Maria I. Todorovska

A note on the useable dynamic range of accelerographs recording translation

Since the late 1970s, the dynamic range and resolution of strong motion digital recorders have leaped from 65 to 135 dB, opening new possibilities for advanced data processing and interpretation. One of these new possibilities is the calculation of permanent displacement of the ground or of structures, associated with faulting or with non-linear response. Proposals on how permanent displacements could be recovered from recorded strong motion have been published since 1976. The analysis in this paper concludes that permanent displacements of the ground and of structures in the near-field can be calculated provided all six components of strong motion (three translations and three rotations) have been recorded, and the records are corrected for transducer rotation, misalignment and cross-axis sensitivity.

Nonlinear soil response as a natural passive isolation mechanism—the 1994 Northridge, California, earthquake

Abstract The spatial relationship between areas with severely damaged (red-tagged) buildings and areas with large strains in the soil (indicated by reported breaks in the water distribution system), observed during the 1994 Northridge earthquake, is analysed. It is shown that these areas can be separated almost everywhere. Minimal overlapping is observed only in the regions with very large amplitudes of shaking (peak ground velocity exceeding about 150 cm s −1 ). One explanation for this remarkable separation is that the buildings on ‘soft’ soils, which experienced nonlinear strain levels, were damaged to a lesser degree, possibly because the soil absorbed a significant portion of the incident seismic wave energy. As a result, the total number of severely damaged (red-tagged) buildings in San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles and Santa Monica may have been reduced by a factor of two or more. This interpretation is consistent with the recorded peak accelerations of strong motion in the same area. It is concluded that significant reduction in the potential damage to wood frame single family dwellings may be expected in areas where the soil experiences ‘large’ strains (beyond the linear range) during strong earthquake shaking, but not significant differential motions, settlement or lateral spreading, near the surface.

Introduction to the Special Issue on Rotational Seismology and Engineering Applications

Rotational seismology is an emerging field for studying all aspects of ro- tational ground motions induced by earthquakes, explosions, and ambient vibrations. It is of interest to a wide range of geophysical disciplines, including strong-motion seismology, broadband seismology, earthquake engineering, earthquake physics, seis- mic instrumentation, seismic hazards, seismotectonics, and geodesy, as well as to physicists using Earth-based observatories for detecting gravitational waves generated by astronomical sources (predicted by Einstein in 1916). In this introduction to the BSSA special issue on rotational seismology and engineering applications, we will include (1) some background information, (2) a summary of the recent events that led to this special issue, and (3) an overview of its 51 papers—27 articles, 11 short notes, 4 reviews, 6 tutorials, and 3 supplementary articles. Our comments on these 51 papers are very brief and give just a hint of what the papers are about. Papers in this special issue demonstrate that earthquake monitoring cannot be limited to measuring only the three components of translational motion. We also need to simultaneously measure the three components of rotational motion and the many components of strains. A golden opportunity to improve our understanding of earth- quakes lies in the near field of large earthquakes (within about 25 km of the earthquake ruptures), where nonlinear rock and soil response influences ground motions in a com- plicated way.

RESPONSE SPECTRA FOR DIFFERENTIAL MOTION OF COLUMNS

The validity of the response spectrum concept for determining loads in structures excited by differential earthquake ground motion is examined. It is shown that the common definition of response spectrum for synchronous ground motion can be reconciled to remain valid in cases when the columns of extended structures experience different motions. Then, a relative displacement response spectrum for design of first-storey columns, SDC(T, δ, ζ, τ), is defined. In addition to natural period, T, and fraction of critical damping, ζ, this spectrum depends also on the ‘travel time’, τ (of the waves in the soil over distances about one half width, or length of the structure), and on a factor, δ, specifying the relative displacement of the first floor. It is shown how this spectrum can be determined using existing empirical scaling equations for relative displacement spectra SD(T, ζ) and for peak velocity and peak acceleration of strong ground motion. These new spectra are illustrated for a horizontal component of a record in the near field of the 1994 Northridge earthquake. The results show that differential motions are more important for short period (stiff) than for longer period (flexible) structures, and for structures founded on softer ground (small shear wave velocity).

Peak velocities and peak surface strains during Northridge, California, earthquake of 17 January 1994

We present contours of the largest horizontal and vertical recorded peak velocities of strong ground motion during the Northridge, California, earthquake. Above the fault, the horizontal peak velocities exceeded 100 cm/s. The vertical velocities were larger than 20 cm/s. We also present contours of peak horizontal and vertical strain factors. Through most of the San Fernando Valley and the Santa Susana Mountains, the horizontal surface strain factor was larger than 10−3. The largest horizontal strain factor computed was for the Rinaldi Receiving Station ∼10−2·2. The corresponding vertical strains were >10−3·25 and 10−13, respectively. Through most of the Los Angeles Basin the horizontal peak surface strain factors were between 10−3·75 and 10−3.

