Correlation analysis between ground motion parameters and seismic damage of buildings for near-field ground motions

Abstract

Pulse-like ground motions constitute a significant challenge to the performance of buildings, as they are characterized by long intense velocity, displacement, or acceleration pulses. Such ground motions are generated by directivity, fling action, basin edge effects, and fault rupture asperities. They may impose higher seismic demands on the structure and also affect the dynamic response of a structure. The study mainly focuses on the correlation between ground motion parameters (GMPs) and seismic damage of different types of buildings subjected to a set of near-field ground motions with magnitudes ranging from Mw 6.9 – Mw 8.8. The ground motion parameters are calculated for a dataset of 75 near-field ground motions. A total of three low-rise, mid-rise, and high-rise buildings are considered for the analysis. A non-linear dynamic analysis is performed to obtain the displacement response of these buildings. Further, the seismic damage of each building type is estimated using the Park-Ang damage model. A Pearson's correlation analysis is done between ground motion parameters and the seismic damage of buildings to understand their relationship. The results revealed that a good correlation is observed between various GMPs and a weak correlation is observed between the GMPs and the seismic damage. Also, it is observed that the seismic damage of buildings is weakly correlated with the pulse period and root mean square velocity.

Keywords

• Near-field ground motions
• Seismic damage
• Ground motion parameters
• Correlation