3D scattering of obliquely incident plane SV waves by an alluvial valley embedded in a fluid-saturated, poroelastic layered half-space

Abstract

The indirect boundary element method is used to study the 3D dynamic response of an infinitely long alluvial valley embedded in a saturated layered half-space for obliquely incident SV waves. A wave-number transform is first applied along the valley's axis to reduce a 3D problem to a 2D plane strain problem. The problem is then solved in the section perpendicular to the axis of the valley. Finally, the 3D dynamic responses of the valley are obtained by an inverse wave-number transform. The validity of the method is confirmed by comparison with relevant results. The differences between the responses around the valley embedded in dry and in saturated poroelastic medium are studied, and the effects of drainage conditions, porosity, soil layer stiffness, and soil layer thickness on the dynamic response are discussed in detail resulting in some conclusions. © 2013 The Seismological Society of China and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.