SEISMIC DESIGN OF STRUCTURES

Dr. Qiang Zhou

drzhouqiang@hotmail.com
武汉理工大学
CHAPTER 2: Site
 Introduction

•It is obvious that the soil mechanical properties of the

structural site would affect the design of structures in a
seismic environment.
2.1 Site
2.1.1 Selection of construction site

(1) Avoided to hazardous site :

Places where landslide, avalanche(崩塌), subsidence,

formation of cracks and mud rock flow are liable to
occur during an earthquake.
 Earthquake fault zone
•Structures that lie atop the surface of an active fault can be
damaged or destroyed by “surface fault rupture“(地表断层
破裂) during an earthquake.
Fig. 2.1 Crop rows offset by a lateral strike slip fault shifting in the 1976 earthquake that shook
El Progresso, Guatemala.

Crop rows offset by a lateral

strike slip fault shifting in the
1976 earthquake that shook
El Progresso, Guatemala.
•When the fortification intensity is smaller than VIII,
or the fortification intensity is VIII or IX, and the
thickness of overlaying layer at the site is greater
than 60m and 90m, the influence of the slippage of
the fault rupture is no need to be taken into account.
Hazards Induced by Soil Liquefaction
Hazards Induced by Landslide
(1) Favorable to earthquake resistance:
Steady bedrock; stiff soil; dense and homogeneous medium-
stiff soil in a wide open area
(3) Unfavorable to earthquake resistance:
Soft soil; liquefiable soil; stripe-shaped protruding ridge;
high isolated hill; non-rocky steep slope; river banks and
edges of slopes; soil strata having obviously heterogeneous
distribution in plane for cause of formation
 Influence of site condition on PGA of earthquake

During Mexico earthquake in 1985, the loss of a coastal city with a epicenter
distance of 50 miles is less than that of the Mexico City with a epicenter distance of
400 miles.
 2.1.2 Construction site categories
1. Seismic influence of construction site

•In addition to peak rock acceleration, a number of

factors, such as the softness of soil layer and the
thickness of cover layer, play important roles in the
degree of amplification.
•When the natural frequencies of structural site are
close to that of the building, the acceleration will be
amplified, result in more damage to the structures.
2. Classification of site soil

•The site soil should be classified according to the

shear-wave velocity 𝑉𝑠 (剪切波速)of the soil layer as
shown in Table2.1.
Table 2.1 Classification of site soil
Type of the soil Shear-wave velocity of soil layer (m/s)
Rock Vs＞800
Stiff soil 800≥Vs＞500
Medium-stiff
500≥Vs＞250
soil
Medium-soft
250≥Vs＞150
soil
Soft soil Vs≤150
•When the site contains several types of soil layers, the
equivalent shear wave velocity (等效剪切波速) should
be used to determine the type ofsoil.
•The equivalent shear wave velocity is determined by the
followingformula:

𝑉𝑠𝑒 = 𝑑0 /t
𝑛

𝑡 = ෍(𝑑𝑖 /𝑉𝑠𝑖 )
𝑖=1
Where i is the number of soil layers
3. Classification of site

•The construction site shall be classified into four

categories based on to the equivalent shear wave velocity
of site soil and the cover layer thickness, as shown in the
following Table.
The cover layer thickness at the site shall be determined
according to the following requirements:
 In general, this thickness is the distance from the ground
surface to the top surface of a soil layer, under which the
shear wave velocity is more than 500 m/s and the shear wave
velocity of the soil layers under it is no less than 500m/s.
 If such soil layer with shear wave velocity is more than 2.5
times of that of the soil layers above it 5m under the ground
surface and the shear wave velocity of this soil layer and
those under it all is less than 400m/s, then the cover layer
thickness is the distance from the ground to the top surface of
this soil layer.
 Example 2.1
•Given: the soil profile at a site is shown in Table 2.4.
•Question: determine the category of the construction site
Table 2.4 Data of soil exploration at site
Bottom depth of Thickness of Soil profile Shear-wave
soil layer (m) soil layer (m) name (m/s)
9.5 9.5 Sand 190
37.8 28.3 Very soft clay 160
48.6 10.8 Sand 220
Very soft silty
60.1 11.5 180
clay
68.0 7.9 Fine sand 330
86.5 18.5 Gravelly sand 550
 Solution:
Step 1: Determine the type of soil within the range
of 20m under the ground level
n
di 9.5 10.5
t     0.1156 s
i 1 vsi 190 160
•The equivalent shear-wave:
d0 20
vse    173.0 m/s
t 0.1156
•The equivalent shear-wave: 250m/s ≥ Vse＞150m/s,
so the type of the soil is medium-soft soil.
Step 2: Determine the cover layer thickness of the site
•The shear-wave velocity of the soil layer beneath 68
meter is more than 500m/s, so the cover layer
thickness of the site is equals to 68 meters.

Step 3: Determine the construction site category

•The equivalent shear-wave 250 m/s>vs >150 m/s and the

cover layer thickness of the site is larger than 50 meters,
so the soil belong to type III.