Simulation of spatially correlated earthquake ground motions for engineering purposes

A new model to simulate spatially correlated earthquake ground motions is developed. In the model, the main factors that characterize three distinct effects of spatial variability, namely, the incoherency effect, the wave-passage effect and the site-response effect, are taken into account, and corresponding terms/parameters are incorporated into the well known model of uniform ground motions. Some of these terms/parameters can be determined by the root operation, and others can be calculated directly. The proposed model is first verified theoretically, and examples of ground motion simulations are provided as a further illustration. It is proven that the ensemble expected value and the ensemble auto-/cross-spectral density functions of the simulated ground motions are identical to the target spectral density functions. The proposed model can also be used to simulate other correlated stochastic processes, such as wave and wind loads.

Approximation approach to the SRM based on root decomposition in the simulation of spatially varying ground motions

The spectral representation method （SRM） is widely used to simulate spatially varying ground motions. This study focuses on the approximation approach to the SRM based on root decomposition, which can improve the efficiency of the simulation. The accuracy of the approximation approach may be affected by three factors： matrix for decomposition, distribution of frequency interpolation nodes and elements for interpolation. The influence of these factors on the accuracy of this approach is examined and the following conclusions are drawn. The SRM based on the root decomposition of the lagged coherency matrix exhibits greater accuracy than the SRM based on the root decomposition of the cross spectral matrix. The equal energy distribution of frequency interpolation nodes proposed in this study is more effective than the counter pith with an equal spacing. Elements for interpolation do not have much of an effect on the accuracy, so interpolation of the elements of the decomposed matrix is recommended because it is less complicated from a computational efficiency perspective.

3D simulation of near-fault strong ground motion: comparison between surface rupture fault and buried fault

In this paper, near-fault strong ground motions caused by a surface rupture fault （SRF） and a buried fault （BF） are numerically simulated and compared by using a time-space-decoupled, explicit finite element method combined with a multi-transmitting formula （MTF） of an artificial boundary. Prior to the comparison, verification of the explicit element method and the MTF is conducted. The comparison results show that the final dislocation of the SRF is larger than the BF for the same stress drop on the fault plane. The maximum final dislocation occurs on the fault upper line for the SRF; however, for the BE the maximum final dislocation is located on the fault central part. Meanwhile, the PGA, PGV and PGD of long period ground motions （≤ 1 Hz） generated by the SRF are much higher than those of the BF in the near-fault region. The peak value of the velocity pulse generated by the SRF is also higher than the BE Furthermore, it is found that in a very narrow region along the fault trace, ground motions caused by the SRF are much higher than by the BF. These results may explain why SRFs almost always cause heavy damage in near-fault regions compared to buried faults.

Ground motion record simulation for structural analysis by consideration of spectral acceleration autocorrelation pattern

A novel approach is introduced to generate simulated ground motion records by considering spectral acceleration correlations at multiple periods. Most of the current reliable Ground Motion Record(GMR) simulation procedures use a seismological model including source, path and site characteristics. However, the response spectrum of simulated GMR is somewhat different when compared with the response spectrum based on recorded GMRs. More specifi cally, the correlation between the spectral values at multiple periods is a characteristic of a record which is usually different between simulated and recorded GMRs. As this correlation has a signifi cant infl uence on the structural response, it is needed to investigate the consistency of the simulated ground motions with actual records. This issue has been investigated in this study by incorporating an optimization algorithm within the Boore simulation technique. Eight seismological key parameters were optimized in order to achieve approximately the same correlation coeffi cients and spectral acceleration between two sets of real and simulated records. The results show that the acceleration response spectra of the synthetic ground motions also have good agreement with the real recorded response spectra by implementation of the proposed optimized values.

