Basin Structure and Numerical Simulation for the Mechanisms of Seismic Disasters

In the present study seismic wave propagation in heterogeneous media is numerically simulated by using the pseudospectral method with the staggered grid RFFT differentiation in order to clarify the cause for the complicated distribution characteristics of strong ground motion in regions with basin structure. The results show that the maximum amplitudes of simulated ground acceleration waveforms are closely related to the basin structure. Interference of seismic waves in the basin strongly affects the distribution of maximum seismic waveforms, which may result in peak disasters during earthquakes. Peak disasters might be away from basin boundaries or earthquake faults. Seismic energy transmitted into the basin from the bedrock can hardly penetrate the bottom of the basin and then travel back into the bedrock region. The seismic energy is absorbed by basin media, and transferred into the kinematical energy of seismic waves with great amplitude in the basin. Seismic waves between basins may result in serious damage to buildings over the basin. This is significant for aseismatic research. Geological surveys in and around urban areas would benefit aseismatic research and mitigation of seismic disasters of a city. Such geological surveys should involve seismic velocity structure in the media above the bedrock besides such subjects as active faults and geological structure.

Digital earth, Virtual Reality and urban seismic disaster simulation

US Vice President Al Gore's vision of Digital Earth applies us with prospects for brand-new ways of solving problems the earth is facing such as seismic disaster. ms paper first briefly introduces the concept of Digital Earth. Then in the context of Digital Earth. the Origin, concept and application of Virtual Reality technology are reviewed. After that we present in detail our preliminary case study--CVR-USD (Computer Virtual Reality for Urban Seismic Disaster Simulation) System which aims to simulate and manage seismic disaster through integrating RS, GIS and VR technologies. For this system, we've built USD subsystem, developed SMVR software to implement CVR. and also developed a Spatial Dare Analysis Package to handle spatial data related to earthquake disaster.

Research on the Seismic-Geological Conditions for a Large Transformer Substation-A Case Study in the Shimian Region,Sichuan Province

A seismic-geological disaster can obviously affect an engineering site in three aspects:the first is ground faulting caused by the earthquake;the second is strong ground motion;the third is geological disasters such as landslides,mud-rock flows and liquefaction.Through the case study of selection of the huge transformer substation in the Shimian region of Sichuan Province,this paper proposes that the activity pattern and spatial distribution of faults near the site are crucial factors for evaluating the seismic-geological conditions for the location of huge transformer substations.

Wenchuan earthquake fault and seismic disaster

Major cases of the Ms8.0 Wenchuan earthquake are obtained through field investigations of the epicenter and high-intensity areas, and the relationships among earthquake faults, ground motion and earthquake disasters near fault zones are analyzed. Both strong deformation and ground rupture lead to significant damages of the buildings, indicating that it is necessary to keep safe distance away from active faults and to take other necessary measures. There are two reasons for that the buildings near the surface rupture zones have withstood in the strong earthquake, other than their seismic resistance capacities, with the first being the site condition, and the second the reduced effective stress and low rupture velocity. The forms of structural damages are complex in the fault areas, with shear failure and tensile and compressive damages. Those structures in urban areas that have used qualified materials and followed the building codes performed well in the earthquake. Survey results also indicate that structures of flexible materials may show better seismic performance.

Method of expected earthquake losses estimation based on the frequency of seismic site intensity

During a given period,a site will suffer the attack from earthquake several times.But this effect is neglected in the currently used model of loss estimation from earthquake When calculating the occurrence rate of the affected intensity,the difference of the exceeding probability is used.Such treatment will underestimate the earthquake loss,especially when the exposure period is long.To overcome the shortcomings of the model currently used,a new frame of earthquake loss estimation is provided from the logic sense:during the given period,the expected earthquake loss responding to the specific affected intensity is equal to the expected number of the intensity multiplying the expected loss under the condition of such an affected intensity,and the total expected loss is equal to the effects of all the possible intensities.On the basis of the seismicity model used in compiling the 'Chinese Seismic Intensity Zoning Map(1990) ',a new formula of expected loss evaluation and the variance of the evaluation are provided.It is inferred from the example and the comparison with the currently used method that the new method is applicable and necessary.These results will lay a scientific foundation for the estimation of earthquake loss,insurance and disaster prevention.

Earthquake Disaster and Seismic Activity in China Since 1949

An outline is given in the present paper of the general situation of earthquake disasters and their temporal,spatial,and magnitude distributions in China since 1949,based on recently published Chinese disaster data.A comparison was made between the earthquake disasters and seismic activities in China during this period.The results show that 477 disaster-causing earthquakes have occurred during this period,resulting in a death toll of 278,000 persons and the collapse of 11,000,000 rooms in residence houses.The total direct economic losses exceeded 42 billion Yuan(Chinese currency,the same below).A comparison of earthquake disasters in various regions(between East and West China,between various provinces,etc.)has shown that both correlations and significant differences exist between the spatial distributions of earthquake disasters and seismic activities in China.For example,seismic activity shows a feature of being "stronger in the West than in the East," whereas the earthquake disasters are stronger

F-structure model of overlying strata for dynamic disaster prevention in coal mine

The rupture and movement scope of overlying strata upon the longwall mining face increased sharply as the exploitation scale and degree growing recently,and the spatial structure formed by fractured strata became much more complex.The overlying strata above the working face and adjacent gobs would affect each other and move cooperatively because small pillar can hardly separate the connection of overlying strata between two workfaces,which leads to mining seismicity in the gob and induces rockburst disaster that named spatial structure instability rockburst in this paper.Based on the key stratum theory,the F-structure model was established to describe the overlying strata characteristic and rockburst mechanism of workface with one side of gob and the other side un-mined solid coal seam.The results show that F-structure in the gob will re-active and loss stability under the influence of neighboring mining,and fracture and shear slipping in the process of instability is the mechanism of the seismicity in the gob.The F-structure was divided into two categories that short-arm F and long-arm F structure based on the state of strata above the gob.We studied the underground pressure rules of different F-structure and instability mechanism,thus provide the guide for prevention and control of the F-structure spatial instability rockburst.The micro-seismic system is used for on-site monitoring and researching the distribution rules of seismic events,the results confrmed the existence and correct of F-spatial structure.At last specialized methods for prevention seismicity and rockburst induced by F-structure instability are proposed and applied in Huating Coal Mine.

A Review of the Study on the Uncertainty of Earthquake Loss Estimation

In this paper,the types of research methods that contain uncertainty are first introduced,and then the description is concentrated on the progress of study on different types of uncertainties in seismic disaster and loss estimation. The main methods applied to uncertainty study are reviewed. Preliminary discussion of the problems currently existing in estimation is also made.