NEHRP Clearinghouse

Title
Effect of Subsurface Conditions on Earthquake Ground Motions.
File
PB93158343.pdf
Author(s)
Yokel, F. Y.
Source
January 1993, 100 p.
Identifying Number(s)
NISTIR-4769
Abstract
The revised version of the SHAKE program was prepared and used to study the effects of subsurface conditions on the earthquake ground motion in the Loma Prieta earthquake. Preliminary soil profile data from the sites of the Oakland Outer Harbor Wharf and Apeel 2 strong motion stations are used to calculate ground motions, which are then compared with the recorded ground motions using response spectra calculated for a 5% damping ratio. Parameters affecting the amplitude of the calculated ground motion are examined. Response Spectra for recorded and calculated ground motions are compared with recommended design spectra (NEHRP, 1988). It is shown that for periods less than 1.4 s the response spectra for recorded far source earthquake motions at Oakland Wharf and Apeel 2 fall outside the envelope of the applicable design spectra, and that response spectra for deeper soil profiles calculated for near source conditions exceed the design spectra by a considerable margin. Design spectra for the San Francisco Bay region, recently proposed in a USGS study, are reasonably close to the calculated near source spectra for deeper soil profiles for periods less than 1 s, but they are conservative for the bedrock motion, and extremely conservative for longer period structures.
Keywords
Loma Prieta Earthquake; Seismic waves; Mathematical models; Earth movements; Dynamic response; Shear strain; Earthquake engineering; Earthquakes; Wave propagation; Spectra analysis; Soil properties; Soil profiles; Oakland (California)