• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.111-127
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• 2010

This paper studies the effects of spatially varying ground motions on the responses of a bridge frame located on a canyon site. Compared to the spatial ground motions on a uniform flat site, which is the usual assumptions in the analysis of spatial ground motion variation effects on structures, the spatial ground motions at different locations on surface of a canyon site have different intensities owing to local site amplifications, besides the loss of coherency and phase difference. In the proposed approach, the spatial ground motions are modelled in two steps. Firstly, the base rock motions are assumed to have the same intensity and are modelled with a filtered Tajimi-Kanai power spectral density function and an empirical spatial ground motion coherency loss function. Then, power spectral density function of ground motion on surface of the canyon site is derived by considering the site amplification effect based on the one dimensional seismic wave propagation theory. Dynamic, quasi-static and total responses of the model structure to various cases of spatially varying ground motions are estimated. For comparison, responses to uniform ground motion, to spatial ground motions without considering local site effects, to spatial ground motions without considering coherency loss or phase shift are also calculated. Discussions on the ground motion spatial variation and local soil site amplification effects on structural responses are made. In particular, the effects of neglecting the site amplifications in the analysis as adopted in most studies of spatial ground motion effect on structural responses are highlighted.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.233-247
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• 2006

Most codes of practice state that for large in-plane structures it is necessary to account for the spatial variability of earthquake ground motion. There are essentially three effects that contribute for this variation: (i) wave passage effect, due to finite propagation velocity; (ii) incoherence effect, due to differences in superposition of waves; and (iii) the local site amplification due to spatial variation in geological conditions. This paper discusses the procedures to be undertaken in the time domain analysis of a cable-stayed bridge under spatial variability of earthquake ground motion. The artificial synthesis of correlated displacements series that simulate the earthquake load is discussed first. Next, it is described the 3D model of the International Guadiana Bridge used for running tests with seismic analysis. A comparison of the effects produced by seismic waves with different apparent propagation velocities and different geological conditions is undertaken. The results in this study show that the differences between the analysis with and without spatial variability of earthquake ground motion can be important for some displacements and internal forces, especially those influenced by symmetric modes.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.76-82
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• 2010

This paper presents a seismic response analysis of bridge structures considering the spatial variation of input ground motion. In earthquake analyses of structures, it is usually assumed that the input ground motion is the same at every support. However, this assumption is not justified for long structures like bridges, because observations have shown that the earthquake ground motion can vary considerably within relatively small distances. When the soil under the foundation is relatively soft and deep, an analysis of the foundation-soil interaction must always be performed. To consider the foundation-soil interaction, a soil response analysis is performed first, and after determining the material characteristics of the foundation element obtained by this foundation-soil interaction analysis, the seismic response analysis of a bridge superstructure with equivalent springs and dampers is performed. Finally, the influences of the spatial variation in the input motion, which are affected by different soil characteristics, are considered.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.35-47
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• 2003

Seismic ground motion can vary significantly over distances comparable to the length of a majority of highway bridges on multiple supports. This paper presents results of fragility analysis of two actual highway bridges under ground motion with spatial variation. Ground motion time histories are artificially generated with different amplitudes, phases, as well as frequency contents at different support locations. Monte Carlo simulation is performed to study dynamic responses of the bridges under these ground motions. The effect of spatial variation on the seismic response is systematically examined and the resulting fragility curves are compared with those under identical support ground motion. This study shows that ductility demands for the bridge columns can be underestimated if the bridge is analyzed using identical support ground motions rather than differential support ground motions. Fragility curves are developed as functions of different measures of ground motion intensity including peak ground acceleration(PGA), peak ground velocity(PGV), spectral acceleration(SA), spectral velocity(SV) and spectral intensity(SI). This study represents a first attempt to develop fragility curves under spatially varying ground motion and provides information useful for improvement of the current seismic design codes so as to account for the effects of spatial variation in the seismic design of long-span bridges.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.557-566
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• 2019

The evaluation of the seismic hazard for a given site is to estimate the seismic ground motion at the surface. This is the result of the combination of the action of the seismic source, which generates seismic waves, the propagation of these waves between the source and the site, and site local conditions. The aim of this work is to evaluate the sensitivity of dynamic response of extended structures to spatial variable ground motions (SVGM). All factors of spatial variability of ground motion are considered, especially local site effect. In this paper, a method is presented to simulate spatially varying earthquake ground motions. The scheme for generating spatially varying ground motions is established for spatial locations on the ground surface with varying site conditions. In this proposed method, two steps are necessary. Firstly, the base rock motions are assumed to have the same intensity and are modelled with a filtered Tajimi-Kanai power spectral density function. An empirical coherency loss model is used to define spatial variable seismic ground motions at the base rock. In the second step, power spectral density function of ground motion on surface is derived by considering site amplification effect based on the one dimensional seismic wave propagation theory. Several dynamics analysis of a curved viaduct to various cases of spatially varying seismic ground motions are performed. For comparison, responses to uniform ground motion, to spatial ground motions without considering local site effect, to spatial ground motions with considering coherency loss, phase delay and local site effects are also calculated. The results showed that the generated seismic signals are strongly conditioned by the local site effect. In the same sense, the dynamic response of the viaduct is very sensitive of the variation of local geological conditions of the site. The effect of neglecting local site effect in dynamic analysis gives rise to a significant underestimation of the seismic demand of the structure.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.181-190
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• 2022

