Seismic Site Classification from the Horizontal-to-Vertical Response Spectral Ratios: Use of the Spanish Strong-Motion Database
Normally, the average of the horizontal-to-vertical (H/V) ratios of the 5% damped response spectra of ground motions is used to classify the site of strong-motion stations. In these cases, only the three-orthogonal as-recorded acceleration components are used in the analysis, and all the vector comp...
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MDPI AG
2019-07-01
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| Series: | Geosciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/9/7/294 |
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| author | Luis A. Pinzón Luis G. Pujades Albert Macau Emilio Carreño Juan M. Alcalde |
| author_facet | Luis A. Pinzón Luis G. Pujades Albert Macau Emilio Carreño Juan M. Alcalde |
| author_sort | Luis A. Pinzón |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Normally, the average of the horizontal-to-vertical (H/V) ratios of the 5% damped response spectra of ground motions is used to classify the site of strong-motion stations. In these cases, only the three-orthogonal as-recorded acceleration components are used in the analysis, and all the vector compositions that can generate a different response for each period oscillator are excluded. In this study, the Spanish strong-motion database was used to classify the sites of accelerometric stations based on the predominant periods through the average horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratios (HVSR) of recorded ground motions. Moreover, the directionality effects using the vector composition of the horizontal components of ground motions were also considered in the estimations of H/V ratios. This consideration is a relevant novelty compared to the traditional H/V ratios methods. Only earthquakes with magnitudes above 3.5 and hypocentral distances below 200 km were selected, which resulted in 692 ground-motion records, corresponding to 86 stations, from events in the period between 1993 and 2017. After the analysis, a predominant-period site classification was assigned to each station. On the whole, the obtained mean and standard deviation values of the spectral ratios are comparable to those shown by other researchers. Therefore, the advantages of the proposed procedure, which takes the directionality effects into account, can be summarized as follows: (a) The obtained information is richer and gives enables more sophisticated and realistic analyses on the basis of percentiles and (b) it is easier to detect anomalous stations, sites, and/or accelerograms. Moreover, the method eliminates the effect of directionality as a contributor to epistemic uncertainty. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T19:11:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-93f5adea010844c8a9b7d270d952564f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3263 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T19:11:59Z |
| publishDate | 2019-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geosciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-93f5adea010844c8a9b7d270d952564f2022-12-21T18:15:38ZengMDPI AGGeosciences2076-32632019-07-019729410.3390/geosciences9070294geosciences9070294Seismic Site Classification from the Horizontal-to-Vertical Response Spectral Ratios: Use of the Spanish Strong-Motion DatabaseLuis A. Pinzón0Luis G. Pujades1Albert Macau2Emilio Carreño3Juan M. Alcalde4Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 08034 Barcelona, SpainDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 08034 Barcelona, SpainGeophysics and Seismology Area, Institut Cartogràfic i Geològic de Catalunya, 08038 Barcelona, SpainNational Seismic Network, Instituto Geográfico Nacional, 28003 Madrid, SpainNational Seismic Network, Instituto Geográfico Nacional, 28003 Madrid, SpainNormally, the average of the horizontal-to-vertical (H/V) ratios of the 5% damped response spectra of ground motions is used to classify the site of strong-motion stations. In these cases, only the three-orthogonal as-recorded acceleration components are used in the analysis, and all the vector compositions that can generate a different response for each period oscillator are excluded. In this study, the Spanish strong-motion database was used to classify the sites of accelerometric stations based on the predominant periods through the average horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratios (HVSR) of recorded ground motions. Moreover, the directionality effects using the vector composition of the horizontal components of ground motions were also considered in the estimations of H/V ratios. This consideration is a relevant novelty compared to the traditional H/V ratios methods. Only earthquakes with magnitudes above 3.5 and hypocentral distances below 200 km were selected, which resulted in 692 ground-motion records, corresponding to 86 stations, from events in the period between 1993 and 2017. After the analysis, a predominant-period site classification was assigned to each station. On the whole, the obtained mean and standard deviation values of the spectral ratios are comparable to those shown by other researchers. Therefore, the advantages of the proposed procedure, which takes the directionality effects into account, can be summarized as follows: (a) The obtained information is richer and gives enables more sophisticated and realistic analyses on the basis of percentiles and (b) it is easier to detect anomalous stations, sites, and/or accelerograms. Moreover, the method eliminates the effect of directionality as a contributor to epistemic uncertainty.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/9/7/294H/V response spectral ratioseismic site classification5% damped response spectraSpanish ground-motion network |
| spellingShingle | Luis A. Pinzón Luis G. Pujades Albert Macau Emilio Carreño Juan M. Alcalde Seismic Site Classification from the Horizontal-to-Vertical Response Spectral Ratios: Use of the Spanish Strong-Motion Database Geosciences H/V response spectral ratio seismic site classification 5% damped response spectra Spanish ground-motion network |
| title | Seismic Site Classification from the Horizontal-to-Vertical Response Spectral Ratios: Use of the Spanish Strong-Motion Database |
| title_full | Seismic Site Classification from the Horizontal-to-Vertical Response Spectral Ratios: Use of the Spanish Strong-Motion Database |
| title_fullStr | Seismic Site Classification from the Horizontal-to-Vertical Response Spectral Ratios: Use of the Spanish Strong-Motion Database |
| title_full_unstemmed | Seismic Site Classification from the Horizontal-to-Vertical Response Spectral Ratios: Use of the Spanish Strong-Motion Database |
| title_short | Seismic Site Classification from the Horizontal-to-Vertical Response Spectral Ratios: Use of the Spanish Strong-Motion Database |
| title_sort | seismic site classification from the horizontal to vertical response spectral ratios use of the spanish strong motion database |
| topic | H/V response spectral ratio seismic site classification 5% damped response spectra Spanish ground-motion network |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/9/7/294 |
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