Tutorial on earthquakes &

dynamic soil response

Onur Deniz Akan
odeniz.akan@tedu.edu.tr

TED University
Spring 2023

Foundation Engineering II
April 4, 2023
Does the existence of soil help or hinder the response
of a residential structural during an earthquake?

Is it safer to have a building on a rock site?

How does the soil interact with the buildings?

 Let’s try to idealize (model) the observation by
drawing…

Kahramanmaras 2023 Mw 7.8 earthquake. RC building with heavy damage in

Arsuz, Hatay
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjnfZ5hxYoo
Kahramanmaras 2023 Mw 7.8 earthquake. RC buildings with heavy damage and collapsed first
stories in Arsuz, Hatay
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjnfZ5hxYoo
Kahramanmaras 2023 Mw 7.8 earthquake. RC building with failed first floor in
Nurdagi, Gaziantep
https://www.bta.bg/en/news/balkans/403586-prospect-of-finding-survivors-in-nurdagi-turkiye-diminishing
Kahramanmaras 2023 Mw 7.5 earthquake. Twelve-story reinforced concrete buildings in
Malatya
https://www.akilligundem.com/malatyada-depremde-3-kati-coken-12-katli-bina-kontrollu-yikildi/
 Kahramanmaras 2023 Mw 7.5 earthquake. Soft story RC building
https://t24.com.tr/haber/liderlerden-kahramanmaras-depremi-mesajlari-bu-felaketten-en-az-hasarla-cikmak-icin-milletimizle-beraberiz,1089982
Kahramanmaras 2023 Mw 7.8 earthquake. Pancaked RC building in Nurdagi,
Gaziantep
https://www.thejournal.ie/turkey-syria-quake-death-toll-5990729-Feb2023/
Kahramanmaras 2023 Mw 7.8 earthquake. Pancaked RC building in Nurdagi,
Gaziantep
https://www.bta.bg/en/news/balkans/403586-prospect-of-finding-survivors-in-nurdagi-turkiye-diminishing
Kahramanmaras 2023 Mw 7.8 earthquake. Toppled six-story reinforced concrete
building in Adiyaman
https://www.mynet.com/cami-bile-kirilmadi-ama-yan-yatti-o-bina-ile-ilgili-aciklama-zemin-etudu-yapilmayinca-110107096255
 Kahramanmaras 2023 Mw 7.8 earthquake
https://www.ahaber.com.tr/galeri/gundem/kahramanmaras-depremi-neden-bu-kadar-fazla-etki-yapti-uzman-isim-a-haberde-
anlatti-bu-depremi-10-depremmis-gibi-dusunebiliriz
Kahramanmaras 2023 Mw 7.8 earthquake. Foundation settlement due to liquefaction in
Hatay
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp7s_Z8uVcc
Kahramanmaras 2023 Mw 7.8 earthquake. Permanent ground displacement in Nurdagi
https://www.bta.bg/en/news/balkans/403586-prospect-of-finding-survivors-in-nurdagi-turkiye-diminishing
 Kahramanmaras 2023 Mw 7.8 earthquake. Kahramanmaras center
https://www.sozcu.com.tr/2023/gundem/deprem-sonrasinda-kahramanmarasin-merkezi-savas-alanina-dondu-7587653/
Amatrice 2016 Mw 6.2 earthquake. Partially collapsed masonry building in
Amatrice, Italy
https://www.businessinsider.com/r-magnitude-64-quake-hits-italy-near-perugia-usgs-2016-8?r=US&IR=T
Amatrice 2016 Mw 6.2 earthquake. Collapsed 14th century masonry cathedral in
Amatrice, Italy
https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/nation-and-world/historic-buildings-damaged-in-italy-earthquake-sunday-morning/
Amatrice 2016 Mw 6.2 earthquake. 15th-century Church of Sant’Agostino in Amatrice
https://www.italymagazine.com/amatrices-artistic-heritage-may-be-salvaged
Amatrice 2016 Mw 6.2 earthquake. Residential masonry buildings in Amatrice
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10518-017-0254-z
Amatrice 2016 Mw 6.2 earthquake. Residential masonry buildings in Amatrice
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10518-017-0254-z
Damage pattern observations
• It appears to be that there is less structural damage in cases where major soil failure is observed.
• So, some failure helps?
• Can we say surviving in those buildings are easier?
The sources of vibration
• Natural sources:
• Earthquakes
• Wind
• Waves
• Others (thawing cycles…)
• Artificial sources:
• Trains, cars, humans
• Machinery (excavators, etc.)
• Structures (Metro tunnels)
• Non-invasive testing
 The problem definition

