Saturation effects on horizontal and vertical motions in a layered soil–bedrock system due to inclined SV waves

Abstract

A study of the effects of pore-water saturation on the horizontal and vertical components of ground motions in a multi-layered soil–bedrock system due to inclined SV waves is presented. Both the soil and the rock are modeled as a partially water-saturated porous medium which is characterized by its degree of saturation, porosity, permeability, and compressibility. An efficient formulation is developed for the computation of the two-dimensional ground motions, which are considered as functions of the angle of incidence, the degree of saturation, the frequency, and the geometry of the system. Numerical results for both the half-space model and the single-layered model indicate that the effect of saturation may be significant, and is dependent on the angle of the incidence. Even a slight decrease of full saturation of the overlying soil may cause appreciable difference in the amplitudes of ground motions in both the horizontal and vertical components and the amplitude ratios between the two components at the ground surface, implying that one may need to carefully take into account the saturation conditions in the interpretation of field observations.