Department of Civil Engineering

Hindustan College of Science and Technology

Earthquake Resistant Design

Unit-1

INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF EARTH

The internal structure of earth is categorised into three parts that are as
following1. Crust
2. Mantle
3. Core

Crust
The crust ranges from 570 km in depth and is the outermost layer. The thin parts are the
oceanic crust, which underlie the ocean basins (510 km) and are composed of dense iron
magnesium silicate rocks, like basalt. The thicker crust is continental crust, which is less
dense and composed of sodium potassium aluminium silicate rocks, like granite.

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Mantle
Earth's mantle extends to a depth of 2,890 km, making it the thickest layer of the Earth. The
pressure, at the bottom of the mantle, is ~140 GPa . The mantle is composed of silicate
rocks that are rich in iron and magnesium relative to the overlying crust.
Although solid, the high temperatures within the mantle cause the silicate material to be
sufficiently ductile that it can flow on very long timescales.

Core
The average density of Earth is 5,515 kg/m3. Since the average density of surface material is
only around 3,000 kg/m3, we must conclude that denser materials exist within Earth's core.
Further evidence for the high density core comes from the study of seismology.
Seismic measurements show that the core is divided into two parts, a solid inner core with a
radius of ~1,220 km[2] and a liquid outer core extending beyond it to a radius of ~3,400 km.
In early stages of Earth's formation about 4.5 billion (4.510 9) years ago, melting would have
caused denser substances to sink toward the center in a process called planetary
differentiation (see also the iron catastrophe), while less-dense materials would have
migrated to the crust.

Video Presentation on Internal Structure of Earth:-

video on struture of the earth.FLV

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CAUSES OF EARTHQUAKE
Before studying about the cause of earthquake, we must know about the Faults.

Faults
Faults are classified according to the kind of motion that occurs on them

Strike-Slip Faults are those where the motion is mostly horizontal. They are also
sometimes called transcurrent or wrench faults.
o Left-Lateral or Sinistral faults are those where the opposite side of the fault
appears to move to the left
o Right-Lateral or Dextral faults are those where the opposite side of the fault
appears to move to the right
Dip-Slip Faults are those where the motion is mostly vertical.
o Normal Faults are those where the fault motion results in extension of the
crust.
o Reverse Faults are those where the fault motion results in shortening or
compression of the crust. These faults are often called thrust faults.
Oblique-Slip Faults are those with both horizontal and vertical movement.

Strike-Slip Faults
Left-Lateral Fault

The opposing side of the

fault moves to the
observer's left. Note that
this definition does not
depend on which side the
observer is on. A pebble in
the fault zone will rotate
counterclockwise.

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Right-Lateral Fault

The opposing side of the

fault moves to the
observer's right. Note again
that this definition does not
depend on which side the
observer is on. A pebble in
the fault zone will rotate
clockwise.

Dip-Slip Faults
Normal Faults

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Reverse or Thrust Faults

There are two theories that describe the mode and causes of earthquake.
1. Tectonic Plate Theory
2. Elastic Rebound Theory
Tectonic Plate TheoryThe short answer is that earthquakes are caused by faulting, a sudden lateral or vertical
movement of rock along a rupture (break) surface.
Here's the longer answer: The surface of the Earth is in continuous slow motion. This is
plate tectonics--the motion of immense rigid plates at the surface of the Earth in response
to flow of rock within the Earth. The plates cover the entire surface of the globe. Since they
are all moving they rub against each other in some places (like the San Andreas Fault in
California), sink beneath each other in others (like the Peru-Chile Trench along the western
border of South America), or spread apart from each other (like the Mid-Atlantic Ridge). At
such places the motion isn't smooth--the plates are stuck together at the edges but the rest
of each plate is continuing to move, so the rocks along the edges are distorted (what we call
"strain"). As the motion continues, the strain builds up to the point where the rock cannot
withstand any more bending. With a lurch, the rock breaks and the two sides move. An
earthquake is the shaking that radiates out from the breaking rock.
People have known about earthquakes for thousands of years, of course, but they didn't
know what caused them. In particular, people believed that the breaks in the Earth's

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surface--faults--which appear after earthquakes, were caused *by* the earthquakes rather
than the cause *of* them.

Elastic-rebound theoryHenry Reid, studying the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906, took the idea further. He
said that an earthquake is the huge amount of energy released when accumulated strain
causes a fault to rupture. He explained that rock twisted further and further out of shape by
continuing forces over the centuries eventually yields in a wrenching snap as the two sides
of the fault slip to a new position to relieve the strain. This is the idea of "elastic rebound"
which is now central to all studies of fault rupture.
The elastic rebound theory is an explanation for how energy is spread during earthquakes.
As plates on opposite sides of a fault are subjected to force and shift, they accumulate
energy and slowly deform until their internal strength is exceeded. At that time, a sudden
movement occurs along the fault, releasing the accumulated energy, and the rocks snap
back to their original undeformed shape.

In geology, the elastic rebound theory was the first theory to satisfactorily explain
earthquakes. Previously it was thought that ruptures of the surface were the result of strong
ground shaking rather than the converse suggested by this theory.

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SEISMIC WAVES
Large strain energy released during an earthquake causes radial propagation of
waves within the earth in all direction. These elastic waves are called Seismic
Waves that transmit the energy from one point of earth to the other through
different layers and finally carry the energy to the surface which causes the
destructions.

