Earthquake Engineering

Abstract

Recent major earthquakes around the world have shown the vulnerability of infrastructure and the need for research to better understand the nature of seismic events and their effects on structures. As a result, earthquake engineering research has been expanding as more and more data become available from a large array of seismic instruments, large scale experiments and numerical simulations. This book presents results from some of the current seismic research activities including threedimensional wave propagation in different soil media, seismic loss assessment, geotechnical problems including soil-structure interaction, and seismic response of structural components and structures including historical and monumental structures, bridge embankments, and different types of bridges and bearings. First part of the book deals with seismic risk assessment and hazard analysis with a concentration on seismic microzonation, development of probabilistic hazard maps, geotechnical problems including soil-structure interaction, and three-dimensional wave propagation in different soil media considering different surface characteristics and topography. Chapter 1 provides a methodology for seismic risk assessment within a performance based earthquake engineering framework. Probabilistic hazard analysis and economic models are used for loss estimation and evaluation of earthquake impact on regional economies. Chapter 2 describes development of seismic microzonation and probabilistic hazard maps for a specific region. Details of site characteristics including geological conditions and soil nonlinearity were considered in the seismic zoning and hazard assessment. Chapter 3 presents cognitive methods for modeling geotechnical and seismological problems. New data-driven modern techniques are used to complement and improve the traditional physically-based geotechnical modeling and system analysis under earthquake loading. Chapter 4 includes a new method to simulate three-dimensional seismic wave simulation in heterogeneous transversely isotropic medium with non-flat free surface. Numerical simulations involving different free surfaces provide realistic seismic wave propagation in the vicinity of the earth surface. Wave diffractions, scattering, multiple reflections, and converted waves caused by the free surface topography are studied. Chapter 5 provides ground motion estimates for Sothern California as a case study for seismic hazard analysis in a high seismic region. The numerical simulations include full-wave propagation in three-dimensional velocity models. Chapter 6 includes