Abbas Mahdavian, Abbas Fathi Azar Kalkhoran,
Volume 8, Issue 4 (3-2015)
Abstract
Direct observation and experience of past earthquakes together with modeling carried out by researchers, has shown that ground motion acceleration and frequency is affected by the nonlinear behavior of site soil. In the process of assessing the seismic response of structures and lifelines, it is essential to understand the nonlinear behavior of the soil and how it can affect the results. In this paper, the nonlinear behavior of Urmia's subsurface soil is studied by performing one dimensional nonlinear site response analysis in time domain. Artificial acceleration time histories that were synthesized based on the result of seismic hazard analysis, conducted over three return periods, are used as input motion. Spectral acceleration at the ground surface is compared with those calculated for seismic bedrock, and spectral acceleration amplification curves are obtained. These curves show that, the amplification is greater in the central and eastern regions of the city than those for other regions of the city because of a deeper soil profile. The results show that the maximum amplification for higher return period is smaller because of greater soil nonlinear behavior
