Title: Topographic Effects in Strong Ground Motion - From Physical and Numerical Modeling to Design (NEES-2010-0977)

Year Of Curation: 2014

Description: Topographic effects refer to the modification and amplification of seismic ground motion in the vicinity of topographic features such as hillsides, ridges, and canyons. This well-documented phenomenon has yet to be addressed in design codes. Because tectonics and topography are closely related, most seismically active regions of the world are marked by significant topographic relief. In recent decades, population growth and scarcity of undeveloped metropolitan land have changed urban land use patterns and placed an increasing number of people and infrastructure assets in areas susceptible to topographic effects during earthquakes. Although it is widely recognized that topographic amplification can elevate seismic risk, there is currently no consensus on how to reliably quantify its effects. Lack of consensus has precluded development of acceptable guidelines on how to account for this phenomenon in practice, thus leaving an important factor contributing to seismic hazard unaccounted for in routine design. Until now, a major impediment towards understanding and realistically modeling topographic effects has been the lack of a statistically significant number of seismic recordings from densely instrumented sites with topographic features. Moreover, while existing theoretical models are generally capable of qualitatively predicting the effects of irregular topographic features on seismic ground motion, there is still significant quantitative disagreement between predictions and observations. This research addresses this problem with a study of topographic amplification of ground motion that will include a comprehensive and integrated program of experimental simulations, field measurements, empirical data analysis, and numerical modeling. These research methods, applied together in a framework now made possible by NEES, will quickly and substantially advance the understanding of topographic effects. This new understanding will in turn permit the development of data- and analysis-driven guidelines to account for these effects in engineering design, building code provisions, and seismic risk and microzonation studies.

Award: http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0936543

PIs & CoPIs: Adrian Rodriguez-Marek, Domniki Asimaki, Brady Cox, Miguel Pando, Joseph Wartman, Joseph Wartman

Dates: October 01, 2009 - September 30, 2012

Organizations: Georgia Institute of Technology, GA, United States, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, NC, United States ,University of Texas at Austin, TX, United States , University of Washington, WA, United States,Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, VA, United States

Facilities: University of California, Davis, CA, United States, University of Texas at Austin, TX, United States

Sponsor: NSF - CMMI - 0936543 

Keywords: numerical simulations, Topographic effects, ground motions, field measurements, Surface wave testing, Centrifuge testing

Publications: "Field Investigation of Topographic Effects using Mine Seismicity" 

• Domniki Asimaki, Adrian Rodriguez-Marek, Brady Cox, Miguel Pando, Joseph Wartman (2017), "Topographic Effects in Strong Ground Motion - From Physical and Numerical Modeling to Design (NEES-2010-0977)," https://datacenterhub.org/deedsdv/publications/view/362.