Engineering Geology 81 (2005) 446 469 www.elsevier.

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Geologic site conditions and site coefficients for estimating earthquake ground motions in the inland areas of Korea
Chang-Guk Sun a,*, Dong-Soo Kim b,1, Choong-Ki Chung c,2
a

Korea Earthquake Research Center, Geological and Environmental Hazards Division, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, 30 Gajeong-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-350, Republic of Korea b Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Guseong-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-701, Republic of Korea c School of Civil, Urban and Geosystem Engineering, Seoul National University, San 56-1, Shinlim-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-742, Republic of Korea Received 23 September 2003; received in revised form 10 August 2005; accepted 26 August 2005

Abstract Site characterization and site-specific ground response analyses were conducted at two representative inland areas in Korea. In situ tests included 25 boring investigations, 7 crosshole tests, 18 downhole tests and 41 SASW tests, and in the laboratory, resonant column tests were performed. The soil deposits in Korea, which were shallower and stiffer than those in the western US, were examined. The fundamental site periods were distributed in the narrow band ranging from 0.1 to 0.4 s. Most sites were designated as site classes C and D based on the mean shear wave velocity of the upper 30 m from the current Korean seismic design guide. Based on the ratio of the acceleration response spectra of ground surface to rock-outcrop, short-period (0.10.5 s) site coefficient, F a ranged from 1.0 to 2.7, and mid-period (0.42.0 s) site coefficient, F v ranged from 1.0 to 1.6, regardless of the input rock outcrop acceleration levels of 0.05 and 0.14 g. The site coefficients specified in the Korean seismic design guide, which is similar to NEHRP provisions and UBC, underestimate the ground motion in the short-period band and overestimate the ground motion in the mid-period band. These differences can be explained by the differences in the depth to bedrock and the soil stiffness profile between Korea and western US. Also, the site coefficients should be re-evaluated accounting for the local geologic conditions on the Korean peninsula. D 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Site coefficient; Korea; Bedrock depth; Shear wave velocity; Site response analysis

1. Introduction The local geologic and soil conditions at a site have a profound influence upon the characteristics of earthquake ground motion and the corresponding response spectra. Site conditions give an impact on the amplification of ground motions together with the dominant period range in the response spectra, because earthquake motions at the bedrock can be drastically modified in frequency and amplitude during the propagation

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +82 42 868 3176; fax: +82 42 861 1872. E-mail addresses: pungsun@snu.ac.kr (C.-G. Sun), dskim@kaist.ac.kr (D.-S. Kim), geolabs@snu.ac.kr (C.-K. Chung). 1 Tel.: +82 42 869 3619; fax: +82 42 869 3610. 2 Tel.: +82 2 880 7347; fax: +82 2 875 6933. 0013-7952/$ - see front matter D 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.enggeo.2005.08.002

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of seismic waves through a soil column. Recent earthquakes events such as the 1967 Caracas, 1985 Mexico City, 1989 Loma Prieta, 1994 Northridge, 1995 Kobe and 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake have resulted in considerable damage associated with amplification effects due primarily to local site conditions (Seed et al., 1972, 1987; Chang et al., 1996; Tokimatsu et al., 1998; Tsai and Huang, 2000). Buildings may be more severely damaged if their natural periods happen to be close to the resonant site periods of the ground. Therefore, the local site effect is an important factor in earthquake resistant design for structures. Design response spectra have been developed and modified over several decades on the basis of recorded motions and site response analyses mostly for the strong seismic region of the western United States (US). The current National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) recommended provisions (BSSC, 2000) define a reference spectrum on rock and a set of site response coefficients, by which the amplification resulting from the local site effects could be quantified mainly based on data from the western US. In NEHRP provisions, two site amplification factors, F a and F v, for the short-period range (0.10.5 s) and mid- (or long-) period range (0.42.0 s), respectively, instead of the single long-period site factor S used previously, are used for estimating the reasonable site-specific design spectra (Dobry et al., 1999, 2000; BSSC, 2000). The Korean peninsula belongs to a region of moderate seismicity located inside the Eurasian plate, differing from the western US. Since few earthquake motion data showing substantial magnitude and intensities were recorded in Korea, the reference earthquake ground motion is determined from seismic hazard maps based on historical earthquake records (MOCT, 1997; Kim et al., 2002). The site classification and the corresponding site coefficients in the Korean seismic design guide were determined from the Uniform Building Code (UBC) and NEHRP provisions from US (BSSC, 1997; ICBO, 1997; MOCT, 1997). Because the site effects are directly dependent on the local geologic and soil conditions (Seed et al., 1976), the use of site coefficients derived based on earthquake records of other regions can result in design ground motion that is misleading. Therefore, reliable site coefficients considering the local geologic conditions of the Korean peninsula are required for reasonable seismic design. The Korean peninsula is represented as ancient landform from the geomorphological perspective because of its continual erosion. This characteristic is prominent

especially at inland areas of Korea, which are mainly composed of plains, hills and mild mountains. In the peninsula, various geological strata formed from the Pre-Cambrian period to the Cenozoic era are distributed. Most regions consist of plutonic rocks and metamorphic rocks, as well as partial distribution of sedimentary rocks. The surface soils over the bedrock in the inland region were generally formed by fluvial actions or weathering processes, and these are represented as alluvial soil and weathered residual soil, respectively. Based on these geomorphological and geological characteristics of the inland region in Korea, in this study, two representative inland areas, Gyeongju and Hongsung, were selected for the assessment of earthquake ground motions. Gyeongju is mainly composed of alluvial soil and has abundant historical and a few minor instrumental earthquake events, whereas Hongsung is principally composed of weathered residual soil and has some damage records of major instrumental earthquake. For the site characterization, both in situ and laboratory tests were carried out. In the field, 25 boring investigations and seismic tests such as 7 crosshole tests, 18 downhole tests, and 41 spectral analysis of surface wave (SASW) tests, were performed for determining shear wave velocity profiles. In the laboratory, resonant column tests as well as various analyses for mineral composition and soil properties were also conducted. The characterized site conditions in the study areas were compared with those in western US, from which NEHRP provisions were derived. Ground response analyses were performed at a total of 66 locations using one-dimensional equivalent linear and nonlinear methods. Various input motions consisting of a synthetic artificial motion as well as 4 actual recorded motions were employed on two acceleration levels. The evaluated site response spectra and corresponding site coefficients were compared with those of the current seismic codes, and the differences in site response were assessed considering the local geologic conditions in the inland area of Korea. 2. Geological and geomorphological information of the study areas The Korean peninsula is geographically located on the eastern border (338438N and 12481328E) of the Eurasian continent, and is covered by various geological strata formed from the Pre-Cambrian period to the Cenozoic era. The geology is obviously divided into two zones of the northern and southern region by the Choogaryong rift valley (lower subset of Figs. 1 and 2).

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Fig. 1. Location and contents of site investigation in Gyeongju. The upper and lower subset figures show the geologic map and location of the study area, respectively.

