Local site effect incorporation in probabilistic seismic hazard analysis – A case study from southern peninsular India, an intraplate region

Abstract

The inclusion of local site effects into seismic hazard analysis is an important issue and has been attempted previously in both deterministic and probabilistic manner. The present study is an attempt to combine the local site response with the standard probabilistic seismic hazard analysis. The site response was computed by performing an equivalent linear analysis in the frequency domain. The input soil profiles for the analysis were taken from the borehole data of the North Kerala region (one of the Southerly states in India). The uncertainty in estimating the shear velocity profile (VS) has been addressed by applying multiple VS–N correlations. The variability in the choice of input motions has been reduced by selecting multiple ground motions representing distinct hazard levels (return period of 50–2000 years). The uniform hazard spectrum developed for the host reference site conditions has been adjusted to the target region and the input motions are scaled accordingly. The analyzed soil profiles were categorized into three distinct soil types namely ‘Sand’, ‘Clay’ and ‘All soil’ based on the predominant soil content. The empirical amplification equation as a function of input rock spectral acceleration (Sar) was developed for each soil type. ‘Sand’ exhibits nonlinear behavior for Sar > 0.1 g whereas ‘clay’ demonstrates sustained amplification at longer periods. The average spectral amplification observed is 3 for ‘All soil’, 5 for ‘clay’ and 3.5 for ‘sand’ in the study region. The regionally developed amplification function aids in transforming a Ground Motion Prediction Equation (GMPE) from generic to site-specific. The modified GMPE is integrated with the regional seismic source model to estimate site-specific probabilistic seismic hazard. The study produces site-specific spectrum and surface hazard maps which can be of direct use to planners and designers in creating a seismic resilient built environment.