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Mitigation of the seismic motion near the edge of cliff-type topographies using anchors and piles

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Abstract

Concentration of damage of buildings near the edge of cliff-type topographies has been observed during a number of recent earthquakes and interpreted by numerical dynamic analyses that illustrate the amplification of the horizontal acceleration and the generation of parasitic vertical acceleration near the tip of slopes. The paper performs a detailed parametric numerical analysis to investigate the ability of mitigating this topographic effect using anchors and piles. A typical field case, the Aegion slope of Greece, is considered. Different input motions are applied. The results illustrated that anchors and piles can be effective in mitigating the topographic effect. The main issue is that if the part of the slope in which topographic amplification occurs is connected to that at larger depths, in which the acceleration is smaller, then the accelerations at the top of the slope have to become more uniform and smaller. For typical diameter and material properties of anchors/piles the effectiveness of the mitigation depends on the length, inclination, location and number of anchors/piles. An optimum configuration of anchors/piles mitigating the topographic effect is proposed.

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Abbreviations

1-D:

Far away from the edge of the slope, where the topographic effect does not exist

a:

Acceleration

A:

Maximum acceleration over the crest of the slope

h:

Horizontal

max:

Maximum

ME:

Mitigation effect factor

mit:

Mitigation

Sa:

Spectral acceleration

TE:

Topographic effect factor

v:

Vertical

ah, av :

Horizontal, vertical acceleration respectively

ah-max, av-max :

Maximum horizontal, maximum vertical acceleration

ah-max-1D :

Maximum horizontal acceleration far from the edge where the topographic effect does not exist

Ah-max, Av-max :

Maximum horizontal and vertical acceleration over the crest of the slope for the case without mitigation

Ah-mit, Av-mit :

Maximum horizontal and vertical acceleration over the crest of the slope for the case without mitigation

\({c, \phi}\) :

Cohesion and friction component of peak soil strength

Dh, Dv :

The maximum distance from the edge of the slope that the horizontal and vertical acceleration is affected by the topographic effect

Dh-m, Dv-m :

The distances from the edge of the slope where the maximum horizontal and vertical accelerations occur

d:

Diameter of anchors/piles

E:

Young Modulus of anchors/piles

fmin :

Damping factor defined by Eq. (7)

g:

Acceleration of gravity

Gel, G:

Elastic shear modulus, secant shear modulus respectively

ME−ah, ME−av, ME−Sah, ME−Sav :

Mitigation factors defined by Eq. (2)

Ms:

Surface magnitude of earthquake

No mit:

No mitigation case

SDh-m, SDv-m :

The distances from the edge of the slope where the maximum spectral horizontal and vertical accelerations occur

Sah, Sav :

Horizontal, vertical spectral acceleration

SAh-max, SAv-max :

Maximum horizontal, vertical spectral acceleration over the crest of the slope for the case without mitigation

SAh-mit, SAv-mit :

Maximum spectral horizontal, vertical acceleration over the crest of the slope for the case with mitigation

Sah-max-1D :

Maximum horizontal spectral acceleration far from the edge where the topographic effect does not exist

x:

Horizontal distance from the edge at the slope surface (Fig. 1a)

T:

Period

TE−ax, TE−ay, TE−Sax, TE−Say :

Factors defined by Eq. (1)

VS :

Shear wave velocity

\({\varepsilon_{{\rm v}}^{{\rm p}}, \,\gamma^{{\rm p}}}\) :

Volumetric and shear plastic strain

ρ max :

Maximum settlement

\({\tau, \sigma^\prime}\) :

Shear and effective normal stress at failure plane

\({\sigma^\prime_{{\circ}}}\) :

Vertical effective stress

\({\phi_{\rm cs}, \,\beta, \,{{\rm E}}_{{\rm p}}, \gamma_{{\rm mob}},\, {{\rm b}}, \,\sigma_{{\rm co}}}\) :

Model parameters of Eqs. (4) and (5)

\({\xi_{\rm min}}\) :

Damping factor defined by Eq. (7)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Stamatopoulos and Associates Co. Ltd., 5 Isavron st., Athens, 11471, Greece

    Constantine A. Stamatopoulos & Maria Bassanou

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  1. Constantine A. Stamatopoulos
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  2. Maria Bassanou
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Correspondence to Constantine A. Stamatopoulos.

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Stamatopoulos, C.A., Bassanou, M. Mitigation of the seismic motion near the edge of cliff-type topographies using anchors and piles. Bull Earthquake Eng 7, 221–253 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-008-9099-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-008-9099-9

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