The northern region, which corresponds to North Korea, is mainly formed of metamorphic rocks of the Pre-Cambrian period, sedimentary rocks of the Paleozoic era, and volcanic rocks of the Quaternary, whereas the southern region, which corresponds to South Korea, is covered by more variety of geologic rock types including granite and sedimentary rocks of the Mesozoic era as well as the rocks in the northern region. In view of geomorphology, the inland region of the peninsula is also classified into the northern region with steep and high mountains and the southern region with low mountains and alluvial plains. In general, the areas for residence and industry have been distributed at plains or hills embracing rivers and mountains, like a topographic basin, because broad open plains are scarce in the Korean peninsula. Two selected study areas fall

within South Korea, as shown in the lower subset of Figs. 1 and 2, and represent geomorphologically and geologically typical areas for residence. Gyeongju (35.848N, 129.218E) is a typical city area on a basin in the eastern inland region, while Hongsung (36.608N, 126.678E) is a typical town area on a plain with hills in the west. 2.1. Geological information Gyeongju (previously known as Kyeongju), the old capital of Shinla Kingdom for a thousand years, is located near the Yangsan fault, which is possibly active, and has records of abundant historical earthquake events that produced major hazards (Kim et al., 2002). Gyeongju lies within the Gyeongsang geologic

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Fig. 2. Location and contents of site investigation in Hongsung. The upper and lower subset figures show the geologic map and location of the study area, respectively.

basin at the southeastern part of the Korean peninsula, which is mostly composed of sedimentary rocks formed in the Cretaceous period. Nevertheless, as shown in the upper subset of Fig. 1, the geology of Gyeongju is mainly covered by intrusive granite and partially covered by sedimentary rocks such as sandstone and shale (Tateiwa, 1929; Kim et al., 1971). And in the central plain, the Quaternary alluvial formation, which is mainly comprised of gravel, boulder and sand, is widely distributed, underlain by Bulgugsa granite. Granitic rocks are classified as granodiorite, biotite granite and hornblende granite. Hongsung has records of building damage by an earthquake of magnitude 5.0 on October 7, 1978, as well as some historical earthquake events (MOST, 1999). Hongsung lies within the mid-western region of South Korea, which is mainly covered by various

sedimentary and metamorphic rocks of the Pre-Cambrian period. Mountains and hills in Hongsung are formed with granitic rocks, which intruded the PreCambrian formations during the Jurassic period, and plains are covered by thin alluvium underlying bedrock of Daebo granite (Lee and Kim, 1963), as shown in the upper subset of Fig. 2. The granitic rock series are biotite granite and schistose granite, and rock-outcrops are significantly weathered in most cases (Sun et al., 2002). Both study areas, Gyeongju and Hongsung, are very suitable for the evaluation of earthquake hazards, since their historical and instrumental earthquake records reflect the past frequent seismic activities and the high potential of future earthquakes. The bedrocks of the two study areas are mainly composed of granitic rocks, which are commonly encountered in Korea. Over the

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bedrock, the alluvium is distributed at plain zones embracing rivers and creeks. However, various sedimentary rocks and metamorphic rocks are distributed in western part of Gyeongju and southeastern part of Hongsung, respectively, and the development and distribution of alluvium are site-dependent. These geological differences in the study areas are expected to yield different dynamic characteristics and corresponding site-specific responses. 2.2. Geomorphological information The topography of Gyeongju is characterized as a typical basin of plains and low hills where the downtown and farmlands are located, with surrounding mountains. Across the area, the Hyeongsan River flows northward and several creeks from valleys join the river (Fig. 1). Waterways in the basin is now restricted within narrow area by flood control for residence. However, the Hyeongsan River and the North creek across the basin were frequently in flood, and the major part of the Gyeongju basin was flooding area. Therefore, the subsurface deposits of Gyeongju can be mainly composed of thick fluvial deposit over bedrock. Hongsung is a typical topography of old age with gentle relief. The central part is characterized by a flat terrain with undulating erosive hills and ridges of low relief surrounded by mountains (Fig. 2). Contrary to Gyeongju, Hongsung was rarely influenced by fluvial process. Thus, the subsurface geology of Hongsung can be principally formed by weathered layer of parent rock. The topographical characteristics, such as the shape and size of the circumferential mountains and major waterways, make the thickness, distribution and material types of alluvial deposits different at plains and valleys in the area. Thus, the subsurface geology of soils in Gyeongju is dominated by alluvium with coarse materials, while, in Hongsung, thick weathered residual soils are widely distributed over the bedrock. Accordingly, the seismic responses during an earthquake in each area can be different because of the differences in the dynamic properties of the geological constituting materials between the two areas. 3. Site characterization In order to determine the local geologic characteristics and estimate the corresponding site effects, various field and laboratory tests were conducted at the two selected areas consisting of a zone of 10 10 km in Gyeongju (Fig. 1) and a zone of 4 4 km in Hongsung (Fig. 2).

3.1. Site investigations For the site characterization for Gyeongju, 16 boring investigations, 4 crosshole tests, 12 downhole tests, and 26 SASW tests were conducted in total 28 sites. To consider the spatial topographic variations of subsoil properties, 5 riverbeds, 8 hill sides, and 15 plain sites were chosen (Fig. 1). An exploratory borehole at each site was drilled to at least, the depth of 4 m below soft rock (i.e., the engineering rock underlying weathered rock is named soft rock in Korea) to determine the shear wave velocity of bedrock. In addition, a number of preexisting boring data, mostly gathered from the highspeed rail construction sites along the Hyeongsan River, were utilized for determining the geotechnical characteristics. Twenty two representative sites were chosen from the pre-existing boring data to provide additional evaluation of site effects in mountain and hill zones. Locations of boring investigations and seismic tests, and selected representative pre-existing boring data in Gyeongju are shown in Fig. 1. In Hongsung, 9 boring investigations, 3 crosshole tests, 6 downhole tests and 15 SASW tests were performed in total 16 sites, including 2 riverbeds, 8 hill sides, and 6 plain sites. For the site characterization of Hongsung, the same methodology as Gyeongju was used. Information about site investigation in Hongsung is shown Fig. 2. In the laboratory, for both areas, X-ray diffraction analysis for determining mineralogical compositions was performed. Together with index property tests and direct shear tests for soil strength, resonant column tests were performed to obtain the nonlinear modulus reduction and damping curves using the disturbed as well as undisturbed samples. 3.2. Geological site characteristics The subsurface geologic conditions in the study areas were investigated based on the results of either boring investigations or SASW tests, and were classified as 5 general types of geotechnical layers consisting of fill, soil deposits of alluvium and colluvium, weathered residual soil, weathered rock, and bedrock of soft rock or harder, which are typical compositions in the inland areas of Korea. In the boring investigations, the boundary between the weathered residual soil and weathered rock was defined based on 50 blow counts (N value) per 15 cm penetration (i.e., N value is expressed as 50 / 15) in Standard Penetration Test (SPT), and the boundary between the weathered rock and soft rock was determined by the degree of drilling capability and the visual observations of the collected

