Surface-Wave Dispersion Approach for Evaluating Statistical Models That Account for Shear-Wave Velocity Uncertainty
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 142, Issue 11
Abstract
A number of strategies exist to account for the epistemic uncertainty and aleatory variability in shear-wave velocity () profiles used in site response analyses. Epistemic uncertainty may be accounted for by using median and bounding-type profiles (e.g., ), while aleatory variability may be accounted for by using randomization procedures. A robust, quantitative method to help judge how well these statistically derived profiles represent actual subsurface stiffness or layering conditions is currently not available. This paper presents a surface-wave dispersion approach for evaluating statistical models meant to account for uncertainty in site response. Specifically, surface-wave dispersion data from two geologically disparate sites were used to generate profiles and layered earth models whose theoretical dispersion curves fit within the uncertainty bounds of the experimental data collected at each site. Additionally, theoretical dispersion curves generated from statistical profiles such as the median, bounding-type, and randomly generated profiles for each site were compared with the experimentally measured dispersion data. It was found that the theoretical dispersion curve from the median profile provided a satisfactory fit to the experimental data, but the theoretical dispersion curves from bounding-type profiles did not. Furthermore, randomly generated profiles resulted in some theoretical dispersion curves that fit the experimental data and many that did not. The authors recommend comparing theoretical dispersion curves for candidate profiles and layered earth models with the measured dispersion data at a site prior to using the candidate profiles to account for uncertainty in site response analyses as a quantitative way to judge if the profiles represent realistic site conditions.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported primarily by U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) grant CMMI-1261775. However, any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of NSF. The authors would also like to acknowledge and thank the organizing committee of the InterPacific project, which was formed under the Research & Development Program SIGMA, funded by EDF, AEREVA, CEA, and ENEL, and the CASHIMA project, funded by CEA, ILL, and IITER Organization.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 142 • Issue 11 • November 2016
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 14, 2015
Accepted: Apr 5, 2016
Published online: Jun 21, 2016
Published in print: Nov 1, 2016
Discussion open until: Nov 21, 2016
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