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Effect of uncertainty in \(V_{\mathrm{S}}{-}N\) correlations on seismic site response analysis

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Abstract

This paper studies the reliability of the calculated shear-wave velocity (\(V_{\mathrm{S}}\)) from different available \(V_{\mathrm{S}}\) and SPT-N correlations in terms of seismic site response analysis. In the present study, various \(V_{\mathrm{S}}\)–N correlations developed for different regions around the globe have been used to calculate the bound of \(V_{\mathrm{S}}\) variations with depth at three different sites in Kolkata city. This bound has later been used to generate the random \(V_{\mathrm{S}}\) profiles using the Monte Carlo simulation. Equivalent linear site response analysis has been performed to study the response of those generated profiles under different input motion excitations. Strong-to-weak ground motion records have been used for this purpose. The amplification spectra of the generated \(V_{\mathrm{S}}\) profiles using all soil types and specific soil-type \(V_{\mathrm{S}}\)–N correlations show significant variations. The study also shows that the \(V_{\mathrm{S}}\)–N correlation may result in quite different \(V_{\mathrm{S},30}\) values and subsequently it may lead to the different site classes according to the NEHRP 2003 classification. So, the random choice of the \(V_{\mathrm{S}}\)–N correlation, where the direct measurement of \(V_{\mathrm{S}}\) is not available, may affect the outcome of seismic hazard analysis significantly. The study points out the need for accurate estimation of the \(V_{\mathrm{S}}\) profile either from in-situ determination or using site-specific correlation.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the Department of Civil Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata for allowing us to use borehole data required in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India

    Narayan Roy, Amit Shiuly & R B Sahu

  2. Department of Earthquake Engineering, IIT Roorkee, Roorkee, India

    Ravi S Jakka

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  1. Narayan Roy
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  2. Amit Shiuly
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Correspondence to Ravi S Jakka.

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Corresponding editor: Piyush Shanker Agram

Appendix

Appendix

\(V_{\mathrm{S}}\)–N correlations used in this study to generate shear-wave velocity bounds are presented in tables A1–A4.

Table A1 N value and \(V_{\mathrm{S}}\) relation for all types of soils used in this study.
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Table A2 N value and \(V_{\mathrm{S}}\) relation for silty soil used in this study.
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Table A3 N value and \(V_{\mathrm{S}}\) relation for clayey soil used in this study.
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Table A4 N value and \(V_{\mathrm{S}}\) relation for sandy soil used in this study.
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Roy, N., Shiuly, A., Sahu, R.B. et al. Effect of uncertainty in \(V_{\mathrm{S}}{-}N\) correlations on seismic site response analysis. J Earth Syst Sci 127, 103 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-018-1007-3

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