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samples. In the SASW test sites, subsurface layers were classified by the criteria based on the relationship between layer type and shear wave velocity, which was established from direct comparison between SASW test results and borehole logs. The subsurface soils in Gyeongju are composed of 10 to 40 m thick alluvial sands and/or gravels over the weathered residual soils in most sites with the exception of the mountain areas. Especially, the thick alluvial soil of 30 to 40 m thickness are distributed in plain zones adjacent to a river or creek. These characteristics in soil formation represent the general inland topographical

basin area. They resulted from the fluvial actions during the historical frequent floodings along the rivers and creeks surrounding mountains. On the contrary, most areas in Hongsung are composed of 10 to 45 m thick weathered residual soils and weathered rocks beneath thin alluvial sands and silts. These soils and rocks were formed from erosion and extensive weathering. These thick weathered layers in Hongsung were developed in ancient topography with hills and plains, which is one of the most common geomorphologies in Korea. From the visual inspection of rock cores in the field, the bedrocks were granitic rocks in most investigated

Fig. 3. Typical representative shear wave velocity profiles and empirical dispersion curves: (a) of Sunduk H. S. in Gyeongju; (b) of Hwangsung Park in Gyeongju; (c) of Chungoon Univ. in Hongsung.

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sites of both areas and sedimentary rocks, occasionally found in the western part of Gyeongju, as illustrated in the geologic map of Fig. 1. Moreover, the results of Xray diffraction analyses in laboratory showed that the weathered residual soils and weathered rocks and the bedrocks were composed of quartz, orthoclase and biotite as main minerals and of chlorite, kaolinite and

montmorillonite as clay minerals, indicating that parent rock was granitic rock in both areas. 3.3. Dynamic site characteristics Three kinds of in situ seismic tests, namely crosshole, downhole and SASW tests, were performed to

Fig. 4. Normalized shear modulus and damping ratio curves determined from resonant column tests: (a) of alluvial soils; (b) of weathered residual soils at Gyeongju; (c) of weathered residual soils at Hongsung.

C.-G. Sun et al. / Engineering Geology 81 (2005) 446469 Table 1 Current site classification Site class (soil profile type) A (S A) B (S B) C (S C) D (S D) E (S E) F (S F) Generic description Hard rock Rock Very dense soil and soft rock stiff soil Soft Soil Requires site-specific evaluation

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obtain shear wave velocity (V S) profiles of the sites. Some of the representative V S profiles based on the combination of in situ seismic tests are illustrated in Fig. 3. Among the performed in situ seismic tests, the reliability of the resulting V S is generally known to be higher in order of crosshole, downhole and SASW tests. So, the representative V S profiles for the analysis of earthquake ground motion were determined by first dividing the subsurface ground into multi-layers with common engineering features and then adopting V S for each layer from all the available results of the tests at each site on the basis of reliability of test methods. Furthermore, the empirical (or theoretical) dispersion curves computed from not only the V S profiles from SASW tests but also the other V S profiles are presented in the lower subsets of Fig. 3 to examine how well the V S profiles are fitted to each other. From the dispersion curves that are the plot of Rayleigh-wave phase velocity versus wavelength, those of the SASW tests are discrepant from those of borehole (crosshole and downhole) seismic tests. The discrepancy could be explained by both of the geographical differences between array location of SASW tests and borehole location of crosshole and downhole tests and the variation of subsurface structure along the SASW testing array. The variations of shear moduli ( G) and damping ratios (D) with shearing strain were determined by resonant column tests for alluvial soil and weathered residual soil with the reconstituted samples in Gyeongju and with the undisturbed samples in Hongsung (Kim et al., 2002; Sun et al., 2002), although undisturbed samples are usually recommended for the resonant column tests in laboratory. Fig. 4 shows the curves of normalized shear moduli ( G / G max) and damping ratios for the alluvial and weathered residual soils in Gyeongju and Hongsung. The weathered residual soils at Hongsung (Fig. 4(c)) are affected by confining pressure, contrary to those of Gyeongju (Fig. 4(b)). For site response analyses, the representative normalized shear modulus reduction and damping curves for alluvial and weathered residual soil were determined and particularly fitted to strain level 1% by RambergOsgood model because of the strain limitation in the resonant column test. The resultant G / G max reduction and D curves were utilized as input data for seismic response analyses together with the representative V S profiles. The site conditions can be characterized into five categories (denoted by A to E or S A to S E) according to the mean shear wave velocity of the upper 30 m (30.48 m or 100 ft), V S30 as suggested in the current codes, such as the Korean seismic design guide (MOCT, 1997), UBC and NEHRP provisions (Table 1). The

Mean V S of top 30 m, V S30 (m/s) 1500 b V S30 760 b V S30 V 1500 360 b V S30 V 760 180 b V S30 V 360 V S30 V 180

V S30 is computed not as the arithmetic average but the harmonic average of V S to 30 m deep. Precisely, V S30 is calculated from the time taken by the shear wave to travel from a depth of 30 m to the ground surface. For a profile consisting of n soil and/or rock layers, the V S30 can be calculated by: n X di VS 30 30= 1 VSi i1 where d i and V Si are the thickness and the V S of each P soil or rock layer to depth of 30 m (30 m = d i ), respectively. In addition to the five categories from A to E, a sixth site category F (or S F) is additionally defined as soils requiring site-specific evaluation. Most sites in this study fall within site class B, C or D based on V S30 computed by Eq. (1), as listed in Tables 24, because the study areas are located on the inland region. To estimate the distribution of V S30 for site classification, the probabilistic distributions of V S30 were examined for testing sites in the study areas, as illustrated in Fig. 5. The V S30 was assumed to have a Gaussian distribution within each study area, and the probability of actual V S30 within the distribution curve is equal to 68% in F 1 standard deviation (r) and to 95% in F 2r. Even though the seismic investigations on mountain zones (i.e., mountains generally fall into site class B or A) were rarely executed, the distribution curve of F 1r showed that V S30 of inland region for residence in Gyeongju ranged from 280 to 740 m/s and that in Hongsung had a very narrow range of 290 to 390 m/s. Therefore, most sites in Gyeongju predominantly fall into site class C and a few sites are in class D or B, as shown in Table 2 and Fig. 5, whereas for Hongsung, most sites are designated as site class D and some in class C (Table 4 and Fig. 5). Moreover, the sites designated as class D in Gyeongju and class C in Hongsung are marginally class D and C, respectively. That is, their V S30s are very close to 360 m/s, which is the boundary velocity between site classes C and D. The V S30 at inland region ranges mostly between 250

