Abstract
This study is part of a more extensive research aimed to the seismic risk mitigation in Eastern Sicily. The earthquakes that occurred in Sicily in 1169, 1542, 1693, 1818, 1908 and more recently in 1990, testify the high level of seismic hazard in this region. It is well recognized that local seismic effects can exert a significant influence on the distribution of damage during earthquake. Traditionally, these effects are studied by means of simple one–dimensional (1-D) models of seismic wave propagation, which take only the influence of the stratigraphic profile and soil proprieties into to account for the site seismic response. It is known that the seismic response is strongly influenced by stratigraphic and topographic features that can reduce or amplify the earthquake induced ground motion depending on the soil stiffness and on the ground topography. This paper concerns the results of a two-dimensional (2-D) finite element analysis carried out to evaluate the response of the site where the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) building is located in the town of Catania. The analysis, performed using as seismic input the accelerogram recorded in 1990 during the Santa Lucia earthquake, allowed to make some considerations about the expected accelerations at that the site and some comparison with the peak accelerations prescribed by Italian seismic code.
Highlights
The town of Catania is located in the eastern coast of Sicily (Italy) at the south of Mt
The high level of seismicity that affects the city, and the considerably high density of people living in its urban area, contributes to classify it as one of the town having the highest seismic risk in Italy [e.g. Biondi and Maugeri, 2005]
The seismic hazard of the site where the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia” (INGV) strategic building is located, has been evaluated and the main results are presented in terms of amplification factors
Summary
The town of Catania is located in the eastern coast of Sicily (Italy) at the south of Mt. In order to analyse the hazard level of some historical building, a seismic response study of the site in which the “Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia” (INGV) building is locatedwas carried outby means of 1-D and 2-D numerical analyses, to clarify the role played by both stratigraphic and topographic effects.The INGV building in Catania is located on a slightly sloping area at the south/south-east of the town (Figure 1). The area lies in the middle of a terraced alluvial deposit (Figure 2), wide around 300 m and develops in the direction NNW-SSE for about 700 m. This is the result of data and surveys performed by several authors [Monaco and Tortorici, 1999]. The seismic hazard of the site where the INGV strategic building is located, has been evaluated and the main results are presented in terms of amplification factors
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