Earthquake Resistant

Design
Lecture 1:
Seismological Aspects (1)

Bachelor of Civil Engineering

Institute of Engineering
 What is an earthquake?

 An earthquake is the vibration of

Earth produced by the rapid release of
energy
Energy radiates in all directions
from its source, the focus
Energy moves like waves
Seismographs record the event
Anatomy of Earthquakes

Earthquakes are associated with faults

 What are Earthquakes?

 The shaking or trembling

caused by the sudden release
of energy
 Usuallyassociated with faulting
or breaking of rocks
 Continuing adjustment of
position results in aftershocks
 Where Do Earthquakes Occur and How Often?
~80% of all earthquakes occur in the circum-Pacific belt
◦ most of these result from convergent margin activity
◦ ~15% occur in the Mediterranean-Asiatic belt
◦ remaining 5% occur in the interiors of plates and on
spreading ridge centers
◦ more than 150,000 quakes strong enough to be felt
are recorded each year
Why do Earthquakes happen?
•Plate Motion
Earthquakes: Cause and
Effect
• Why earthquakes occur
• How earthquakes are
measured
• Earthquake effects
Plate Boundaries
Plate Tectonics: Driving Mechanism
Plate Tectonics: Details in Subduction Zone
The Focus and Epicenter of an
Earthquake
• The point within
Earth where
faulting begins is
the focus, or
hypocenter
• The point directly
above the focus
on the surface is
the epicenter
 Epicenter
The point on the surface of Earth that is
right above the focus of an earthquake
 What is the Elastic Rebound Theory?

 Explains how energy is

stored in rocks
◦ Rocks bend until the
strength of the rock
is exceeded
◦ Rupture occurs and
the rocks quickly
rebound to an
undeformed shape
◦ Energy is released in
waves that radiate
outward from the
fault
Earthquake focus and
epicenter
 Elastic Rebound Theory

• Pressure or stress, builds up in the rock,

much like a bending rubber eraser in
your hands.
• You can break a rubber eraser if the
pressure or stress you apply to it
exceeds the natural strength of the
rubber.
Elastic Rebound Theory
Time = 0 Years
Elastic Rebound Theory
 Time = 40 Years
Elastic Rebound Theory
Time = 41 Years
Elastic Rebound Theory
Foreshocks and Aftershocks are
smaller earthquakes that precede and
postdate the main shock.
What is a foreshcok or aftershock
depends on when the main shock
comes. But, this is really only known
AFTER the big earthquake occurs!
 Active Faults

Earthquakes generate different first motions

in different directions depending on the type
of fault that generates the earthquake.
•A first motion for a normal fault in a
horizontal direction is OUT from the fault
during the rupture. These tend to occur along
divergent plate margin boundaries.
Vertical
Movement along
Dip-Slip Faults

Divergent

Convergent
 Types of seismic waves
 Body waves
◦ Travel through Earth’s interior
◦ Two types based on mode of travel
◦ Primary (P) waves
 Push-pull motion
 Travel thru solids, liquids & gases
◦ Secondary (S) waves
 Moves at right angles to their direction
of travel
 Travels only through solids
 What are Seismic Waves?
 Response of material to the arrival
of energy fronts released by rupture
 Two types:
◦ Body waves
 P and S
◦ Surface waves
 R and L
Body Waves: P and S waves
 Body waves
◦ P or primary waves
 fastest waves
 travel through solids,
liquids, or gases
 compressional wave,
material movement is
in the same direction
as wave movement
◦ S or secondary waves
 slower than P waves
 travel through solids
only
 shear waves - move
material perpendicular
to wave movement
Surface Waves: R and L waves

 Surface Waves
◦ Travel just below or along the ground’s surface
◦ Slower than body waves; rolling and side-to-
side movement
◦ Especially damaging to buildings
• P waves are the fastest, and first
waves to arrive. S waves are the
second fastest (~50%) and Surface
waves (45%) are the slowest of the
three major types of earthquake
waves.
Surface Waves: The most
damaging earthquake vibrations
occur when the P and S waves
reach the surface. At the surface
they convert into horizontal S waves
and a combination of vertical S and
P waves called Rayleigh waves.
The Economics and Societal Impacts of EQs
Damage in Oakland, CA, 1989
• Building collapse
• Fire
• Tsunami
• Ground failure
1906
 Seismograph

A seismograph consists of a real or

virtual mass that is so large that it moves
totally out of “sync” with the frequency of
the ground motion, that is as IF IT WERE
STILL. The mass is not actually still but
its large inertia allows the faster motions
of the earthquake groundshake to be
registered accurately.
Seismographs
record earthquake
events

At convergent boundaries,
focal depth increases
along a dipping seismic
zone called a Benioff
zone
Seismograph records energy waves of the
earth