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Table 2 Site characteristics and analyses results of testing sites in Gyeongju Site name Investigation Coordinates method* Lat., Long., (8N) (8E) S B, B, S S B, S B, S S B, S B, B, S B, S S S B, S S S S B, B, B, S 35.470 127.651 D, S 35.468 127.683 C, D, S 35.462 127.655 35.471 127.670 35.471 127.688 D, S 35.479 127.670 35.471 127.635 C, D, S 35.480 127.656 35.479 127.650 35.455 127.689 D, S 35.464 127.691 35.482 127.697 C, D, S 35.470 127.659 D, S 35.462 127.672 35.479 127.682 C, D 35.478 127.647 35.451 127.644 35.485 127.668 35.481 127.662 D 35.465 127.641 35.449 127.659 35.467 127.662 35.472 127.677 35.493 127.626 D, S 35.511 127.664 D, S 35.492 127.608 D, S 35.443 127.664 35.483 127.702 Elev., Depth to Site Mean V S Site class Peak ground (m) bedrock, period, of top (current acceleration ( g)** H (m) T (sec) 30 m, code) CLE OLE V S30 (m/s) 39 33 29 40 31 46 48 48 56 47 26 49 32 36 41 40 37 50 50 32 54 36 41 57 92 95 75 58 50.0 27.8 8.2 30.0 14.0 45.0 14.0 11.2 14.0 16.0 32.0 1.5 38.0 35.0 12.0 4.9 36.0 20.0 16.0 30.0 7.0 40.0 16.0 25.0 16.0 31.0 18.5 30.0 0.43 0.22 0.10 0.27 0.13 0.37 0.14 0.18 0.17 0.14 0.19 0.02 0.33 0.30 0.13 0.04 0.27 0.18 0.14 0.30 0.04 0.33 0.17 0.30 0.24 0.26 0.24 0.31 412 457 669 420 616 367 561 432 431 535 397 1194 385 311 510 844 439 497 569 374 1245 411 487 327 357 382 381 359 C C C C C C C C C C C B C D C B C C C C B C C D D C C D 0.158 0.283 0.273 0.210 0.256 0.218 0.221 0.296 0.273 0.244 0.271 0.140 0.232 0.130 0.216 0.167 0.277 0.242 0.213 0.275 0.172 0.205 0.252 0.207 0.207 0.219 0.181 0.206 0.063 0.099 0.100 0.086 0.097 0.092 0.085 0.117 0.113 0.092 0.118 0.050 0.100 0.070 0.077 0.058 0.108 0.093 0.078 0.110 0.061 0.080 0.090 0.091 0.094 0.091 0.090 0.094 Site coefficients*** Fa 1.263 1.787 1.339 1.685 1.263 1.845 1.390 1.811 1.987 1.631 1.758 0.995 1.768 1.287 1.434 1.025 1.862 1.443 1.268 1.784 1.028 1.574 1.521 1.818 1.827 1.757 1.624 1.931 Fv 1.208 1.170 1.057 1.174 1.064 1.228 1.053 1.083 1.144 1.085 1.105 0.993 1.204 1.573 1.073 1.003 1.139 1.064 1.062 1.161 1.004 1.163 1.060 1.237 1.247 1.145 1.182 1.259 Holocene, younger alluvium Holocene, younger alluvium Holocene, younger alluvium Holocene, younger alluvium Holocene, younger alluvium Holocene, younger alluvium Holocene, younger alluvium Holocene, younger alluvium Granite Sedimentary rock Holocene, younger alluvium Granite Holocene, younger alluvium Holocene, younger alluvium Holocene, younger alluvium Granite Diorite Holocene, younger alluvium Holocene, younger alluvium Holocene, younger alluvium Diorite Holocene, younger alluvium Holocene, younger alluvium Holocene, younger alluvium Holocene, younger alluvium Granite Holocene, younger alluvium Holocene, older alluvium Plain Plain Riverside Plain Plain Riverside Hill Plain Hill Hill Riverside Mountain Plain Plain Plain Riverside Hill Plain Plain Riverside Mountain Plain Plain Plain Hill Hill Plain Plain Surface geology Geomorphology

Hwangnam E. S. Hwangsung Park Hyeongsan River Gyerim E. S. Gyerim M. S. North Creek Oneung E. S. Sunduk H. S. Banwall Palace Dongguk Univ. Geumjang Bridge Geunhwa H. S. Grand Tombs Green Zone Hwangsung E. S. Iljeong Road Industrial S. Gyeonghee S. Gyeongju H. S. Oneung Bridge Shinla H. S. Wallsung E. S. Youth Center Forest Institute Myeonghwal Fortress Tongiljeon Wallsung M. S. Yonggang E. S.

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* B, C, D and S represents the boring (including SPT) investigation, crosshole test, downhole test and SASW test, respectively (in Tables 2, 3 and 4). ** Peak ground acceleration is average value of total 10 results from 5 equivalent linear and 5 non-linear analyses on each level earthquake (in Tables 2, 3 and 4). *** Site coefficients, F a and F v are average value of total 20 results from two analyses types on two level earthquakes (in Tables 2, 3 and 4).

Table 3 Site characteristics and analyses results of representative pre-existing boring sites in Gyeongju Site name Investigation method* Coordinates Lat., (8N) 35.456 35.458 35.458 35.459 35.459 35.459 35.459 35.459 35.458 35.458 35.458 35.458 35.458 35.458 35.457 35.463 35.454 35.455 35.457 35.457 35.457 35.444 Long., (8E) 127.697 127.690 127.685 127.682 127.679 127.674 127.672 127.665 127.658 127.656 127.653 127.650 127.646 127.639 127.635 127.685 127.705 127.702 127.630 127.619 127.612 127.622 Elev., (m) Depth to bedrock, H (m) 16.8 6.3 3.8 21.6 5.5 7.5 13.5 6.8 6.0 10.2 24.5 25.0 22.3 29.5 23.5 30.5 13.3 15.6 12.5 24.5 8.6 5.0 Site Period, T (sec) 0.19 0.06 0.06 0.26 0.07 0.08 0.18 0.08 0.06 0.13 0.24 0.24 0.26 0.27 0.29 0.29 0.15 0.18 0.13 0.22 0.09 0.06 Mean V S of top 30 m, V S30 (m/s) 432 765 701 366 679 685 485 660 733 571 430 418 403 425 366 402 549 508 594 486 662 732 Site class (current code) C B C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C Peak ground acceleration ( g)** CLE 0.258 0.182 0.218 0.260 0.218 0.212 0.243 0.217 0.201 0.224 0.250 0.210 0.245 0.262 0.232 0.201 0.230 0.228 0.217 0.214 0.203 0.199 OLE 0.104 0.065 0.078 0.104 0.080 0.078 0.093 0.081 0.072 0.080 0.091 0.087 0.091 0.096 0.091 0.082 0.085 0.087 0.085 0.083 0.074 0.072 Site coefficients*** Fa 2.010 1.253 1.082 2.236 1.128 1.122 1.746 1.161 1.069 1.498 1.845 1.793 1.949 1.841 2.029 1.795 1.483 1.626 1.340 1.648 1.189 1.072 Fv C.-G. Sun et al. / Engineering Geology 81 (2005) 446469 1.144 1.022 1.007 1.249 1.012 1.010 1.104 1.015 1.005 1.056 1.148 1.191 1.201 1.133 1.256 1.236 1.046 1.086 1.032 1.115 1.018 1.005 Holocene, younger Sedimentary rock Sedimentary rock Holocene, younger Holocene, younger Holocene, younger Holocene, younger Holocene, younger Sedimentary rock Holocene, younger Holocene, younger Holocene, younger Holocene, younger Holocene, younger Holocene, younger Holocene, younger Holocene, younger Holocene, younger Holocene, younger Holocene, younger Holocene, younger Diorite alluvium Plain Mountain Hill Plain Hill Hill Hill Riverside Hill Hill Plain Plain Riverside Riverside Plain Riverside Hill Hill Hill Plain Hill Mountain Surface geology Geomorphology

hrhkb34 hrkjt1 hrkjb1 hrkjb4 hrkjb7 hrkjb12 hrkjb14 hrkjb20 hrkjb26 hrkjb28 hrkjb31 hrkjb34 hrkjb37 hrkjb43 hrkjb47 ribh2 hrhkb26 hrhkb29 hrkjb51 hrkjb611 hrkjb69 hwcb2

