Coseismic site response and slope instability using periodic boundary conditions in the material point method

This paper proposed the explicit generalized-a time scheme and periodic boundary conditions in the material point method(MPM)for the simulation of coseismic site response.The proposed boundary condition uses an intuitive particle-relocation algorithm ensuring material points always remain within the computational mesh.The explicit generalized-a time scheme was implemented in MPM to enable the damping of spurious high frequency oscillations.Firstly,the MPM was verified against finite element method(FEM).Secondly,ability of the MPM in capturing the analytical transfer function was investigated.Thirdly,a symmetric embankment was adopted to investigate the effects of ground motion arias intensity(I_(a)),geometry dimensions,and constitutive models.The results show that the larger the model size,the higher the crest runout and settlement for the same ground motion.When using a Mohr-Coulomb model,the crest runout increases with increasing I_(a).However,if the strain-softening law is activated,the results are less influenced by the ground motion.Finally,the MPM results were compared with the Newmark sliding block solution.The simplified analysis herein highlights the capabilities of MPM to capture the full deformation process for earthquake engineering applications,the importance of geometry characterization,and the selection of appropriate constitutive models when simulating coseismic site response and subsequent large deformations.

Site response in the Qionghai Basin in the Wenchuan earthquake

Amplification effects of soil site response can significantly impact ground motions, and must be considered in the seismic fortification of buildings/structures to prevent or mitigate this potential seismic hazard. Utilizing acceleration time histories from the main shock of the Wenchuan earthquake recorded at four stations （i.e., one on bedrock and three on soil） in the Qionghai Basin, the site responses from three soil sites are studied by using the traditional spectral ratio method. The bedrock site is selected as a reference site. This study found that peak ground accelerations （PGAs） on the soil sites are much larger than on bedrock, with EW, NS and UD components of 3.96-6.58, 6.27-10.98, and 3.17-6.66 times those of the bedrock site, respectively. The amplification effects of the soil sites on ground motions in the frequency range of 0.1 Hz to 10 Hz are significant, depending on the thickness of the soil layer and the frequency content of the site. A significant amplification occurs with high frequency components of ground motion at shallow soil sites, and low and high frequency components of ground motion at intermediate soil sites.

Study on inelastic attenuation coefficient, site response and source parameters in Shanxi region

Based on 310 horizontal-component digital seismograms recorded at 14 seismic stations in Shanxi Digital Seis-mograph Network, the inelastic attenuation coefficient in Shanxi region is studied. By the methods of Atkinson and Moya, the site response of each station and several source parameters are obtained and the inversion results from both methods are compared and analyzed. The frequency-dependent inelastic attenuation coefficient Q is estimated as Q( f )=323.2 f 0.506. The site responses of 14 seismic stations do not show significant amplification, which is consistent with their basement on rock. We also found the dependence of corner frequency on seismic moment, seismic moment on stress drop, source radius on stress drop.

Site response of heterogeneous natural deposits to harmonic excitation applied to more than 100 case histories

Variation of shear-wave propagation velocity （SWV） with depth was studied by analyzing more than one hundred actual SWV profiles. Linear, power, and hyperbolic variation schemes were investigated to find the most representative form for naturally occurred alluvial deposits. It was found that hyperbolic （asymptotic） variation dominates the majority of cases and it can be reliably implemented in analytical or analytical-numerical procedures. Site response analyses for a one-layer heterogeneous stratum were conducted to find an equivalent homogeneous alternative which simplifies the analysis procedure but does not compromise the accuracy of the resonance and amplification responses. Harmonic average, arithmetic average and mid-value equivalents are chosen from the literature for investigation. Furthermore, full and partial depth averaging schemes were evaluated and compared in order to verify the validity of current practices which rely upon averaging shallow depths, viz., the first 30 m of the strata. Engineering bedrock concept was discussed and the results were compared.

