Identification of soil properties based on accelerometer records and comparison with other methods

Abstract

During an earthquake loading, the ground response parameters are significantly affected by the soil thickness, stiffness, type, and geological condition. There are various techniques for the determination of characteristics of soil which can be used for site effect assessment. Previewing past studies indicated that earthquake records provide a very applicable and useful tool to estimating the characteristics of soil. In this study, the system identification method based on particle swarm optimization algorithm was described. Then this technique is utilized to estimate the characteristics of soil profile of the Babol accelerograph station by using ground shaking data recorded during the recent Babol earthquakes of May 28, 2004 and January 11, 2012. Moreover, for determining the accuracy of the present technique, the obtained results were compared with the downhole test, microtremor measurement, and numerical site response modeling. The obtained results reveal that the present system identification method successfully estimated the soil properties.