B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B

28 76 31 29 24 30 28 27 30 31 31 32 29 32 34 27 31 30 34 37 43 77

alluvium alluvium alluvium alluvium alluvium alluvium alluvium alluvium alluvium alluvium alluvium alluvium alluvium alluvium alluvium alluvium alluvium

* B, C, D and S represents the boring (including SPT) investigation, crosshole test, downhole test and SASW test, respectively (in Tables 2, 3 and 4). ** Peak ground acceleration is average value of total 10 results from 5 equivalent linear and 5 non-linear analyses on each level earthquake (in Tables 2, 3 and 4). *** Site coefficients, F a and F v are average value of total 20 results from two analyses types on two level earthquakes (in Tables 2, 3 and 4).

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Table 4 Site characteristics and analyses results of testing sites in Hongsung Site name Investigation Coordinates method* Lat., Long., (8N) (8E) B, S S S B, B, B, S S B, S S S S B, S D 35.020 35.013 35.015 35.015 D, S 35.018 C, D, S 35.016 D, S 35.010 35.022 35.020 C, D, S 35.014 35.025 35.012 35.015 35.015 C, D, S 35.016 35.015 128.585 128.558 128.579 128.585 128.565 128.558 128.572 128.571 128.588 128.581 128.576 128.578 128.596 128.588 128.570 128.582 Elev., Depth to Site Mean V S Site class Peak ground (m) bedrock, Period, of top (current acceleration ( g)** H (m) T (sec) 30 m, V S30 code) CLE OLE (m/s) 26 59 35 27 36 67 30 40 37 28 39 37 58 35 50 28 30.0 32.0 30.0 26.1 40.0 11.0 30.0 35.0 28.0 45.0 24.0 24.0 24.0 16.0 47.0 28.0 0.38 0.38 0.38 0.29 0.53 0.15 0.34 0.33 0.35 0.46 0.32 0.30 0.30 0.20 0.44 0.32 301 319 309 359 244 491 343 331 327 316 337 372 362 398 345 332 D D D D D C D D D D D C C C D D 0.235 0.237 0.232 0.250 0.304 0.226 0.276 0.250 0.309 0.285 0.227 0.228 0.277 0.224 0.250 0.309 0.126 0.094 0.093 0.118 0.124 0.085 0.112 0.098 0.116 0.116 0.091 0.085 0.108 0.096 0.097 0.127 Site coefficients*** Fa 2.401 2.091 2.100 2.226 2.670 1.399 2.091 2.145 2.501 2.359 1.956 1.806 2.146 2.025 1.964 2.431 Fv 1.334 1.277 1.318 1.234 1.533 1.041 1.191 1.307 1.346 1.279 1.254 1.179 1.217 1.248 1.232 1.253 Holocene, Granite Granite Holocene, Holocene, Granite Holocene, Holocene, Granite Holocene, Granite Holocene, Granite Granite Granite Holocene, alluvium Riverside Hill Hill alluvium Plain alluvium Riverside Hill alluvium Plain alluvium Plain Hill alluvium Plain Hill alluvium Plain Hill Hill Hill alluvium Plain Surface geology Geomorphology C.-G. Sun et al. / Engineering Geology 81 (2005) 446469

Gwangkyeong Bridge College of Tech. South Mt. Reclaimed land Small creek Chungoon Univ. Building lots Hongnam E. S. Hongsung H. S. County Hall Hongsung M. S. Hongsung E. S. Hongsung W. H. S. Hongsung W. M. S. Hongju M. S. Hongju E. S.

* B, C, D and S represents the boring (including SPT) investigation, crosshole test, downhole test and SASW test, respectively (in Tables 2, 3 and 4). ** Peak ground acceleration is average value of total 10 results from 5 equivalent linear and 5 non-linear analyses on each level earthquake (in Tables 2, 3 and 4). *** Site coefficients, F a and F v are average value of total 20 results from two analyses types on two level earthquakes (in Tables 2, 3 and 4).

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Fig. 5. Probability distribution function of the mean shear wave velocity of the upper 30 m of study areas.

and 650 m/s, based on the distribution of V S30 for all sites in both areas. In the characterization of the site amplification, the main controlling parameters are the type of soil deposit and depth to bedrock (Rodriguez-Marek et al., 1999). The type of deposit is generally represented by the dynamic stiffness of V S with depth, hence the V S profile to the bedrock must be determined first to estimate sitespecific response. Fig. 6 shows the V S profiles of all testing sites classified as C and D. In addition, the average V S profiles of the site classes and the most common geotechnical layer, such as alluvial soil in Gyeongju (Fig. 6(a)) and weathered layer in Hongsung (Fig. 6(b)), are also shown. The average V S profile of all sites matches well with that of the dominant site class; site class C in Gyeongju and site class D in Hongsung. In both areas, the average V S of the most common layer is similar to the average V S of all sites particularly near the surface, whose dynamic characteristics have a great influence on the seismic response (Joyner et al., 1981; Wills et al., 2000), because the bedrock is mostly at depths of over 12 m in Gyeongju and over 24 m in Hongsung. From the investigations of bedrock, the V Ss ranged from about 800 to 1,200 m/s in both areas. These velocities fall within the bounds (V S N 750 m/s) of the seismic engineering rock (ANSS Technical Integration Committee, 2001). For estimating the characteristic V S profiles to the depth of 30 m in the inland region, the average V S profiles of site classes B,

C and D, and of total testing sites were determined and presented in Fig. 7. The characteristic V S of inland sites is close to that of site class C, because the sites designated as class C are comparatively more abundant than class D or B sites among the testing sites. These V S profiles to bedrock can be directly used for calculating the fundamental site period in which the resonance of ground motions at a site is mainly generated during an earthquake. The site period (T), which is dependent on both dynamic stiffness and depth to bedrock (H), are given by: n X Di T 4 2 VSi i1 where D i is the thickness of each soil layer above the P bedrock (H = D i ), Vsi is the shear wave velocity of each soil layer and n is number of soil layers. The natural site periods of all study sites calculated by Eq. (2) are summarized in Tables 24, and the probabilistic distributions of T are also determined to study the principal range of T for the inland regions (Fig. 8). From the distribution curve of F 1r, T in Gyeongju and Hongsung ranged from about 0.10 to 0.29 s and 0.25 to 0.43 s, respectively, and T in total cases including a few B sites for inland regions ranged between about 0.11 and 0.35 s. Therefore, T of the inland region is distributed in short periods of less than 0.5 s and sites in Gyeongju mostly have a lower T than sites in Hongsung. These distribution character-

