Maximum Horizontal Ground Acceleration Research Articles

Geophysical and numerical approaches to solving the mechanisms of landslides triggered by earthquakes: A case study of Kahramanmaraş (6 February, 2023)

Many landslides occurred in the 11 Turkish provinces affected by the earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş in February 2023, and many people lost their lives due to those landslides. To reduce the risks and hazards brought on by landslides induced by earthquakes, it is essential to identify the mechanisms causing landslides to arise in such situations. In this study, the geological strength index and both seismic refraction tomography and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) geophysical methods were used to determine the failure mechanism of layered sedimentary units defined as flysch (claystone-siltstone-sandstone-marl). The shear strength reduction finite element method (SSR-FEM) was used with the RS2 computer program for model solutions. One of the geophysical methods, ERT, facilitated an interpretation of the cyclic failure mechanism that occurs in flysch, and it was found to be congruent with numerical models. Landslide slip circle depth, water-saturated layers, and resistivity values were determined with the ERT method. Seismic methods were employed to determine the velocity values (Vp, Vs) of the landslip mass. These velocity data, along with the elasticity modulus and Poisson ratios derived from them, were utilized in our numerical model. In the maximum shear strength and horizontal displacement analyses performed on the section line determined before the landslide, the natural state and the situation under the influence of groundwater were examined and the strength reduction factor (SRF) was determined as 1.35 and 1.24, respectively. In an evaluation conducted under the influence of the maximum horizontal ground acceleration (0.22 g) determined by taking into account the seismicity of the study area, it was concluded that instability occurred in the flysches and the SRF value was 0.72. An important finding of this study is that the results of geophysical methods used to determine the lithological properties of sedimentary rock masses and understand the causes of landslides align closely with those of numerical analysis methods, providing high accuracy. These methods also support new approaches, particularly in identifying landslip boundaries and detecting areas with high water saturation. It has been discovered that earthquakes actively contribute to the instability of these kinds of soils.

Characterization and Liquefaction Hazard Assessment of Two Hungarian Liquefied Sites from the 1956 Dunaharaszti Earthquake

The seismicity of Hungary can be considered moderately active, nevertheless contemporary reports from the past approx. 350 years documented surface manifestations of liquefaction occurrences. The last such earthquake was the 1956 Dunaharaszti ground motion, for which the location of two liquefied sites could be identified approx. 60 years after the event. This provided an excellent opportunity to analyze possibly the only accessible liquefied sites in Hungary. Analysis of the two sites included field and laboratory tests allowing the back-calculation of maximum horizontal ground acceleration of the earthquake. This parameter was previously unknown because the closest seismometer saturated during the event. The performed back-analysis using the principles of paleoliquefaction studies was the first of such analyses in the country. In areas with low to moderate seismicity, geotechnical engineers often neglect and overlook liquefaction hazard, however, when it is addressed, the hazard is often overestimated due to improper characterization of the seismic loading and site characterization. To explore this observation more deeply, probabilistic seismic and liquefaction hazard assessment were carried out at the two liquefied sites and it was found that this conclusion is also valid for Hungary, but the degree of conservatism of the pseudo-probabilistic procedures decreases with increasing earthquake return period (lower annual probability of occurrence).

Hybrid attenuation model for estimation of peak ground accelerations in the Kutch region, India

The Kutch region of Gujarat in India is the locale of one of the most devastating earthquake of magnitude (M w) 7.7, which occurred on January 26, 2001. Though, the region is considered as seismically active region, very few strong motion records are available in this region. First part of this paper uses available data of strong motion earthquakes recorded in this region between 2006 and 2008 years to prepare attenuation relation. The developed attenuation relation is further used to prepare synthetic strong motion records of large magnitude earthquakes using semiempirical simulation technique. Semiempirical simulation technique uses attenuation relation to simulate strong ground motion records of any target earthquake. The database of peak ground acceleration obtained from simulated records is used together with database of peak ground acceleration obtained from observed record to develop following hybrid attenuation model of wide applicability in the Kutch region: $$ \begin{aligned} \ln \left( {\text{PGA}} \right) & = - 2.56 + 1.17 \, M_{\text{w}} - \, 0.015R - 0.0001\ln \left( {E + 15} \right) \\ &\quad 3.0 \le M_{\text{w}} \le 8.2;\quad 12 \le R \le 120;\quad {\text{std}} . {\text{ dev}}.(\sigma ): \pm 0.5 \\ \end{aligned} $$ In the above equation, PGA is maximum horizontal ground acceleration in gal, M w is moment magnitude of earthquake, R is hypocentral distance, and E is epicentral distance in km. The standard deviation of residual of error in this relation is 0.5. This relation is compared with other available relations in this region, and it is seen that developed relation gives minimum root mean square error in comparison with observed and calculated peak ground acceleration from same data set. The applicability of developed relation is further checked by testing it with the observed peak ground acceleration from earthquakes of magnitude (M w), 3.6, 4.0, 4.4, and 7.7, respectively, which are not included in the database used for regression analysis. The comparison demonstrates the efficacy of developed hybrid attenuation model for calculating peak ground acceleration values in the Kutch region.

Large scale landslides triggered by Quaternary tectonics in the Acambay graben, Mexico

AbstractDetailed analysis was conducted on large‐scale gravitational‐tectonic deformations and landslides in the Acambay graben, an intra‐arc basin in the trans‐Mexican volcanic belt (TMVB). Field mapping and remote sensing revealed the slope instability of the northern graben boundary induced by the Acambay‐Tixmadejé fault. Two major landslides of 0·1 km3 and 0·05 km3 in volume were identified and their characteristics were analyzed according to the role of tectonics, mechanism of slope failure, and possible triggering factors. Quaternary faulting played a major role in increasing the local relief, and the activity of the Acambay‐Tixmadejé fault represents the main geomorphic factor conditioning the gravitational movements. Moreover, displacements along this fault generated sliding surfaces and reduced the strength of the rock mass. The two landslides are classified as large‐scale rotational slides involving volcanic rocks of late Miocene‐Pleistocene age. Since the Acambay graben is a seismogenic area with a known maximum horizontal ground acceleration of 0·5 g, a strong earthquake could be ascribed as the possible triggering mechanism of the landslides. Our work represents the first analysis of large gravitational slope movements in tectonically active regions in Mexico, a process that can be common in the intra‐arc basins of the TMVB, where active tectonic, seismicity, weak altered volcanic rocks, and heavy rains affect the slope stability. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Deterministic sliding block methods for estimating seismic displacements of earth structures

A review and quantitative comparison of existing deterministic sliding block methods for predicting permanent displacements of earth structures subjected to seismic loading is presented. The reviewed sliding block methods are divided into two main groups based on the characteristic earthquake parameters referenced in each method. One group uses the maximum horizontal ground acceleration and velocity, and the other uses the maximum horizontal ground acceleration and the predominant period of the acceleration spectrum. Displacement functions published by previous authors are reformulated to give common non-dimensionalized displacement functions of the critical acceleration ratio which are then used to compare the different methods for the estimate of permanent seismic displacement of soil structures. The results show that despite the fact that the different methods were formulated using a wide range of earthquake records and different characteristic seismic parameters, permanent displacement values predicted using these methods fall within a reasonably narrow band. Selected acceleration data from three recent earthquakes that occurred in California are used to evaluate and compare the accuracy of the reviewed displacement methods for practical applications.