Review on the study of topographic effect on seismic ground motion

Topographic effect study is a very important research topic in seismology, seismic engineering,earthquake engineering, engineering earthquake construction and engineering seismology. This paper focuses on its present development status. Post-earthquake investigation has found that the existence of topography caused more serious earthquake damage. The actual seismographs also recorded the topographic amplification effect of 6 to 7 times and even more than 10 times. Numerical simulation is an important technique to study topographic effect, which complements the lack of observed records. However researches on 3-D topographic effect are not enough and need to be studied deeper. To find the main influence factors and the quantitative relationship between topography and ground motion are required very urgently. Obviously the achievements not only can be applied in the earthquake resistant design, but also can provide the quantitative pre-earthquake disaster prediction and quantitative post-earthquake disaster evaluation.

A modified method for simulating non-stationary multi-point earthquake ground motion

A spectral-representation-based algorithm is proposed to simulate non-stationary and stochastic processes with evolutionary power,according to a prescribed non-stationary cross-spectral density matrix. Non-stationary multi-point seismic ground motions at different locations on the ground surface are generated for use in engineering applications. First,a modified iterative procedure is used to generate uniformly modulated non-stationary ground motion time histories which are compatible with the prescribed power spectrum. Then,ground motion time histories are modeled as a non-stationary stochastic process with amplitude and frequency modulation. The characteristic frequency and damping ratio of the Clough-Penzien acceleration spectrum are considered as a function of time in order to study the frequency time variation. Finally,two numerical examples are presented to validate the efficiency of the proposed method,and the results show that this method can be effectively applied to the dynamic seismic analysis of long and large scale structures.

Influence of the quality factor on simulated seismic waves:A case study of the 1994 Northridge earthquake

In numerical simulations of ground motion,the constant quality factor Q of a viscoelastic medium can be determined using the time-domain constitutive approximation method of the generalized standard linear solid(GSLS)model.This study introduces a numerical seismic wavefield simulation method which combines the spectral element method with the constant-Q model.The method is used to simulate the seismic wavefield of the 1994 Northridge earthquake.The optimal attenuation coefficient for the simulated seismic waves in this study area is determined empirically based on a quantitative analysis of the deviation curve.Further,the effect of the quality factor on the simulated wavefield are analyzed according to the site characteristics of each seismic station.The quality factor shows a variable effect on the different frequency components of the simulated wavefield.The effect of the quality factor also varies with the characteristic parameters of each seismic station site,such as site velocity structure,fault distance,and azimuth angle.

Rapid estimation of disaster losses for the M6.8 Luding earthquake on September 5,2022

An M6.8 earthquake occurred in Luding,Sichuan Province,China,on September 5,2022.Since towns and villages in the earthquake-stricken area are densely populated,the earthquake caused severe fatalities and economic losses.Rapid estimation of earthquake intensity and disaster losses is significantly important for post-earthquake emergency rescue,scientific anti-seismic deployment,and the reduction of casualties and economic losses.Therefore,we make a preliminary rapid estimation of the earthquake intensity and disaster losses in the aftermath of the Luding earthquake.The seismic intensity represents the distribution of earthquake disasters and the degree of ground damage and can be directly converted from the peak ground velocity(PGV)map.To obtain a reliable PGV distribution map of this earthquake,we combined the finite-fault model constrained by seismic observations,with the complex three-dimensional(3D)geological environment and topographical features to perform strong ground motion simulation.Then,we compared the consistency between the simulated ground motion waveforms and observations,indicating the plausibility and reliability of simulations.In addition,we transformed the PGV simulation results into intensity and obtained a physics-based map of the intensity distribution of the Luding earthquake.The maximum simulated intensity of this earthquake is IX,which is consistent with the maximum intensity determined from the postearthquake field survey.Based on the simulated seismic intensity map of the Luding earthquake and the earthquake disaster loss estimation model,we rapidly estimated the death and economic losses caused by this earthquake.The estimated results show that the death toll caused by this earthquake is probably 50-300,with a mathematic expectation of 89.Thus the government should launch a Level II earthquake emergency response plan.The economic losses are likely to be 10-100 billion RMB,with a mathematical expectation of 23.205 billion RMB.Such seismic intensity simulations and rapid estimation of disaster losses are expected to provide a preliminary scientific reference for governments to carry out the targeted deployment of emergency rescue and post-disaster reconstruction.