Influence of Soil Modeling Uncertainties on Site Response. Issue 3 (August 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Barani, Simone; De Ferrari, Roberto; Ferretti, Gabriele
• Is Part Of: Earthquake spectra. Volume 29:Issue 3(2013)
• Page Start: 705
• Page End: 732
• Publication Date: 2013-08
• Subjects: Earthquake engineering -- Periodicals; Earthquake engineering; Periodicals; 624.1762
• DOI: 10.1193/1.4000159
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 8755-2930

Abstract

The scope of this work is to examine the influence of the uncertainty in soil modeling on numerical ground response estimates through a comprehensive sensitivity analysis. This allows identification of those parameters with the largest effect on both soil amplification (quantified here by a frequency-independent factor, Fa ) and fundamental frequency, f 0 . Although extensively examined in previous articles, the effect of the input motion is also analyzed. The uncertainty affecting the shear wave velocity ( VS ) profile was found to be the factor contributing most to the uncertainty of both Fa and f 0 . The soil thickness was also found to play a key role, particularly in those cases where bedrock depth is unknown or largely uncertain. Although of secondary importance compared to the effect of VS on Fa and f 0, the influence of the input motion cannot be neglected; rather it becomes predominant with regard to the uncertainty affecting frequency-dependent shaking parameters.