An inversion of site response and Lg attenuation using Lg waveform

Based on spectral ratio method, a joint inversion method was used to obtain parameters of Lg wave attenuation and site response. The inversion method allows simple and direct （two-parameter） determination of Lg wave attenuation and site response from sparse spectral data, which are not affected by radiation pattern factor and different response of same instrument after geometrical spreading. The method was used successfully for estimating site response of stations of Zhejiang Seismic Network and measuring Lg wave attenuation. The study is based on 20 earthquakes occurred in northeast of Taiwan with magnitude Ms5.0-6.7 and 960 seismic wave records from 16 stations in Zhejiang area from 2002 to 2005. The parameters of site response and Lg attenuation were calculated with a frequency interval of 0.2 Hz in the range of 0.5 Hz to 10 Hz. Lg wave attenuation coefficient corresponding to U-D, E-W and N-S components are γ（f）=0.00175f^0.43485, γ（f）=0.00145f^0.48467 and γ（f）=0.0021f^0.41241, respectively. It is found that the site response is component-independent. It is also found that the site response of QIY station is significant above the frequency of 1.5 Hz, and that the site response of NIB station is low for most frequency

A Study of the Effect of Soil Improvement Based on the Numerical Site Response Analysis of Natural Ground in Babol City

A series of numerical calculations have been performed to investigate the effect of soil improvement on seismic site response. Seismic site response analyses were also performed using data collected from a study area in Babol city. The improved site is a composite ground and has more or less different mechanical properties than the natural ground. In this research, the influence of the elastic modulus of the pile, the pile distance ratio, ground motion input, distance to fault rupture, and PGA of the earthquakes on seismic response characteristics are especially investigated. The results reveal that the values of the PGA and amplification factor on the surface of the natural and improved grounds depend strongly on the fundamental period of the site, the predominant period, and the intensity of the ground motion input. The acceleration response spectra also are affected by the characteristics of ground motion input and soil layers. Changing the pile distance ratio doesn’t have a significant effect on the seismic response of the site.

Influence of site conditions on seismic design parameters for foundations as determined via nonlinear site response analysis

Site conditions,including geotechnical properties and the geological setting,influence the near-surface response of strata subjected to seismic excitation.The geotechnical parameters required for the design of foundations include mass density(ρ),damping ratio(β_(s)),shear wave velocity(V_(s)),and soil shear modulus(G_(s)).The values of the last three parameters are sensitive to the level of nonlinear strain induced in the strata due to seismic ground motion.In this study,the effect of variations in soil properties,such as plasticity index(PI),effective stress(σ′),over consolidation ratio(OCR),impedance contrast ratio(ICR)between the bedrock and the overlying strata,and depth of soil strata over bedrock(H),on seismic design parameters(β_(s),V_(s),and G_(s))was investigated for National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program(NEHRP)site classes C and D,through 1D nonlinear seismic site response analysis.The Morris one-at-a-time(OAT)sensitivity analysis indicated thatβ_(s),V_(s),and G_(s)were significantly influenced by variations in PI,while ICR affectedβ_(s)more than it affected V_(s)and G_(s).However,the influence of H on these parameters was less significant.It was also found that variations in soil properties influenced seismic design parameters in soil type D more significantly than in soil type C.Predictive relationships forβ_(s),V_(s),and G_(s)were derived based on the 1D seismic site response analysis and sensitivity analysis results.Theβ_(s),V_(s),and G_(s)values obtained from the analysis were compared with the corresponding values in NEHRP to determine the similarities and differences between the two sets of values.The need to incorporate PI and ICR in the metrics for determiningβ_(s),V_(s),and G_(s)for the seismic design of foundations was highlighted.

The role of soil in structure response of a building damaged by the 26 December 2018 earthquake in Italy

