Seismic Microzonation of the Himalayan Region Considering Site Characterization: Application toward Seismic Risk Assessment for Sustainable Tunneling Projects
Abstract
Infrastructure projects require billions of dollars, but they are destroyed in seconds due to strong ground motions during earthquakes. The disaster mitigation cell of any nation seeks sustainable and resilient infrastructure schemes to reduce the catastrophic effects of any seismic hazard. This study attempted to carry out detailed seismic microzonation of the Jammu Region (JR), which is located in the northwestern part of the Himalayas. To accomplish this, seismic hazard analysis was carried out with a primary focus on site characterization using geophysical field testing. For the proposed seismic zones, the performance and vulnerability of tunnels were evaluated in various seismic environments. Further, the seismic risk of the 345-km-long Udhampur Srinagar Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project was assessed for serviceability in post-seismic conditions. The proposed zonation, risk matrices, and route maps will be useful for auditioning existing and proposed tunneling projects in this area. This will pave the way for earthquake-resistant design of sustainable infrastructure projects in seismically active areas like the Himalayas.
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Data Availability Statement
The data sets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
All authors contributed to the conception, visualization, methodology, and design of this study. Data collection, data processing, analysis, and materials preparation were performed by Abdullah Ansari. Geophysical field testing and survey in Jammu and Kashmir were also conducted by Abdullah Ansari. The first draft of the manuscript was written by the first author, and all authors commented on successive versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Published In
Natural Hazards Review
Volume 25 • Issue 1 • February 2024
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 3, 2022
Accepted: Jul 20, 2023
Published online: Oct 16, 2023
Published in print: Feb 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Mar 16, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Business management
- Chemical processes
- Chemistry
- Construction engineering
- Construction management
- Earthquake engineering
- Engineering fundamentals
- Environmental engineering
- Geohazards
- Geotechnical engineering
- Infrastructure
- Infrastructure vulnerability
- Ozonization
- Practice and Profession
- Project management
- Seismic effects
- Seismic tests
- Sustainable development
- Tests (by type)
- Tunneling
- Tunnels
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