Identification and modeling of earthquake ground response — I. Site amplification

Abstract

Seismic downhole-array data provide a unique source of information on actual soil (and overall site) behavior over a wide range of loading conditions that are not readily covered by in-situ or laboratory experimentation procedures. In this paper, free-field downhole-array seismic records are employed to identify and model the recorded response at the Lotung (Taiwan) and Treasure Island (California) sites. At Lotung, a five-accelerometer array recorded the site response during 18 earthquakes (1985–1986). The Treasure Island site was instrumented in 1992 with an array of six accelerometers that recorded a low amplitude earthquake in 1993. Using this downhole data, correlation and spectral analyses are performed to evaluate shear wave propagation characteristics, variation of shear wave velocity with depth and site resonant frequencies and model configurations. In addition, the actual seismic shear stress-strain histories are directly evaluated from the recorded downhole accelerations. These histories provide valuable insight into the mechanisms of site amplification, damping and pore-pressure build-up. Computational simulations of these case histories are performed based on the identified mechanisms of site response. In a companion paper, two additional case histories of site liquefaction are analyzed using records of downhole seismic response.