CHAPTER ONE: Introduction to Earthquakes and Earthquakes Engineering

CHAPTER ONE

Introduction to Earthquakes and Earthquakes

Engineering

1.1 Earthquakes
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's
crust that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes are recorded with a
seismometer, also known as a seismograph. The moment magnitude (or the
related and mostly obsolete Richter magnitude) of an earthquake is
conventionally reported, with magnitude 3 or lower earthquakes being
mostly imperceptible and magnitude 7 causing serious damage over large
areas. Intensity of shaking is measured on the modified Mercalli scale. At the
Earth's surface, earthquakes manifest themselves by shaking and sometimes
displacing the ground. When a large earthquake epicenter is located
offshore, the seabed sometimes suffers sufficient displacement to cause a
tsunami. The shaking in earthquakes can also trigger landslides and
occasionally volcanic activity.

In its most generic sense, the word earthquake is used to describe any
seismic event — whether a natural phenomenon or an event caused by
humans — that generates seismic waves. Earthquakes are caused mostly by
rupture of geological faults, but also by volcanic activity, landslides, mine
blasts, and nuclear experiments. An earthquake's point of initial rupture is
called its focus or hypocenter. The term epicenter refers to the point at
ground level directly above the hypocenter.

1.1.1 Measuring and locating earthquakes

Earthquakes can be recorded by seismometers up to great distances,
because seismic waves travel through the whole Earth's interior. The
absolute magnitude of a quake is conventionally reported by numbers on the
Moment magnitude scale (formerly Richter scale, magnitude 7 causing
serious damage over large areas), whereas the felt magnitude is reported
using the modified Mercalli scale.

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Figure 1.1 Mercalli scale

Every tremor produces different types of seismic waves which travel

through rock with different velocities: the longitudinal P-waves (shock- or
pressure waves), the transverse S-waves (both body waves) and several
surface waves (Rayleigh and Love waves). The propagation velocity of the
seismic waves ranges from approx. 3 km/s up to 13 km/s, depending on the
density and elasticity of the medium. In the Earth's interior the shock- or P
waves travel much faster than the S waves (approx. relation 1.7: 1). The
differences in travel time from the epicenter to the observatory are a
measure of the distance and can be used to image both sources of quakes

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 CHAPTER ONE: Introduction to Earthquakes and Earthquakes Engineering

and structures within the Earth. Also the depth of the

hypocenter can be computed roughly.

1.1.2 Earthquake fault types

A fault is a thin zone of crushed rock separating
blocks of the earth’s crust. When an earthquake
occurs on one of these faults, the rock on one side of
the fault slips long. The fault surface can be vertical,
horizontal, or at some angle to the surface of the
earth. Faults can extend deep into the earth and may
or may not extend up to the earth’s surface.

There are three main types of fault that may

cause an earthquake: normal, reverse (thrust) and
strike-slip. Normal and reverse faulting are examples
of dip-slip, where the displacement along the fault is in
the direction of dip and movement on them involves a
vertical component. Normal faults occur mainly in
areas where the crust is being extended such as a divergent boundary.
Reverse faults occur in areas where the crust is being shortened such as at a
convergent boundary. Strike-slip faults are steep structures where the two
sides of the fault slip horizontally past each other; transform boundaries are
a particular type of strike-slip fault. Many earthquakes are caused by
movement on faults that have components of both dip-slip and strike-slip;
this is known as oblique slip.

Figu
re 1-2 fault types

1.1.3 Types of seismic waves

i. Body wave: Waves that propagate through an unbounded continuum are
called body waves, as opposed to surface waves, which propagate along
the boundary surface. It includes:

(a) P-waves: Compressive elastic waves are called P-waves in seismology,

P Standing for primary. In a homogeneous isotropic body the particle
displacement associated with P-waves is often parallel to the direction
of wave propagation. For this reason, P-waves are sometimes called
longitudinal waves.

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(b) S-waves: Elastic shear waves are called (S-waves) in seismology, S

standing for secondary. The particle displacement associated with S-
waves is perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation if the
medium is isotropic. For this reason, waves are sometimes called
transverse waves.

ii. Surface wave: Waves that propagates along the earth surface and it
includes:

(a) Love wave: Waves trapped near the surface of the Earth and
propagating along it. Their existence was first predicted by Love (1911)
for a homogeneous layer overlying half-space with an S velocity
greater than that of the layer. They can exist, in general, in a vertically
heterogeneous media, but not in a homogeneous half space with a
planar surface.

(b) Rayleigh wave: Coupled (P) and (S) waves trapped near the surface of
the Earth and propagating along it. Their existence was first predicted
by Rayleigh (1887) for a homogeneous half-space, for which the
velocity of propagation is (0.88 to 0.95) times the shear velocity and
their particle motion is retrograde elliptic near the surface. They can
exist in general, in a vertically heterogeneous media bounded by a free
surface.