Types of seismic waves

There are two types of seismic waves1. Body wave
2. Surface waves.

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1. BODY WAVES
The elastic waves propagate through an unbounded, isotropic and homogenous
media within the earth, are called Body Waves.
Body Waves are of two typesa. P-Wave
b. S-Wave

P-Wave

P waves are longitudinal waves in which the direction of particle motion is in the
same or opposite to the direction of wave propagation. Under P Waves, material
particles undergo extensional and compression strain along direction energy
transmission.

S-Wave

S Waves are transverse waves in which the direction of particle motion is at right
angles to the direction of wave propagation. Near the surface of earth, the velocity
of P-Wave is equal to 5 to 7 Km/s and the velocity of S-Wave is 3 to 4 Km/s.
The time interval between the arrival of P and S waves at a station is called the
duration of Primary Trammer.

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2. SURFACE WAVES
Surface waves propagate on the earth surface. They are more and better detected in
shallow earthquake.
They are classified as1. L-Waves
2. R-Waves

L-Wave

In L-Wave, particle motion take place in horizontal plane only and it traverse in
direction of its propagation. The wave velocity depends upon length, the thickness of
upper layer and the elastic properties of two medium of the stratified layers.

R-Wave

In R-wave, the particle motion is always in a vertical plane and traces an elliptical
path which retrogrades to the direction of wave propagation as shown in figure. Rwave velocity is approximately 0.9 times the traverse wave (L-Wave) velocity.

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EARTHQUAKE MEASUREMENT PARAMETERS

Focus (Hypocentre) is the point of fault where slip starts.

The vertical distance from epicentre to focus is called Focal Depth.
Most of the damaging earthquakes have shallow focal depth < 70 km.
Magnitude and Intensity of earthquake are two very common parameters used to decide
the size of earthquake.

MAGNITUDE
Magnitude is the measure of the strength of an earthquake or strain energy released by it,
as determined by seismographic observations. It is a function of amount of energy released
on focus and is independent of the place of observations.
The concept was given by Wadati & Charles Richter in 1935. Seismologist has many
limitations in the use of logarithmic concept of magnitude of earthquake by following
expression-

M = log (A/T) + f ( , h) + Cs+ Cr

Where, A=max. Amplitude in micron
T=period of seismic waves in seconds
f= correction factor for epicentral distance and focal depth h
Cs=correction factor for seismological station
Cr=regional correction factor
Natural seismic events have max. Value M=8.5 or slightly higher. In some special
circumstances, it may be 2.5 to 3.0.

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Several other scales have been proposed that considered different types of
wave propagation from the seismic source.
1. Local Magnitude
ML = loge A loge A
2. Body Wave Magnitude
Mb = loge (A/T) + Q (h, )
3. Surface Wave Magnitude
Ms = loge (A/T) + 1.66 loge + 2.0
4. Seismic Movement Magnitude
Mw = 2/3 log10 M 6.0

ENERGY
The energy in joule can be estimated by using empirical relationship with
magnitude-

E = 10 (4.8+1.5Ms)

INTENSITY
Intensity of an earthquake is a subjective measure of earthquake as
determined by human feelings and by the effects of ground motion on
structures and on living things.
It is measured at an intensity scale. Many intensity scales have been proposed
and used in different parts of world and we use Modified Mercalli Intensity
(MMI) Scale.

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MMI SCALE

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The other important earthquake measurements are the measured ground

moment at the drop.
These ground motion parameters are1. Peak Ground Acceleration
2. Peak Ground Velocity
3. Ground Displacement
Out of these, PGA has become the most popular parameter to denote the measure of
earthquake and has been related to the magnitude of earthquake by several empirical
relationships.PGA at the site depends not only on magnitude and epicentre distance of the
earthquake but also on the regional geological characteristics.

Measurement of Earthquake

The instrument that measures the ground motion is called seismograph. It has three
components namely- Sensor, Records and the Timer.
The principle of operation of instrument is simple which is based on the oscillation of
pendulum under support motion.
Fig. Shows a pen attached to tip of an oscillating pendulum. The support is in firm contact
with the ground .Any horizontal motion of ground will cause the same motion of support
and drum.

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Because of the inertia of bob in which pen is attached, a relative motion of bob with respect
to support will take place. The relative motion cab be controlled by providing damping with
the help of magnet around the string .The trace of this relative motion can be plotted
against time if drum is rotated at constant speed.

Ground Motion
Shaking of ground on the surface is a consequence of ground motion caused
by seismic waves generated at focus due to rupture at the fault.
Types of ground motion:
1. Weak ground motion
2. Strong ground motion

Weak Ground Motion:

Large earthquake at great distance or small earthquake can produce such weak
motion that may not damage structure or even be felt by human. But sensitive
equipment can record it.

Strong ground motion:

This motion can be observed in the vicinity of Earthquakes or even with large
earthquake at reasonable distance. From engineering view point strong ground
motion are of interest that can possibly damage structure.

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Characteristics of Ground Motion:

It is described in terms of displacement, velocity or acceleration. The variation
of ground acceleration with time recorded on ground depends on:
1. Strength of earthquake i.e. magnitude and amount of energy released at
source.
2. Type of slip at fault rupture to the earth surface.
3. Geology along travel path from a fault ruptures to the earth surface.
4. Local soil conditions.
The acceleration of ground motion shows the various information regarding
ground shaking:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Peak amplitude
Duration of shaking.
Frequency content.
Energy content.

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