Let's divide the problem into parts:

Source-to-site motion Shaking at the site Mechanical response of the
Definition of horizontal loading at Definition of shaking characteristics of structures
the site due to earthquake the structures at the site by analysis Performance of structures
What is shaking?
• RC building on shake table
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwCrGCBn2DU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zyyPLNMSfw

• Masonry building on shake table

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_5YJasRvSo

• Timber buildings on shake table

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7kKcIsBKDo

• Damper and base isolation demonstration

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT9OjViyb-A
What is shaking?
• Liquefaction
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nADYVyyC84

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOrq-OCb76E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t2xxKMN-Ic
 Dynamic motion
• Let’s start with shaking at site…
Recall equilibrium
Dynamic equilibrium
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LV_UuzEznHs

Dynamic equilibrium cont.’

Response Spectra
• Response Spectra of a sinus motion
Response Spectra
Intensity Measures
• Intensity measures represent hazard. There might be several ways to
indicate hazard such as intensity or peak ground acceleration. A good
intensity measure should contain as much as info about the hazard
and should be relatable to the structure.
• Most famous IMs are;
• PGA – peak ground acceleration
• Sa (T) – Spectral Acceleration at the fundamental period
• AvgSa (T) – Average Spectral Acceleration at the fundamental period
Response Spectra
Response Spectra
Response Spectra
Response Spectra
Response Spectra
Response Spectra
Response Spectra
• Ground motion tutorial
Mechanical Response
• Now let’s talk about the second aspect…
Mechanical Response cont.’
Mechanical Response cont.’
Mechanical Response cont.’
Mechanical Response cont.’
Mechanical Response cont.’
Mechanical Response cont.’
Mechanical Response cont.’
Mechanical Response cont.’
Mechanical Response cont.’
Mechanical Response cont.’
• Nonlinear response spectra
Design Response Spectra
Response Spectra (TBDY)

Horizontal design spectrum Vertical design spectrum

What are earthquakes?

• Asthenosphere: fluid, heavy and

weak
• Lithosphere: solid, light and
strong
• Heat transfer due to convection
and convection induced motions.
What are earthquakes?
Types of Faults
Types of Faults
 Remark!:

Types of Seismic Waves

Surface (Dispersive) Waves

Hyperbolic Waves
P and S Wave Velocities
𝑀
𝑉𝑝 = where M is the p-wave modulus and ρ
𝜌
is the density.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P-wave_modulus

𝑀 = λ + 2𝜇 where λ = First Lame parameter

and 𝜇 = G is the shear modulus.

𝐺
𝑉𝑆 = where G is the shear modulus and ρ is
𝜌
the density.
Seismographs
Accelerograms
 The distance to the epicentre?

Accelerograms Assume Vp = 8 km/sec and Vs =

4.60 km/sec
X =? (epicentral distance)
t1 = ? (P-Wave arrival time)
t2 = ? (S-Wave arrival time)
Imperial Valley Earthquake
0.3
Solve iteratively:

Pick
0.2
𝒕𝟏 = 1.18 sec

Compute,
0.1
𝑉𝑝 − 𝑉𝑠
∆𝒕 = × 𝑡1 = 0.739 𝑠𝑒𝑐
𝑉𝑠
Acceleration (g)

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 Compute,
𝒕𝟐 = 𝑡1 + ∆𝑡 = 1.18 + 0.739 = 1.92 𝑠𝑒𝑐
-0.1
Then,
𝑿 = 𝑉𝑆 × 𝑡2 = 4.6 × 1.92 = 8.83 𝑘𝑚
-0.2
and
8.83
𝒕𝟏 = = 1.104 𝑠𝑒𝑐
8
-0.3
Time (second) Revise 𝒕𝟏 …
1-D Soil Amplification Analysis
Soil Response to Earthquake Excitation
1-D Soil Amplification Analysis
Soil Response to Earthquake Excitation
1-D Soil Amplification Analysis
Vs30 as proxy
Vs30 as proxy
• 1-D Amplification tutorial using Strata