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Figure 1-3 seismic waves

1.1.4 Classification of Earthquakes

1.1.4.1 Naturally occurring earthquakes

Tectonic earthquakes will occur anywhere within the earth where there
is sufficient stored elastic strain energy to drive fracture propagation along a
fault plane. In the case of transform or convergent type plate boundaries,
which form the largest fault surfaces on earth, they will move past each
other smoothly and a seismically only if there are no irregularities or
asperities along the boundary that increase the frictional resistance. Most
boundaries do have such asperities and this leads to a form of stick-slip
behavior. Once the boundary has locked, continued relative motion between
the plates leads to increasing stress and therefore, stored strain energy in
the volume around the fault surface. This continues until the stress has risen
sufficiently to break through the asperity, suddenly allowing sliding over the
locked portion of the fault, releasing the stored energy. This energy is
released as a combination of radiated elastic strain seismic waves, frictional
heating of the fault surface, and cracking of the rock, thus causing an
earthquake.

This process of gradual build-up of strain and stress punctuated by

occasional sudden earthquake failure is referred to as the Elastic-rebound
theory. It is estimated that only 10 percent or less of an earthquake's total
energy is radiated as seismic energy. Most of the earthquake's energy is
used to power the earthquake fracture growth or is converted into heat
generated by friction. Therefore, earthquakes lower the Earth's available
elastic potential energy and raise its temperature, though these changes are
negligible compared to the conductive and convective flow of heat out from
the Earth's deep interior.

1.1.4.2 Induced seismicity

While most earthquakes are caused by movement of the Earth's
tectonic plates, human activity can also produce earthquakes. Four main
activities contribute to this phenomenon: constructing large dams and
buildings, drilling and injecting liquid into wells, and by coal mining and oil
drilling. Perhaps the best known example is the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in
China's Sichuan Province in May; this tremor resulted in 69,227 fatalities and

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is the 19th deadliest earthquake of all time. The Zipingpu Dam is believed to
have fluctuated the pressure of the fault 1,650 feet (503 m) away; this
pressure probably increased the power of the earthquake and accelerated
the rate of movement for the fault.

1.1.4.3 Shallow-focus and deep-focus earthquakes

The majority of tectonic earthquakes originate at the ring of fire in
depths not exceeding tens of kilometers. Earthquakes occurring at a depth of
less than 70 km are classified as 'shallow-focus' earthquakes, while those
with a focal-depth between 70 and 300 km are commonly termed 'mid-focus'
or 'intermediate-depth' earthquakes. In subduction zones, where older and
colder oceanic crust descends beneath another tectonic plate, deep-focus
earthquakes may occur at much greater depths (ranging from 300 up to 700
kilometer. Deep-focus earthquakes occur at a depth at which the subducted
lithosphere should no longer be brittle, due to the high temperature and
pressure. A possible mechanism for the generation of deep-focus
earthquakes is faulting caused by olivine undergoing a phase transition into
a spinal structure.

1.1.5 Effects/impacts of earthquakes

Earthquakes may lead to disease, lack of basic necessities, loss of life,
higher insurance premiums, general property damage, road and bridge
damage, and collapse or destabilization (potentially leading to future
collapse) of buildings. The effects of earthquakes also include, but are not
limited to, the following:

• Shaking and ground rupture

• Landslides and avalanches

• Fires

• Soil liquefaction

• Tsunamis

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• Human impacts

1.2 Earthquakes Engineering

Earthquake engineering is the study of the behavior of buildings and
structures subject to seismic loading. It is a subset of both structural and civil
engineering. A properly engineered structure does not necessarily have to be
extremely strong or expensive. The most powerful and budgetary tools of
earthquake engineering are vibration control technologies and, in particular,
base isolation.

The main objectives of earthquake engineering are:

• Understand the interaction between buildings or civil infrastructure and

the ground.

• Foresee the potential consequences of strong earthquakes on urban

areas and civil infrastructure.

• Design, construct and maintain structures to perform at earthquake

exposure up to the expectations and in compliance with building
codes.

1.2.1 Seismic performance

Earthquake or seismic performance is an execution of a building's or
structure's ability to sustain their due functions, such as its safety and
serviceability, at and after a particular earthquake exposure. A structure is,
normally, considered safe if it does not endanger the lives and wellbeing of
those in or around it by partially or completely collapsing. A structure may be
considered serviceable if it is able to fulfill its operational functions for which
it was designed.

Basic concepts of the earthquake engineering, implemented in the

major building codes, assume that a building should survive The Big One (the
most powerful anticipated earthquake) though with partial destruction.

1.2.2 Seismic performance evaluation

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Engineers need to know the quantified level of an actual or anticipated

seismic performance associated with the direct damage to an individual
building subject to a specified ground shaking. The best way to do it is to put
the structure on a shake-table that simulates the earth shaking and watch
what may happen next. Such kinds of experiments were performed still more
than a century ago. Another way is to evaluate the earthquake performance
analytically.

1.2.3 Seismic performance analysis

Seismic performance analysis or, simply, seismic analysis is a major
intellectual tool of earthquake engineering which breaks the complex topic
into smaller parts to gain a better understanding of seismic performance of
building and non-building structures. The technique as a formal concept is a
relatively recent development. In general, seismic analysis is based on the
methods of structural dynamics. For decades, the most prominent
instrument of seismic analysis has been the earthquake response spectrum
method which, also, contributed to the proposed building code's concept of
today. However, those spectra are good, mostly, for single-degree-of-
freedom systems. Numerical step-by-step integration proved to be a more
effective method of analysis for multi-degree-of-freedom structural systems
with severe non-linearity under a substantially transient process of kinematic
excitation.