Chapter 4: Ground response analysis

Damage caused by earthquakes varies greatly from location to location, and is governed by local site conditions and the characteristics of the input motion. The issues related to ground motion are discussed in Chapter 3. Loosely speaking, from the point of view of foundation analysis and design, ground behaviour can be of two types

However, a realistic ground profile can be a mix of different types of soils. These often result from land reclamation during urbanisation. For example, Port Island area suffered extensive damage during the 1995 Kobe earthquake due to the type of fill material, which liquefied. The aim of this chapter is to provide concepts to allow the behaviour of ground during earthquakes to be assessed. In other words, how a ground supporting the foundations will respond to earthquakes.