Source Scaling, Subevent Distributions, and Ground-Motion Simulation in the Composite Source Model

Predicting strong ground motion from a large earthquake depends to a large extent on the development of a realistic source model. Strong ground motion was simulated using the composite source model. F0or comparison purposes, two different approaches were implemented in the source procedure simulation. For the first approach, the source was taken as a superposition of circular subevents with a constant stress drop. The number of subevents and their radii followed fractal law distribution, specified as a spatial random field, and subevents were allowed to overlap. This resulted in the total area of the subevents being much greater than the area of the main event, in order to catch the total seismic moment conservation. For the second approach, the number of subevents and their characteristic dimensions still obeyed fractal law, but subevents were distributed randomly over the main fault and did not overlap. The total area of subevents equaled the area of the main fault. In the second approach, the subevent stress drop was left as a free parameter to be adjusted, so that the sum of the subevents’ seismic moment equalled the seismic moment of the main event. Using these two approaches, broadband ground motion was predicted from scenario earthquakes. The numerical simulations from these two approaches gave us similar results in waveform, peak ground motions, and frequency contents. The major purpose of these simulations was to address some recent criticism of the overlapping procedure (e.g., numerical implementation) used in the previous composite source model. The generally good agreement between simulated and observed ground motions from the Mw4.6 June 18, 2002, Darmstadt, Ind., earthquake and the Mw4.0 June 6, 2003, Bardwell, Ky., earthquake shown in this study indicates that the numerical techniques of the composite source model are capable of reproducing the main characteristics of ground motion, both in the near field and the far field, in the central United States

Investigation of Geological Anomalies at Pile Foundation Location in Urban Karst Areas Using Single Borehole Radar

Karst geological anomalies at pile locations significantly affect the bearing capacity and construction safety of the piles, posing a significant challenge for urbanization. Borehole geophysical methods are required to extend the detection range and identify karst voids that are at pole locations and near drilled boreholes. In this paper, we developed a near offset and small diameter single borehole ground penetration radar (GPR) prototype. A signal processing method combining complex signal analysis by Hilbert transform (HT) and medium filtering was suggested to differentiate the weak backscattered wave from borehole background noise. A controlled horizontal borehole experiment was used to demonstrate the applicability of the prototype and the advantages of the signal analysis method prior to application in a real project. The controlled test presented three typical wave events corresponding to a soil–rock interface, rock fractures, and karst voids. Field tests were conducted at a freeway bridge extension project in an urban karst area. Multiple karst voids, sinkholes, rock fractures, and integrated bedrock were identified by analysis of four typical detection scenarios. The remediation of the karst voids and a rotary bored piling with real-time steel casing construction strategy were designed based on the investigation results. The construction feedback demonstrates that single borehole radar detection is effective for the investigation of anomalies at pile locations in urban karst areas

Biaxial creep test study on the influence of structural anisotropy on rheological behaviour of hard rock

Rheological characteristics are one of most important properties needed to be considered for the designing and construction for the long term stability and serviceability of underground structures in the rock mass. Up to date, although extensive studies on the rheological properties of rocks are available in the literature, most of existing studies reported the strain-time data for the axial deformation through compression rheological method and did not mention the lateral deformation, and mainly focused on the soft rocks at shallow depth. Thus, very limited attention has been paid to the rheological properties of deep and hard rock, neglecting the effects of structural anisotropy on the rheological properties. This paper presents a comprehensive in-depth study on the rheological behaviours of super-deep hard rock considering the effects of structural anisotropy by using the uniaxial and biaxial creep tests. The results revealed that significant creep behaviour can be observed in the hard rock specimens under high stress in the in-situ conditions, and the strain-time behaviour of hard rock exhibited brittle failure. The strain-time curves of hard rock exhibited two obvious phases of instantaneous creep and steady state creep without the phase of accelerated creep. Moreover, it was observed that the rheological behaviours, including the instantaneous modulus, transient creep duration, axial and lateral creep deformations, steady state creep rate, volumetric strain and contraction ratio are strongly affected by the structural anisotropy. Based on the experimental data, empirical models of the parameters governing creep behaviour have been established

Characteristics of the impact pressure of debris flows

Debris flows are common geological hazards in mountainous regions worldwide. Predicting the impact pressure of debris flows is of major importance for hazard mitigation. Here, we experimentally investigate the impact characteristics of debris flows by varying the concentrations of debris grains and slurry. The measured impact pressure signal is decomposed into a stationary mean pressure (SMP) and a fluctuating pressure (FP) through empirical mode decomposition. The SMP of low frequency is caused by the thrusting of bulk flow while the FP of high frequency is induced by the collision of coarse debris grains, revealed by comparing the features of impact pressure spectra of pure slurries and debris flows. The peak SMP and the peak FP first increase and then decrease with the slurry density. The basal frictional resistance is reduced by the nonequilibrium pore-fluid pressure for debris flows with low-density slurry, which can increase the flow velocity and impact pressures. In contrast, the viscous flow of high-density slurry tends to reduce the flow velocity. The peak SMPs are well predicted by the Bernoulli equation and are related to the hydrostatic pressure and Froude number of the incident flow. The peak FPs depend on the kinetic energy and degree of segregation of coarse grains. The maximum degree of segregation occurs at an intermediate value of slurry density due to the transition of flow regime and fluid drag stresses. Our results facilitate predicting the impact pressures of debris flows based on their physical properties