In assessing the seismic safety of nuclear power plants, it is essential to analyze the structures using the observed ground motion. In particular, spatial variation in which the characteristics of the ground motion record differ may occur if the location is different within the site and even if the same earthquake is experienced. This study analyzed the spatial variation characteristics of the ground motion observed at the structure and site using the earthquake records measured at the Hamaoka nuclear power plant. Even if they were located on the same floor within the same unit, there was a difference in response depending on the location. In addition, amplification was observed in Unit 5 compared to other units, which was due to the rock layer having a slower shear wave velocity than the surrounding bedrock. Significant differences were also found in the records of the structure's foundation and the free-field surface. Based on these results, the necessity of considering spatial variation in the observed records was suggested.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.759-768
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• 2015

The ground motions of large dimensional structures such as long span bridges at different stations during an earthquake, are inevitably different, which is known as the ground motion spatial variation effect. There are many causes that may result in the spatial variability in seismic ground motion, e.g., the wave passage effect due to the different arrival times of waves at different locations; the loss of coherency due to seismic waves scattering in the heterogeneous medium of the ground; the site amplification effect owing to different local soil properties. In previous researches, the site amplification effects have not been considered or considered by a single-layered soil model only. In this study, however, the ground motion amplification and filtering effects are evaluated by multi-layered soil model. Spatially varying ground motion at the sites with different number of layers, depths, and soil characteristics are generated and the variation characteristics of ground motion time histories according to the correlation of coherency loss function and soil conditions are evaluated. For the bridge system composed of two unit bridges, seismic behavior characteristics are analyzed using the generated seismic waves as input ground motion. Especially, relative displacement due to coherency loss and site effect which can cause the unseating and pounding between girders are evaluated. As a result, considering the soil conditions of each site are always important and should not be neglected for an accurate structural response analysis.

• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.269-280
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• 2018

Post-earthquake damages investigation in past and recent earthquakes has illustrated that the ground motion spatial variation plays an important role in the structural response of long span bridges. For the structural control of seismic-induced vibrations of cable-stayed bridges, it is extremely important to include the effects of the ground motion spatial variation in the analysis for design of an effective control system. The feasibility and efficiency of different vibration control strategies for the cable-stayed bridge under multiple support excitations have been examined to enhance a structure's ability to withstand earthquake excitations. Comparison of the response due to non-uniform input ground motion with that due to uniform input demonstrates the importance of accounting for spatial variability of excitations. The performance of the optimized designed control systems for uniform input excitations gets worse dramatically over almost all of the evaluation criteria under multiple-support excitations.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.663-680
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• 2012

Previous major earthquakes revealed that most damage of the buried segmented pipelines occurs at the joints of the pipelines. It has been proven that the differential motions between the pipe segments are one of the primary reasons that results in the damage (Zerva et al. 1986, O'Roueke and Liu 1999). This paper studies the combined influences of ground motion spatial variations and local soil conditions on the seismic responses of buried segmented pipelines. The heterogeneous soil deposits surrounding the pipelines are assumed resting on an elastic half-space (base rock). The spatially varying base rock motions are modelled by the filtered Tajimi-Kanai power spectral density function and an empirical coherency loss function. Local site amplification effect is derived based on the one-dimensional wave propagation theory by assuming the base rock motions consist of out-of-plane SH wave or combined in-plane P and SV waves propagating into the site with an assumed incident angle. The differential axial and lateral displacements between the pipeline segments are stochastically formulated in the frequency domain. The influences of ground motion spatial variations, local soil conditions, wave incident angle and stiffness of the joint are investigated in detail. Numerical results show that ground motion spatial variations and local soil conditions can significantly influence the differential displacements between the pipeline segments.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.169-188
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• 2015

This study presents the effects of the spatial variation of ground motions in a hard rock site on the seismic responses of a base-isolated nuclear power plant (BI-NPP). Three structural models were studied for the BI-NPP supported by different number of lead rubber bearing (LRB) base isolators with different base mat dimensions. The seismic responses of the BI-NPP were analyzed and investigated under the uniform and spatial varying excitation of El Centro ground motion. In addition, the rotational degrees of freedom (DOFs) of the base mat nodes were taken to consider the flexural behavior of the base mat on the seismic responses under both uniform and spatial varying excitation. Finally, the seismic response results for all the analysis cases of the BI-NPP were investigated in terms of the vibration periods and mode shapes, lateral displacements, and base shear forces. The analysis results indicate that: (1) considering the flexural behavior of the base mat has a negligible effect on the lateral displacements of base isolators regardless of the number of the isolators or the type of excitation used; (2) considering the spatial variation of ground motions has a substantial influence on the lateral displacements of base isolators and the NPP stick model; (3) the ground motion spatial variation effect is more prominent on lateral displacements than base shear forces, particularly with increasing numbers of base isolators and neglecting flexural behavior of the base mat.