Local soil conditions can significantly modify the seismic motion expected on the soil surface.In most cases,the indications concerning the influence of the underlying soil provided by the in-force European and Italian Building Codes underestimate the real seismic amplification effects.For this reason,numerical analyses of the local seismic response(LSR)have been encouraged to estimate the soil filtering effects.These analyses are generally performed in free-field conditions,ignoring the presence of superstructures and,therefore,the effects of dynamic soil-structure interaction(DSSI).Moreover,many studies on DSSI are characterised by a sophisticated modelling of the structure and an approximate modelling of the soil(using springs and dashpots at the foundation level);while others are characterised by a sophisticated modelling of the soil and an approximate modelling of the structure(considered as a simple linear elastic structure or a single degree of freedom system).This paper presents a set of finite element method(FEM)analyses on a fully-coupled soil-structure system for a reinforced concrete building located in Fleri(Catania,Italy).The building,designed for gravity loads only,was severely damaged during the 26 December 2018 earthquake.The soil was modelled considering an equivalent visco-elastic behaviour,while the structure was modelled assuming both the visco-elastic and visco-inelastic behaviours.The comparison made between the results of the FEM analyses and the observed damage is valuable.

Directional seismic response to the complex topography:A case study of 2013 Lushan Ms 7.0 earthquake

Azimuthal variations in site response can provide a good insight into the site amplification and seismic conditions of geohazard occurrences.In this study,multiple directional site response methods,including D-Arias(Directional-Arias),D-SER(Directional-Shaking energy ratio),D-HVSR(Directional-Horizontal to vertical spectral ratio)and D-SSR(Directional–Standard spectral ratio),are adopted to analyse seismic data of the 2013 Lushan Ms 7.0 earthquake captured by the self-established Lengzhuguan(LZG)station which consists of the complex topography of isolated ridge,large mountain and some typical micro-reliefs.The results show that the isolated ridge could cause stronger site responses than the large mountain,and whose pronounced response direction is roughly perpendicular to its ridgeline.With the growth of elevation,the siteresonant frequency decreases.The different microreliefs on the mountain cause different site responses,which present as protruding slope>linear slope.The site response mainly exists on the surficial layer of the mountain and shows that with the increase of the distance to mountain surface,the site response gets weaker,the site resonant frequency gets higher,and the pronounced response direction is perpendicular to its ridgeline.

A simulation-based nonlinear site amplification model for ground-motion prediction equations in Japan

In this manuscript we present a nonlinear site amplification model for ground-motion prediction equations(GMPEs)in Japan,using a site period-based site class and a site impedance ratio as site parameters.We used a large number of shear-wave velocity profiles from the Kiban-Kyoshin network(KiK-net)and the Kyoshin network(K-NET)to construct the one-dimensional(1D)numerical models.The strong-motion records from rock-sites in Japan with different earthquake categories and taken from the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center dataset were used in this study.We fit a set of 1D site amplification models using the spectral amplification ratios derived from 1D equivalent linear analyses.Parameters of site impedance ratios for both linear and nonlinear site response were included in the 1D model.The 1D model could be implemented into GMPEs using a new proposed adjustment method.The adjusted site amplification ratios retain the nonlinear characteristics of the 1D model for strong motions and match the linear amplification ratio in GMPE for weak motions.The nonlinearity of the present site model is reasonably similar to that of the historical models,and the present site model could satisfactorily capture the nonlinear site response in empirical data.

Evaluation of underground blast-induced ground motions through nearsurface low-velocity geological layers

Surface ground motion produced by underground blasts is significantly influenced by near-surface geological conditions.However,near-surface low-propagation velocity layers were always ignored in past analyses of ground motions due to their thin thickness.With the rising concern about surface ground motions produced by the ascendant scale and frequentness of underground excavation and mining,close attention is gradually paid to ground blast vibrations.Therefore,systemic experiments were conducted and took seven months in an underground mine to clarify the variation of motion from underground rock to surface ground.The attenuation of surface ground peak particle velocities(PPVs)is compared to that in underground rock,and horizontal amplitudes are compared to vertical amplitudes.Differences between bedrock and surface ground vibrations are analyzed to illustrate the site effect of near-surface lower-propagation velocity layers.One-dimensional site response analysis is employed to quantify the influence of different geological profiles on surface ground vibrations.The experimental data and site response analysis allowed the following conclusions:(1)geological site effects mainly produce decreasing dominant frequency(DF)of surface ground vibrations;(2)the site amplification effect of blast vibration needs to be characterized by peak particle displacement(PPD);(3)shear waves(S-waves)begin to dominate and surface Rayleigh waves(R-waves)develop as blast-induced ground vibrations travel upward through rock and lower-velocity layers to the surface.The comparison of response relative displacement to a critical value is best to assess the potential for cracking on surface structures.