Seismic Interferometry of a Soil-Structure Interaction Model with Coupled Horizontal and Rocking Response

This article presents a system identification analysis of a soil-structure interaction model with coupled horizontal and rocking response based on a combination of Fourier analysis, wave travel-time analysis, and a relationship between fixed-base, rigid-body, and system frequencies. The study provides insight into the coupling of the structural and soil vibrations useful for interpretation of seismic recordings in structures. The structural model captures one-dimensional shear-wave propagation in the structure. The analysis shows that the system functions with respect to foundation horizontal motion are those of the coupled soil-structure system, which differs from conclusions of earlier studies based on a model without foundation rocking. The energy of the system vibrational response is concentrated around the frequencies of vibration of the system, which depend on the properties of the structure, soil, and foundation. The analysis shows that the structural fundamental fixed-base (uncoupled) frequency f 1 is related to the wave travel time τ (from the base to the top) by f 1=1/(4 τ ) and that accurate measurement of τ , unaffected by soil-structure interaction, can be obtained from impulse response functions, provided that the data are sufficiently broadband. This is an important result for structural health monitoring because it shows that structural parameters unaffected by soil-structure interaction ( τ , as well as f 1 for structures deforming primarily in shear) can be estimated from seismic monitoring data with minimum instrumentation (two horizontal sensors, one at the base and one at the top). This extends the usability of old strong-motion data in buildings, most of which have not been extensively instrumented, and lessons that can be learned for development and validation of structural health monitoring methodologies. The presented results correspond to a model of the north–south response of the Millikan Library in Pasadena, California, which has become a classical case study for soil-structure interaction.

Northridge, California, earthquake of 1994: density of pipe breaks and surface strains

Abstract Empirical scaling equations are presented which relate the average number of water pipe breaks per km2, n , with the peak strain in the soil or intensity of shaking at the site. These equations are based on contour maps of peak surface strain evaluated from strong motion recordings, and observations of intensity of ground shaking and damage following the Northridge, California, earthquake of 17 January 1994. Histograms for the number of pipe breaks per km2, n, are presented for several ranges of values of the horizontal peak strain and for several values of the site intensity. The observed distribution of pipe breaks is also used to speculate on possible more detailed geographical distribution of near surface strains in the San Fernando Valley and in central Los Angeles. The results can be used to predict number of pipe breaks in the San Fernando Valley and in Los Angeles, for a scenario earthquake or in probabilistic seismic hazard calculations, considering all possible scenarios that contribute to the hazard and the likelihood of their occurrence during specified exposure. Such predictions will be useful for emergency response planning (as the functioning of the water supply is critical for sanitation and in fighting fires caused by earthquakes), to estimate strains during future and past earthquakes in areas where no strong motion was recorded and in defining design guidelines for pipelines and other structures and structural systems sensitive to strains in the ground.

A note on distribution of uncorrected peak ground accelerations during the Northridge, California, earthquake of 17 January 1994

Abstract This paper presents a summary of uncorrected peak ground accelerations recorded during the Northridge, California, earthquake of 17 January 1994 and a preliminary analysis of these data. The presented contours of recorded accelerations agree well with observed patterns of damage. The paper also addresses the issue of how ‘unusual’ and ‘unexpected’ the recorded accelerations are relative to earlier predictions.

Wave propagation in a seven-story reinforced concrete building: I. Theoretical models

For transient, high frequency, and pulse like excitation of structures in the near field of strong earthquakes, the classical design approach based on relative response spectrum and mode superposition may not be conservative. For such excitations, it is more natural to use wave propagation methods. In this paper (Part I), we review several two-dimensional wave propagation models of buildings and show results for theoretical dispersion curves computed for these models. We also estimate the parameters of these models that would correspond to a sevenstory reinforced concrete building in Van Nuys, California. Ambient vibration tests data for this building imply vertical shear wave velocity b za 112 m/s and anisotropy factor b x/b za 0.55 for NS vibrations, and b za 88 m/s and b x/b za 1 for EW vibrations. The velocity of shear waves propagating through the slabs is estimated to be about 2000 m/s. In the companion paper (Part II), we estimate phase velocities of vertically and horizontally propagating waves between seven pairs of recording points in the building using recorded response to four earthquakes. q 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

A note on tsunami amplitudes above submarine slides and slumps

Abstract Tsunami generated by submarine slumps and slides are investigated in the near-field, using simple source models, which consider the effects of source finiteness and directivity. Five simple two-dimensional kinematic models of submarine slumps and slides are described mathematically as combinations of spreading constant or slopping uplift functions. Tsunami waveforms for these models are computed using linearized shallow water theory for constant water depth and transform method of solution (Laplace in time and Fourier in space). Results for tsunami waveforms and tsunami peak amplitudes are presented for selected model parameters, for a time window of the order of the source duration. The results show that, at the time when the source process is completed, for slides that spread rapidly (cR/cT≥20, where cR is the velocity of predominant spreading), the displacement of the free water surface above the source resembles the displacement of the ocean floor. As the velocity of spreading approaches the long wavelength tsunami velocity (c T = gh ), the tsunami waveform has progressively larger amplitude, and higher frequency content, in the direction of slide spreading. These large amplitudes are caused by wave focusing. For velocities of spreading smaller than the tsunami long wavelength velocity, the tsunami amplitudes in the direction of source propagation become small, but the high frequency (short) waves continue to be present. The large amplification for cR/cT∼1 is a near-field phenomenon, and at distances greater than several times the source dimension, the large amplitude and short wavelength pulse becomes dispersed. A comparison of peak tsunami amplitudes for five models plotted versus L/h (where L is characteristic length of the slide and h is the water depth) shows that for similar slide dimensions the peak tsunami amplitude is essentially model independent.