wave velocity based procedures are briefly discussed.

Characterization of forward-directivity ground motions in the near-fault region

Abstract: Ground motions close to a ruptured fault resulting from forward-directivity are significantly different than other ground motions These pulse-type motions can place severe demands on structures in the near-fault region To aid in the characterization of these special type of ground motions, a simplified parameterization is proposed based on a representative amplitude, pulse period, and number of significant pulses in the velocity–time history Empirical relationships were developed for estimating the peak ground velocity (PGV) and period of the velocity pulse (Tv) of available forward-directivity motions PGV in the near-fault region varies significantly with magnitude and distance Additionally, the PGV for soil sites are systematically larger than those at rocks sites Tv is a function of moment magnitude and site conditions with most of the energy being concentrated within a narrow-period band centered on the pulse period Hence, lower magnitude events, which produce lower pulse periods, might produce more damaging ground motions for the stiff structures more common in urban areas

Processing of strong-motion accelerograms: needs, options and consequences

Abstract: Recordings from strong-motion accelerographs are of fundamental importance in earthquake engineering, forming the basis for all characterizations of ground shaking employed for seismic design. The recordings, particularly those from analog instruments, invariably contain noise that can mask and distort the ground-motion signal at both high and low frequencies. For any application of recorded accelerograms in engineering seismology or earthquake engineering, it is important to identify the presence of this noise in the digitized time-history and its influence on the parameters that are to be derived from the records. If the parameters of interest are affected by noise then appropriate processing needs to be applied to the records, although it must be accepted from the outset that it is generally not possible to recover the actual ground motion over a wide range of frequencies. There are many schemes available for processing strong-motion data and it is important to be aware of the merits and pitfalls associated with each option. Equally important is to appreciate the effects of the procedures on the records in order to avoid errors in the interpretation and use of the results. Options for processing strong-motion accelerograms are presented, discussed and evaluated from the perspective of engineering application.

Aseismic base isolation: review and bibliography

Abstract: The idea that a building can be uncoupled from the damaging effects of the ground movement produced by a strong earthquake has appealed to inventors and engineers for more than a century. Many ingenious devices have been proposed to achieve this result, but very few have been tried and the concept now generally referred to as base isolation or seismic isolation has yet to become acceptable to the engineering profession as a whole. Although most of the proposed systems are unacceptably complicated, in recent years a few practical systems have emerged and have been implemented. While some of these systems have been tested on large-scale shaking tables, none has to date been tested as built by a strong earth tremor. The shake testing and related static testing of full-scale components such as isolation bearings, however, has led to a certain degree of acceptance by the profession and it is possible that the number of practical implementations of base isolation will increase quite dramatically in the next few years. This review summarizes much of the literature on theoretical aspects of seismic isolation, describes testing programmes and enumerates those isolation systems which have been used in buildings completed or under construction. It describes the characteristics of the various implemented systems with an indication of their range of applicability and some assessment of their development as backed by research. A bibliography of all papers published on the topic from 1900 to 1984 is included. The bibliography is as complete as possible, but, due to the rapid increase in research interest in the topic in the past few years, there may be a substantial degree of omission in the later years.

Earthquake-induced landslides: 1980–1997

Abstract: A database of earthquake-induced landslides has been compiled which extends the work of Keefer (Keefer DK. Landslides caused by earthquakes. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America 1984;95:406–421) who covered the period 1811–1980 to 1997. A total of 36 earthquakes world-wide are included, the new database having about the same number of earthquakes as reported by Keefer. Correlations evolving from the new database are compared with those of Keefer. Generally the results are very similar, though the presence of extreme outliers in some of the correlations emphasises the need to be aware of special cases, particularly those involving quick clay landslides. Seismological features, including multiple earthquakes and simultaneous arrival of different phases of seismic waves, also influence the outliers. The correlations between earthquake magnitude and total landslide area, however, differ somewhat from Keefer's. For the intermediate magnitude range 5.3–7.0, a modified correlation is suggested. The scatter of the data from which the correlations are derived is greater than found by Keefer. This is ascribed to the different geographic locations of the earthquakes in the two data sets.