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Fig. 6. Shear wave velocity profiles of each testing site and average shear wave velocity profiles with site classes: (a) at Gyeongju; (b) at Hongsung. The dotted and dashed lines represent V S profiles of sites classified as C and D, respectively, and the thick solid lines represent average V S profiles of each and both site classes. For comparing the average V S profiles, the average V S profile of the most common layers, namely alluvial soil at Gyeongju and weathered layer at Hongsung, is additionally plotted in figure (a) and (b), respectively.

istics of T for each area are coincident with the characteristics of V S30 and V S profiles of the study areas, because site period is inversely proportional to V S. As stated earlier, since the site coefficients and site classification in the Korean seismic design guide are exclusively based on those of western US, the geologic and dynamic characteristics of western US must be understood and then compared with those of Korea to estimate an accurate seismic response for Korea. In this paper, the V S profiles and bedrock depth data for western US were compiled from data for the Resolution of

Site Response Issue from the Northridge Earthquake (ROSRINE) project. The sites compiled from ROSRINE project are mostly classified as B, C and D with the criteria of V S30 (Borcherdt, 2002), similar to the site classes in Korea. Based on the synthetic results of the geotechnical investigation data in the study areas of Korea and the western US, the bedrock depth in Korea is generally shallower than 50 m, whereas bedrock depth in the western US is much deeper than that in Korea, with deposits at some sites extending to depths of over 300 m (Bardet et al., 1998; Nigbor,

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However, in site class D (Fig. 10(b)), V S in Korea is generally higher than that in the western US and is significantly higher at depths greater than 20 m. For this reason, the V S30s of soil deposits in Korea is closer to the boundary V S30 (360 m/s) between site classes C and D than those in WUS, and particularly, in site class D (Fig. 10(b)), the value of 346.9 m/s in Korea is very close to 360 m/s. In addition, the site periods, Ts in the western US were calculated using the collected ROSRINE data and compared with those of the inland areas in Korea. As shown in the probabilistic distribution curves of F 1r of Fig. 11, Ts of the western US ranging between about 0.2 and 1.8 s are significantly higher than those of the Korea ranging between about 0.1 and 0.4 s. These differences in geotechnical site conditions such as the soil stiffness and the depth to bedrock between the western US and Korea can result in different site response characteristics, particularly, the amplification period range in the response spectrum (Seed et al., 1976). Therefore, although sites in two different regions (Korea and western US) are classified as the same categories according to V S30, the seismic responses can be different, so the site responses of inland areas of Korea must be evaluated for the reliable estimation of earthquake ground motion. 4. Site-specific responses Site response analyses of the inland areas on the Korean peninsula were performed using equivalent linear (SHAKE 91) and nonlinear (NERA) analyses to estimate site-specific earthquake ground motions (Idriss and Sun, 1992; Bardet and Tobita, 2001). The results from both equivalent linear and nonlinear techniques were compared to obtain reliable site coefficients. This study aims particularly to examine the rationality of the current site coefficients in the Korean seismic design guide because the coefficients are based on NEHRP provisions developed based on site characteristics in the western US which has been demonstrated to be quite different from those on the Korean peninsula. 4.1. Site response analyses Since ground motion is significantly affected by the local geologic conditions, the composition of the entire soil column determined by individual boring and seismic investigations was separately utilized in the analyses. The design rock-outcrop accelerations for seismic category I structures at Gyeongju and Hongsung are 0.14 g at Collapse Level of Earthquake (CLE; 1000-

Fig. 7. Average shear wave velocity profiles to 30 m of each site class and testing sites.

1998; Gibbs et al., 2001, 2002) (see legend, Fig. 9). Moreover, as shown in Fig. 9, the average V S near the ground surface consisting mostly of soil deposits is comparatively higher in the inland area of Korea than in the western US (WUS). Fig. 10 shows the average V S profiles of soil deposits over bedrock for the purpose of comparing the stiffness of near surface soil between the western US and Korea. In the case of site class C (Fig. 10(a)), V S in both regions is mostly similar, although soil deposits near the surface in the western US have a slightly higher V S than deposits in Korea.

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Fig. 8. Probability distribution function of the fundamental site period of study areas.

year return period) and 0.05 g at Operation Level of Earthquake (OLE; 100-year return period) based on the Korean seismic hazard map. Input soil parameters such as V S, mass density, and G / G max reduction and damping curves were determined for each layer. Low to moderate seismic regions including the Korean peninsula lack any detailed information concerning potential causative faults and any representative accelerograms (Chandler et al., 2001). For this reason, to merely consider the various frequency contents of earthquake motions in the analyses, a variety of five earthquake accelerograms (Fig. 12) were used as input ground motions. These consisted of one artificial synthetic earthquake motion, three strong-motion recordings and one weak-motion recording. The input rock-outcrop accelerations were modified to the levels of CLE and OLE. Among the input motions, three strong-motion recordings are composed of El Centro, Hachinohe and Ofunato earthquake motions, which were recorded in strong seismic regions, because of the lack of strongmotion records of earthquakes in Korea. To reflect the characteristics of regional seismicity, an earthquake acceleration waveform recorded in Gyeongju was also applied to the estimation of site-specific response. The peak ground accelerations were determined at each site based on equivalent linear and nonlinear analyses using five earthquake records and the average values in Tables 24. The average peak accelerations of

the ground surface in Gyeongju range between 0.130 and 0.296 g on CLE, and between 0.050 and 0.118 g on OLE, respectively. Mountain or hill sites usually show low peak ground accelerations. Most sites on alluvial deposits are significantly amplified and site amplification of a maximum of about 2.4 times is expected. In Hongsung, most sites located on deep weathered layer are considerably amplified at the ground surface without any deamplification. The average peak ground accelerations range from 0.224 to 0.309 g on CLE and 0.085 to 0.127 g on OLE, respectively, and are predicted to be about 2.5 times the peak rock-outcrop acceleration on some sites. The comparison of the peak ground accelerations between equivalent linear and nonlinear methods showed little difference in the surface acceleration, due primarily to the low input acceleration level and the corresponding small strain amplitude experienced in the study areas. Among total 66 sites, 4, 46 and 16 sites are classified as B, C and D, respectively. The average response spectra on ground surface of site classes B, C and D are illustrated together with the design response spectra in Fig. 13. The response spectra from equivalent linear analyses are similar to those based on nonlinear analyses. However, the average spectral accelerations of C and D sites are significantly higher than the design response spectral accelerations of site classes, particularly near the site periods ranging about 0.1 to 0.3 and

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Fig. 9. Shear wave velocity profiles of ROSRINE sites and their average in western U.S. The parenthesized number represents the depth to bedrock and DT in front of the depth means bdeeper thanQ.

0.1 to 0.4 s, respectively, whereas those are lower at longer periods than 0.4 in C sites and 0.5 s in D sites. These trends are consistent on both CLE and OLE in this numerical research owing to a relatively small difference in input acceleration levels, and thus, both analyses results can be integrated in the estimation of site coefficients, which will be discussed later.

