Parametric investigation of the dynamic response of rigid blocks subjected to synthetic near-source ground motion records

Abstract

We study the seismic response of rigid block structures against synthetic pulse-like ground motion records. A large number of synthetic ground motion records are systematically produced for various magnitude-distance scenarios. More specifically, we generate pulselike ground motions for a grid of 56 receiver stations assuming a vertical strike-slip fault. The site conditions simulate a NEHRP Class D site, while for every combination of hypocenter, magnitude and receiver location, we generate 100 realizations consisting of low- and high-frequency components. The low-frequency component is based on a four-parameter wavelet, while the specific barrier model is used for the high-frequency component. The synthetic ground motions are used to study the seismic overturning of rigid blocks of various dimensions. The low-frequency pulse is described by four-parameters which refer to the amplitude, the prevailing frequency, the phase angle and the oscillatory character of the record, on top of which the high-frequency component is added. This description allows to parametrize the seismic response and thus improve our understanding on the effect of base motion characteristics on the overturning of rigid blocks.