Strain-threshold- and frequency-dependent seismic simulation of nonlinear soils

A one-dimensional equivalent linear method （EQL） is widely used in estimating seismic ground response. For this method, the shear modulus and damping ratio of inelastic soil are supposed to be frequency independent. However, historical earthquake records and laboratory test results indicate that nonlinear soil behavior is frequency- dependent. Several frequency-dependent equivalent linear methods （FDEQL） related to the Fourier amplitude of shear strain time history have been developed to take into account the frequency-dependent soil behavior. Furthermore, the shear strain threshold plays an important role in soil behavior. For shear strains below the elastic shear strain threshold, soil behaves essentially as a linear elastic mate- rial. To consider the effect of elastic-shear-strain-threshold- and frequency-dependent soil behavior on wave propaga- tion, the shear-strain-threshold- and frequency-dependent equivalent linear method （TFDEQL） is proposed. A series of analyses is implemented for EQL, FDEQL, and TFDEQL methods. Results show that elastic-shear-strain-threshold- and frequency-dependent soil behavior plays a great influence on the computed site response, especially for the high- frequency band. Also, the effect of elastic-strain-threshold- and frequency-dependent soil behavior on the site response is analyzed from relatively weak to strong input motion, and results show that the effect is more pronounced as input motion goes from weak to strong.

Inversion of source parameters for moderate and small earthquakes in Beijing region

According to the geological structural features, Beijing and the adjacent areas can be divided into two regions of plain in the east and mountain in the west. Among the stations covered by the telemetered digital seismic station network of Earthquake Administration of Beijing Municipality, the stations in the plain area are all borehole ones and the stations in the western mountainous region are all located on the surface bedrock. In the paper, 511 wave- form data recorded by the network from Oct. 2001 to Oct. 2004 are used in the researches for the entire Beijing region, the western mountainous region and the eastern plain area, respectively. The Q values are calculated for each area by Atkinson′s method and compared with the existed data. The reliability of the Q values and the reasons for the difference in the Q values are also discussed. Then, the source parameters and site response are inverted by the Moya′s method, in which two models are used. The first model uses the Q values, earthquakes and stations in the sub-areas and the second model uses the Q values, earthquakes and stations in the entire Beijing region. The results indicate that the source parameters and site responses obtained by two models are basically consistent with each other. It also indicates that the source parameters obtained by these methods are not affected by the size of station network.

Two distant catalytic sites are responsible for C2c2 RNase activities

Subject Code:C05 With the support by the National Natural Science Foundation of China,the research team led by Prof.Wang Yanli(王艳丽)at the Key Laboratory of RNA Biology&CAS Center for Excellence in Biomacromolecules,Institute of Biophysics,Chinese Academy of Sciences,recently reported that CRISPRC2c2protein has two distant catalytic sites responsible for its dual RNase activities in Cell(2017,168:121—134).

Three-Dimensional Modeling of Shallow Shear-Wave Velocities for Las Vegas, Nevada, Using Sediment Type

A three-dimensional model of near-surface shear-wave velocity in the deep alluvial basin underlying the metropolitan area of Las Vegas, Nevada （USA）, is being developed for earthquake site response projections. The velocity dataset, which includes 230 measurements, is interpolated across the model using depth-dependent correlations of velocity with sediment type. The sediment-type database contains more than 1 400 well and borehole logs. Sediment sequences reported in logs are assigned to one of four units. A characteristic shear-wave velocity profile is developed for each unit by analyzing closely spaced pairs of velocity profiles and well or borehole logs. The resulting velocity model exhibits reasonable values and patterns, although it does not explicitly honor the measured shear-wave velocity profiles. Site response investigations that applied a preliminary version of the velocity model support a two-zone ground-shaking hazard model for the valley. Areas in which clay predominates in the upper 30 m are predicted to have stronger ground motions than the rest of the basin.