To further examine the detailed differences in response spectra, the average surface response spectra of site classes B, C and D were compared to the design response spectra specified in the current code (Fig. 14). In B sites, spectral acceleration from analyses in periods up to 0.3 s is similar to that in the design response spectrum, but in periods above 0.3 s, spectral accelera-

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Fig. 10. Average shear wave velocity profiles of soils in western U.S. (WUS) and Korea: (a) for sites designated as class C; (b) for sites designated as class D. For comparing V S30s of soils in each site class, the average V S30 in Korea and WUS, together with the boundary V S30 (360 m/s) between site classes C and D, are also plotted in figure (a) for class C and figure (b) for class D.

tion is lower than that in the design spectrum. In Fig. 14, response spectra determined from attenuation relationship for generic rock sites in Korea were additionally illustrated for comparing with the average response spectra of B sites. The attenuation relationship for spectral acceleration (including the peak ground acceleration and the peak ground velocity) used for this comparison is based on the stochastic ground motion modeling approach using weak motion records in southeastern region including Gyeongju in Korea (Jo and Baag, 2003), because few strong motion records exist for the Korean peninsula. In order to compare quantitatively the response spectra, the peak ground accelerations (the spectral acceleration at 0 s) from the attenuation relationship were first matched with those of B sites on CLE

and OLE by means of adjusting moment magnitudes (M w) to 7.18 and 5.96 at a hypocentral distance (R) of 30 km, respectively, and then the spectral accelerations corresponding to both levels were calculated as plotted in Fig. 14. The spectra from the relationship generally match those on ground surfaces of B sites, with the exception of a little difference at the period range between 0.1 and 0.2 s on both levels and at the period range longer than 1.0 s on CLE. In the period ranges showing different response spectra, the spectral accelerations from the attenuation relationship are higher than those the average spectral accelerations from analyses at B sites, and this finding indicates that a bit of soil effects may be included in the attenuation relationship for generic rock in Korea. Nevertheless, the attenuation

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Fig. 11. Probability distribution function of the fundamental site period in western U.S. (WUS) and Korea.

relationship can be practically available for site class B showing V S30 of larger than 760 m/s, based on the similarity of both response spectra. However, the attenuation relationship needs further modification using by the collection of moderate to strong motion records all over the Korean peninsula, since the empirical relationship was developed for a part of Korea based on the stochastic prediction methodology. In cases of C and D sites illustrated in Fig. 14, respectively, spectral accelerations on the ground surface in period range of 0.05 to 0.30 and 0.10 to 0.40 s are significantly higher than those in the design response spectrum. At a mid or long period above about 0.5 s, both estimated spectral accelerations for C and D sites are much lower than those in the design spectrum. The significantly amplified period ranges are notably consistent with the ranges of site periods as presented above, because the amplification characteristics result from the resonant characteristics of sites corresponding to the site period. Therefore, for the site-specific evaluation of ground motions, the local geologic conditions, such as the bedrock depth and soil stiffness, must be examined first and the corresponding site period must be determined. The differences in local geologic site conditions lead to the differences in site-specific seismic responses. As

stated previously, the seismic responses depending on local geologies at sites have been incorporated into the current seismic guides and provisions, and quantified by the design response spectra based on a normalized spectrum and site amplification parameters to scale the spectrum. The design response spectra (see Fig. 14) were established by analyzing the response spectral shapes from a number of ground motion accelerograms at sites in the western US (Dobry et al., 2000; Chandler et al., 2001). An empirical analysis study by Seed et al. (1976) showed clear differences in spectral shapes for different soil and geologic conditions, although spectral shapes are influenced by not only geologic site conditions but also seismological conditions. In current seismic guides from the western US, the response spectrum can be adjusted for geologic site conditions in the Korean peninsula, according to definitions of a couple of site coefficients. For this reason, the reliable site coefficients in Korea must be evaluated by taking into account the regional variations in the shape of the design response spectra. 4.2. Site coefficients Current site coefficients and site classifications in the Korean seismic design guide are almost identical

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Fig. 12. Acceleration response spectra of input rock-outcrop motions on CLE.

with those in the NEHRP provisions and UBC, despite the fact these are based on ground conditions that are quite different from those of Korea. The site coefficients used to characterize the local site amplification are divided into short-period amplification factor, F a and mid-period amplification factor, F v since 1994 NEHRP provisions, and each site category in the classification system is unambiguously defined by a representative mean shear wave velocity to a depth of 30m (V S30) of the subsurface profile at the site (Borcherdt, 1994; Dobry et al., 2000). The site coefficients have been calculated using ratios of response spectra (RRS) or Fourier spectra (RFS) of the soil to the corresponding rock records (Borcherdt, 1996; Dobry et al., 1999), and

F a and F v using ratios of response spectra are presented as: Fa RRS Rsoil 1 Rrock 0:4 Rsoil 1 Rrock 1:6 Z
0:5 0:1

RSsoil T dT RSrock T RSsoil T dT RSrock T

Fv RRS

2:0

0:4

where RSsoil and RSrock are response spectra on soil and rock at a given period T, and R soil and R rock are the hypocentral distances of soil and rock stations. The ratio of R soil / R rock was assumed to be 1.0 in this paper.

Fig. 13. Comparisons of response spectra on ground surface from equivalent linear and nonlinear analyses on CLE. Design response spectra for each site class on CLE are also illustrated for purpose of comparison.

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Fig. 14. Comparisons of response spectra on ground surface from analyses against those for design on the current code: (a) average on CLE; (b) average on OLE. Design response spectra for each site class on CLE and OLE are also illustrated in (a) and (b), respectively, and response spectra from attenuation relationship for rock at a hypocentral distance, R, of 30 km are also plotted in (a) for the moment magnitude, M w, of 7.18 and (b) for M w of 5.96, respectively, for purpose of comparison.

The site-specific responses have been generally quantified using response spectra of soil and rock sites and thereby, the site coefficients, F a and F v in this research were calculated by Eqs. (3) and (4) using the RRS, respectively. The RRS of B, C and D sites and the site coefficients, F a and F v based on the current code with CLE are shown in Fig. 15. In the case of B sites, RRS values from analyses are generally similar to both site coefficients that are 1.0 on the code, even though RRS is slightly higher than F a value at short periods (Fig. 15(a)). In C sites (Fig. 15(b)), F a value based on the code is underestimated and F v value is overestimated compared with RRS values at the study areas. Especially, there is nearly no amplification in the period range of 1 to 2 s. In D sites (Fig. 15(c)), F a value based on the code is also under-

estimated, particularly around 0.4 s period, whereas at periods of about 0.1 s, RRS on CLE is reasonably consistent with F a value on the code. On the other hand, in the long period range, F v value based on the code is overestimated when compared with RRS of D sites at the study areas in Korea. Additionally, at short periods of C and D sites, RRS values on OLE are somewhat higher than CLE due primarily to the frequency dependency in nonlinear site response on the acceleration level (Martirosyan et al., 2002). Nevertheless, at both rock acceleration levels of CLE and OLE, F a values on the code in C and D sites are considerably underestimated, and F v values are strongly overestimated compared with RRS value from this study. At the typical inland areas in Korea belonging to a moderate seismic region, the site coefficients

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Fig. 15. Ratio of response spectra from analyses and site coefficients, F a and F v, based on the current code: (a) average of B sites; (b) average of C sites; (c) average of D sites.

showed similar values regardless of earthquake levels of CLE and OLE. The short-period site coefficients, F a is distributed in an extensive range of about 1.0 to

2.7, whereas the mid-period site coefficients, F v is distributed in a relatively narrow, lower range of about 1.0 to 1.6 (see Tables 24).

