Overview

SECED 2015 was a two-day conference on Earthquake and Civil Engineering Dynamics that took place on 9-10th July 2015 at Homerton College, Cambridge.

This was the first major conference to be held in the UK on this topic since SECED hosted the 2002 European Conference on Earthquake Engineering in London.

The conference brought together experts from a broad range of disciplines, including structural engineering, nuclear engineering, seismology, geology, geotechnical engineering, urban development, social sciences, business and insurance; all focused on risk, mitigation and recovery.

Conference themes

  • Geotechnical earthquake engineering
  • Seismic design for nuclear facilities
  • Seismic hazard and engineering seismology
  • Masonry structures
  • Risk and catastrophe modelling
  • Vibrations, blast and civil engineering dynamics
  • Dams and hydropower
  • Seismic assessment and retrofit of engineered and non-engineered structures
  • Social impacts and community recovery

Keynote speakers

SECED 2015 featured the following keynote speakers (affiliations correct at the time of the conference):

  • Peter Ford and Tim Allmark, Office for Nuclear Regulation, UK
  • Don Anderson, CH2M HILL, Seattle, USA
  • Bernard Dost, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, The Netherlands
  • Anne Kiremidjian, Stanford University, USA
  • Rob May, Golder Associates, Australia
  • Tiziana Rossetto, University College London, UK
  • Andrew Whittaker, University at Buffalo, USA
  • Mike Willford, Arup, The Netherlands

Information for authors

SECED allows the self-archiving of the Author Accepted Manuscripts (AAM) from the SECED 2015 Conference. This means that all authors can make their conference paper available via a green open access route. The full text of your paper may become visible within your personal website, your institutional repository, a subject repository or a scholarly collaboration network signed up to the voluntary STM sharing principles. It may also be shared with interested individuals, for teaching and training purposes at your own institution and for grant applications (please refer to the terms of your own institution to ensure full compliance).

To deposit your AAM, please adhere to the following conditions:

  • You should include a link back to the SECED website.
  • You should include all of the relevant metadata (article title, conference name, conference location, conference dates etc.).
  • You should include a clear licensing statement (see below).

SECED allows authors to deposit their AAM under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial International Licence 4.0 (CC BY-NC 4.0). The deposit must clearly state that the AAM is deposited under this licence and that any reuse is allowed in accordance with the terms outlined by the licence. To reuse the AAM for commercial purposes, permission must be sought by contacting seced@ice.org.uk. For the sake of clarity, commercial usage would be considered as, but not limited to:

  • Copying or downloading AAMs for further distribution for a fee.
  • Any use of the AAM in conjunction with advertising.
  • Any use of the AAM by for promotional purposes by for-profit organisations.
  • Any use that would confer monetary reward, commercial gain or commercial exploitation.

Should you have any questions about our licensing policies, please contact seced@ice.org.uk.

 

Earthquake Risk and Engineering towards a Resilient World

9 - 10 July 2015, Homerton College, Cambridge, UK

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Review

Geotechnical investigation is a process in which the physical properties of a site are assessed for the purpose of determining which uses of the site will be safe. Geotechnical investigation is required before land can be developed or redeveloped. The goal of such investigation is to confirm that the land is safe to build on or to confirm the correct geotechnical rehabilitation methods for the existing buildings. The earthquake effect on existing buildings is important. Following the Kocaeli earthquake in Turkey, special soil investigation studies have been undertaken for highly important structures in order to decide on the necessity of retrofitting. It is known that, it is not always possible to make undertake in-situ testing to determine the shear wave velocity (Vs) in the urban area for small scale projects. Therefore, empirical correlations for shear wave velocity are gaining importance.

A study to determine site classification based on this investigation data is presented in this paper. In the case data set, there are no in-situ tests to determine the shear wave velocity. Empirical correlations from standard penetration tests (SPT) are used to determine the shear wave velocities (Vs) in the interpretative reports. In critical facilities, it is important to undertake geophysical testing to correctly determine site class, and to predict the building performances during an earthquake.

In this context, approximately one hundred boreholes are used. Initially, the standard penetration blowcount values (SPT-N value) are correlated to the shear wave velocities (Vs), then the site classification is determined based on U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (US - FEMA 356) standard (Table 1) and the standard of Specifications for Buildings to be Built in Earthquake Areas of Turkey (Turkey – DBYBHY). The soil classification results of both FEMA and Turkish standards are compared. Then direct SPT values are used to determine site class from tables presented in Specification for Buildings to be built in Earthquake Risk Areas in Turkey.

In conclusion, the effect of using different formulas to determine soil class is discussed. By determining the similarities and differences between the approaches, more accurate results can be attained in future soil classification studies.

Tags: SECED 2015  
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