Site classification of Turkish national strong-motion recording sites

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Thesis Type: Postgraduate

Institution Of The Thesis: Middle East Technical University, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, Turkey

Approval Date: 2008

Thesis Language: English

Student: Mustafa Abdullah Sandıkkaya

Supervisor: MUSTAFA TOLGA YILMAZ

Abstract:

Since 1976, the General Directorate of Disaster Affairs of Turkey has deployed several strong-motion accelerographs at selected sites. Within the framework of the project entitled Compilation of National Strong Ground Motion Database in Accordance with International Standards, initiated in 2006, site conditions at a total of 153 strong-motion sites were investigated within the uppermost 30 m depth through boreholes including Standard Penetration Testing and surface seismics by means of Multi-channel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW). In this study, firstly, the assessment of the site characterization was held by making use NEHRP Provisions, EC-8 and Turkish Seismic Design Code. The corrected penetration resistances are calculated and observed how it affects the classification. In addition, the consistency of site classes obtained from either penetration resistance or shear wave velocity criteria is examined. Also the consistency of the boundaries of the site classes in terms of shear wave velocity and penetration resistance data pairs are investigated. Secondly, the liquefaction potential of these sites is examined. Thirdly and finally, the shear wave velocity profiles obtained from MASW technique are contrasted to other seismic tests