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The site coefficients, F a and F v, are plotted with the mean V S to a depth of 30 m (V S30) in Fig. 16. As expected, the regression curves show that the site coefficients increase with decreasing V S30. The F a values in this study were larger than those of the current code in most cases, whereas the F v values were smaller, especially in site classes C and D. Because the depth to bedrock in Korea is generally shallow and the soil stiffness is medium to stiff compared with western US, the natural site period of Korea is distributed in the short-period ranges of 0.1 to 0.5 s, whereas that of western US extensively across a wide range from short to long periods (see Fig. 11). Accordingly, in Korea, the mid-period site coefficient is smaller and the short-period site coefficient is larger than that of the current codes from the western US. The values of F a and F v in Korea for input ground motion

levels between 0.05 and 0.14 g were estimated by the regression curves as plotted in Fig. 16. At several sites, the V S30 were close to 360 m/s and the sites were classified as either C or D although the difference in V S30 is relatively small. Because V S30 ranges mainly between 250 and 650 m/s at inland regions in Korea, most sites fall into either class C or D as shown in Fig. 5, and it is recommended that the site classes C and D be further subdivided for inland areas or the site coefficients be selected directly based on the V S30 using the regression curves. In addition, since V S30 adopted in the current codes was developed primarily based on the observation in the western US of deeper bedrock, fundamentally other reliable and economical criteria, for instance, the mean V S to 20 m or 15 m, are required for inland areas in Korea of bedrock shallower than 30 m.

Fig. 16. Site coefficients, F a and F v, based on the results of analyses and correlations with the mean shear wave velocity of the upper 30 m: (a) short-period site coefficient, F a; (b) mid-period site coefficient, F v.

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One of the most distinctive features in the current seismic codes is that both site amplification factors decrease as the rock-outcrop acceleration increases due to soil nonlinearity. However, there is nearly no difference in the regression lines for site coefficients with the rock-outcrop acceleration level in this study (Fig. 16), because the input acceleration levels are low and close between 0.05 and 0.14 g. Since there are few earthquake records from other moderate seismic regions that account for local site effects (Nordenson and Bell, 2000), it is difficult to establish reliable site coefficients in Korea. The authors therefore suggest that the site coefficients be considered as preliminary results and as providing a general framework for the inland areas in Korea in view of the limitations of this research, such as relatively low rock-outcrop accelerations, restricted site conditions, exclusion of topographic and basin effects by adopting a one-dimensional model and other factors. Therefore, the site coefficients in this paper require further modification for application of more reliable site coefficients in the whole Korean peninsula, and studies on the topographic and basin effects and site classification with surface geology are ongoing. 5. Conclusions Site characterization has been performed at two typical inland areas, in Korea, Gyeongju and Hongsung, by using in situ and laboratory tests, and the evaluation of earthquake ground motion was carried out using equivalent linear and nonlinear analyses. Gyeongju and Hongsung are located mainly on alluvial deposits and weathered soil, respectively, that reach to maximum depths of 50 m, which are regarded to be generally deep in Korea but relatively shallow in comparison to other regions, especially the western US. The majority of sites fall into site class C in Gyeongju and D in Hongsung according to V S30 of the Korean seismic design guide based on NEHRP provisions. Comparing the site conditions in Korea with western US, in general, the depth to bedrock in Korea is shallower and soils are stiffer than those in western US. Owing to these differences in site conditions, the site periods ranging 0.1 to 0.4 s in study areas are significantly lower than those ranging 0.2 to 1.8 s in western US. In addition, comparing with RRS from study areas, F a on the code from western US are considerably underestimated, and F v are severely overestimated, regardless of the rock-outcrop acceleration levels of 0.05 and 0.14 g. The site coefficients were re-evaluated considering site-dependent amplification characteristics, and

F a and F v ranged from 1.0 to 2.7 and from 1.0 to 1.6, respectively. The current Korean seismic design guide requires modification. Reliable site coefficients and corresponding site classification considering the local geologic conditions need to be addressed on the Korean peninsula. Acknowledgements This study was partially supported by the fund of the Ministry of Science and Technology of Korea through the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS), the Korea Electric Power Research Institute (KEPRI), the Korea Earthquake Engineering Research Center (KEERC), and the Engineering Research Institute at Seoul National University and partially supported by Brain Korea 21 (BK21) program in the Ministry of Education. The authors express their sincere appreciation to the support of many organizations and individuals. References
ANSS Technical Integration Committee, 2001. Technical guideline for the implementation of an advanced national seismic system. http://www.anss.org/ticplan, Accessed 6 October 2001. Bardet, J.P., Tobita, T., 2001. NERA: A Computer Program for Nonlinear Earthquake Site Response Analyses of Layered Soil Deposits. University of Southern California. 44 pp. Bardet, J.P., Nielsen, E., Villacorta, R., 1998. ROSRINE data dissemination. http://geoinfo.usc.edu/rosrine, Accessed 12 June 2001. Borcherdt, R.D., 1994. Estimates of site-dependent response spectra for design (methodology and justification). Earthquake Spectra 10, 617 653. Borcherdt, R.D., 1996. Preliminary amplification estimates inferred from strong ground-motion recordings of the Northridge earthquake of January 17, 1994. Proc. International Workshop on Site Response Subjected to Strong Earthquake Motions, vol. 2. Port and Harbor Research Institute, pp. 21 46. Borcherdt, R.D., 2002. Empirical evidence for site coefficients in building code provisions. Earthquake Spectra 18, 189 217. BSSC, 1997. NEHRP Recommended Provisions for Seismic Regulations for New Buildings and Other Structures: Part 1. Provisions, 1997 Edition. Building Seismic Safety Council, Washington, D.C. 337 pp. BSSC, 2000. NEHRP Recommended Provisions for Seismic Regulations for New Buildings and Other Structures: Part 1. Provisions, 2000 Edition. Building Seismic Safety Council, Washington, D.C. 374 pp. Chandler, A.M., Lam, N.T.K., Wilson, J.L., Hutchinson, G.L., 2001. Response spectrum modelling for regions lacking earthquake records. Electronic Journal of Structural Engineering 1, 2 14. Chang, S.W., Bray, J.D., Seed, R.B., 1996. Engineering implications of ground motions from the Northridge earthquake. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 86, 270 288. Dobry, R., Ramos, R., Power, M.S., 1999. Site Factors and Site Categories in Seismic Codes. Technical Report MCEER-990010. 81 pp.

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