SSI Effect in Two Mining Regions for Low-Rise Traditional Buildings

Abstract

The article compared the transmission of underground vibrations caused by mines to foundations of representative low-rise masonry buildings situated in two different seismically active mining areas in Poland: the Legnica-Glogow Copperfield (LGC) and the Upper Silesian Coalfield (USC). The soil-structure interaction (SSI) effect has been investigated on experimental measurements of free-field (near to the building) and building foundation vibration accelerations occurring at the same time. Long-term (several years, hundreds of strong shocks), full-scale monitoring with the application of so-called ‘an armed partition’ measuring equipment, was carried out. The focus has been on the horizontal vibrations in the directions of the transverse and longitudinal axis of the buildings. It has been stated that records of the ground and building foundation vibrations registered at the same time can vary considerably in the case of the LGC, as well as the USC mining regions. The differences between the ground and building foundation vibrations have been analysed using the comparisons of dimensional and dimensionless response spectra from the building foundation and free-field vibrations, respectively. Furthermore, the relationship between the foundation and ground response spectra, the so-called ratio of response spectra (RRS), has been taken into account. Influences of epicentre distance, the magnitude of mining tremor energy, peak ground value of vibrations related to mining tremors on the SSI in the case of the same type of building but situated in mining regions with some differences concerning, e.g., site conditions, have also been analysed and compared.

Keywords