The application of ambient seismic noise for engineering purposes

Dominik H. Lang 1) and Jochen Schwarz 2)

1) 2)
NORSAR, Kjeller, Norway, dominik@norsar.no EDAC, Bauhaus-University Weimar, Germany

The importance of ambient seismic noise data with respect to engineering applications is increasing.
This of course caused by the advantages ambient noise measurements do provide mainly consisting in
their independence on seismic events and thus allowing to be conducted at any time and any place
even in areas of low seismicity. An additional feature of ambient seismic noise measurements is that
noise can be recorded in noisy, densely populated areas, i.e. where usually buildings of any type are
located and thus structural damages may occur.
Even though seismic noise can not substitute earthquake data in order to provide seismic design loads
for structural analysis purposes, the advantage lies foremost in its capacity to supplement geophysical
or geotechnical prospecting methods or even to render these efforts unnecessary. The type of analysis
method to record and process the noise data strongly depends on the practical feasibility and the
intended results. Generally, a distinction is made between array methods (e.g., frequency-
wavenumber, SPAC) or single-station methods. The most applied representative of the latter for
engineering purposes is the spectral horizontal-to-vertical-ratio technique first introduced by Nogoshi
and Igarashi (1971) and later enhanced by Nakamura (1989).
Numerous publications have demonstrated the reliability and consistency of the spectral H/V-method
based on microtremor data recorded at the ground surface, primarily when focusing on the
identification of the predominant site frequency and mapping of the underlying soil profile to a certain
extent of detail. Since the spectral H/V-ratio is considered as a proxy for the transfer function of the
site, information on the underlying subsoil profile such as layer stratigraphy or dynamic and
geotechnical parameters can be derived (e.g. by inversion techniques). This alone allows:
a reliable classification of the site's subsoil according to site classification schemes as given in
most of the national seismic building codes. Such schemes mainly depend on the average
shear-wave velocity of the uppermost soil layers (e.g., vs,30 in IBC-2006; Lang and Schwarz,
2006).
the development of site-specific ground motion prediction relations by, e.g., considering the
total sedimentary soil depth (Schwarz et al., 2004; Schwarz et al., 2007) and thus a more
reliable description of the deterministic earthquake loads for seismic risk assessment.
the assessment/prognosis of the seismic amplification potential of the site (e.g., through
modeling approaches) and thus a more detailed description of seismic impact for structural
damage analysis (before the event) as well as a more reliable damage reinterpretation (after
the event).

In addition, the analysis of ambient seismic noise data with the spectral H/V-ratio method has been
repeatedly used trying to identify local 'site effects', i.e. the occurrence of resonance phenomena
between site and structure that may contribute to increased structural damages. This has been done by
comparing the ranges of natural (fundamental) frequencies fn of the building with the predominant
frequencies fs of the site. Since structural damages (such as cracking or failure of structural elements)
occur when the building exceeds its elastic limits and is driven into the inelastic range, a comparison
between the elastic natural frequencies of the building fn and the predominant site frequencies fs
derived from ambient noise data should not be conducted without further investigations. This
especially taking into account that ambient seismic noise does not reflect the nonlinear soil behavior
that is associated with strong (i.e. damaging) seismic ground motion.
A procedure comparing the ranges of predominant site frequencies fs with building capacity spectra
has been developed and is illustrated in Figure 1 (Lang and Schwarz, 2007). Since the capacity
spectrum represents the nonlinear behavior of a building undergoing an increasing lateral load and
 Figure 1. Sketch illustrating different areas of predominant site frequencies fs and their possible
influence on structural capacity (Lang and Schwarz, 2007). Lines radiating from the origin have
constant frequencies f. The larger the gradient of the curve, the higher the characterized frequency f.

thus simultaneously reveals the decrease of the building's fundamental (elastic) frequency fn,elast as the
degree of damage increases, first statements on the occurrence of possible 'site effects' can be made.
The analysis includes a verification of whether the buildings natural frequencies fn (which are altered
due to degradation effects during the damaging process) fall into the ranges of predominant site
frequencies fs and thus leading to possible interaction (resonance effects) between site and structure.

In conclusion, ambient seismic noise recorded at the free-field in combination with, e.g., the spectral
H/V-ratio method should be deemed as a convenient instrument to derive essential information for a
reliable damage analysis (e.g., provision of site-specific seismic loads) able to preclude possible
reasons for structural damage. But one should be aware of the limits of ambient noise data and the real
benefits which can be extracted from site response estimation techniques like e.g. the spectral H/V-
method.

References
Lang, D.H., Schwarz, J., 2005. Identification of the subsoil profile characteristics at the Coyote Creek Outdoor
Classroom (CCOC), San Jos, from microtremor measurements - A contribution to the CCOC Blind Com-
parison Experiment. In: M.W. Asten and D.M. Boore (eds.), Blind comparisons of shear-wave velocities at
closely spaced sites in San Jos, California. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2005-1169.
Lang, D.H., Schwarz, J., 2006. Instrumental subsoil classification of Californian strong-motion sites based on
single-station measurements. Eighth U.S. National Conference on Earthquake Engineering, San Francisco,
California, April 2006, pp. 10.
Lang, D.H., Schwarz, J., 2007. Evaluation of the damage potential of seismic ground motion: A procedure
combining site and building response. Journal of Earthquake Engineering, pp. 22, in review.
Nakamura, Y., 1989. A method for dynamic characteristics estimation of subsurface using microtremor on the
ground surface. QR of RTRI 30(1).
Nogoshi, M., Igarashi, T., 1971. On the amplitude characteristics of microtremor (Part 2). Journal of the
Seismological Society of Japan 24, 2640.
Schwarz. J., Ende, C., Lang, D.H., 2004. Site-dependent ground-motion data recorded by German TaskForce in
Turkey. In: P. Glkan and J.G. Anderson (eds.), Directions in Strong Motion Instrumentation, 223239,
Springer 2005.
Schwarz, J., Lang, D.H., Kaufmann, C., Ende, C., 2007. Empirical ground-motion relations for Californian
strong-motion data based on instrumental subsoil classification. Ninth Canadian Conference on Earthquake
Engineering, Ottawa, Canada, June 2007, pp. 12.