This paper summarizes the results of a comprehensive study carried out to assess the seismic response of a 59-span bridge, considering Soil-Structure Interaction (SSI). The bridge was built in the early seventies at a distance of about 5 km from a major fault. The methodology adopted to idealize the bridge and its foundation system for elastic and inelastic analysis is briefly described. The SS...

One of the most important natural hazards that threatens Caracas, the capital city of Venezuela, is the seismic hazard, due to its location in the plate boundary zone between the South America and the Caribbean plates. There is historic evidence for several destructive earthquakes in Caracas since 1641, being the most recent one the 1967 Caracas earthquake. This magnitude 6.5 earthquake which o...

Based on the parallel computing cluster platform of the ABAQUS software, a large-scale 2D finite-element refined nonlinear modeling approach was used to study seismic site effects in the Fuzhou basin, such as peak ground acceleration (PGA), spectral acceleration, duration, and acceleration transfer functions. A 1D equivalent linear wave propagation analysis was conducted also, with Proshake for...

The significance of stochasticity in the characteristics of the surface layers of a site to the resulting spatial variation of seismic ground motions and the seismic ground strains is investigated. For this purpose, an analytical site-specific model is developed. The model approximates the site topography by a horizontally extended layer with random characteristics overlying a half-space (bedro...

Piles and diaphragm wall supported berthing structure on marine soils are loaded laterally from horizontal soil movements generated by dredging. The literature on the adequacy of the finite element method modeling of berthing structure to analyse their behaviour during dredging and under earthquake condition is limited. This paper describes the finite element approach for analysing the lateral ...

In the current study, the performances of some decision tree (DT) techniques are evaluated for postearthquake soil liquefaction assessment. A database containing 620 records of seismic parameters and soil properties is used in this study. Three decision tree techniques are used here in two different ways, considering statistical and engineering points of view, to develop decision rules. The DT ...

The mechanical behavior of saturated soil is mainly governed by the interaction between the soil skeleton and the pore fluid, and this interaction may lead to significant loss of strength known as liquefaction under seismic loading conditions. The main objective of this paper is to implement a cyclic constitutive model based on fuzzy set plasticity theory, which is capable of modeling soil dila...

Abstract: In recent years deadly earthquakes in seismic areas have caused special concerns regarding liquefaction phenomenon by researchers and specialists. Excess pore water pressure in loose sediments may cause phenomena such as boiling, shearing strength and dynamic stiffness reduction and lateral movements cause difficulties. Many remedial methods such as soil replacement with proper materi...

Earthfill dams are man-made geostructures which may be especially damaged by seismic loadings, because the soil skeleton they are made of suffers remarkable modifications in its mechanical properties, as well as changes of pore water pressure and flow of this water inside their pores, when subjected to vibrations. The most extreme situation is the dam failure due to soil liquefaction. Coupled f...