Earthquake Eng.

Earthquake
Engineering
There are many natural hazards in the world but earthquakes are one of the most
destructive natural hazards that can result in severe social and economic impact. The
devastating potential of an earthquake can have major consequences on
infrastructure and lifelines.
-In the past few years, the earthquake engineering community has been reassessing its
procedures in the wake of devastating earthquakes which have caused extensive
damage, loss of life and property.
-Earthquake Engineering is developed as a branch of engineering concerned with the
estimation and prevention of earthquake impacts since few decades. It has become
an interdisciplinary subject involving seismologists, structural engineers, geotechnical
engineers, architects, urban planners, information technologists, and social scientists.
-Procedures in preventing earthquake in earthquake engineering involves assessment of
seismic forces on the structures and the developing design procedures for the
structure to withstand the earthquake action.

EARTHQUAKE
●It is defined as any sudden vibration or movement of a part of the earth crust caused by
natural or man-made stress, resulting in shaking and trembling.
●A wave like motion generated by forces in constant turmoil or disturbance under the
surface layer of the earth’s crust or the lithosphere.

FOCUS (Hypocenter) – The point of

generation of an earthquake.FOCAL
DISTANCE
EPICENTER
EPICENTER – The point on the earth
Focus /
DISTANCE
surface directly above the focus.
HYPOCENTER
FOCAL
EPICENTER
FOCAL DEPTH – The depth or FOCAL the focus
DEPT
from the epicenter. FOCUS/HYPOCENTER
FOCAL DISTANCE (Epicentral Distance) –
The distance from the epicenter to any point
of interest. fOCAL DEPTH
 EARTHQUAKES are vibration of the earth
caused by the rupture and sudden movement of
rocks that have been strained beyond their elastic
limit.
•If a strained rock breaks, it then snaps into a new
position and in the process of rebounding,
generates vibrations called SEISMIC WAVES.
•The rocks on opposite sides of the fault move
with respect to each other, typically distances
ranging from millimeters to many meters.
Earthquakes occur when energy stored in
elastically strained rocks is suddenly released.

ORIGIN OF EARTHQUAKES
•Most natural earthquakes are caused by sudden
slippage of rocks along a fault zone. Within the
earth, rocks are constantly subjected to forces
tend to bend, twist, or fracture them. When
rocks bend, twists, or fracture they are said to
deform or strain (change in shape and size). The
forces that causes deformation are referred to as
stresses.

STRESSES continue to build in rock sat

great depths below the ground at high
temperature and pressure. The following
processes are expected to happen:
•Rocks bend until the strength of the rock is
exceeded.
•Rapture occurs and the rocks quickly
rebound to an undeformed shape.
•Energy is released in waves that radiate
outward from the fault.

This release of energy is expected to cause

earthquake. When earthquake happens, slip
takes place resulting in changes in position.
States that strain energy builds up on rocks as they are forced in different
directions. Rocks on either side of a fault undergo elastic strain as they are
stressed by tectonic forces. When stress exceeds the strength of the rock, it
breaks and the rocks abruptly slip past one another along the rupture. When
slippage and rapture occur along the fault the stored energy is released as
seismic waves that radiate out in all directions and that causes EARTHQUAKE

EARTH’S INTERIOR
INNER CORE – Solids – Iron and Nickel
OUTER CORE – Liquid – Iron and
Nickel Alloyed with silica
MANTLE – Flowing Ability (IGNEOUS
ROCKS)
CRUST – Basalt and Granite

EARTH’S DENSITY TEMPERA

LAYER TURE
Inner Core 16,000 kg/m³ 5500°C
Outer Core 12,000 kg/m³ 5000°C

Mantle 5,000 - 6,000 1200°C

kg/m³

Crust 1,500 kg/m³ 25°C

 TYPES OF EARTHQUAKE
The most common type of earthquake.
-These are produced when rocks break
suddenly in response to various geological
forces.
-95% of worldwide seismic energy release by
plate tectonic and causes Tectonic
Earthquake.

FAULTS – Is a fracture or zone of fractures

between two blocks of rock. Faults allow the
blocks to move relative to each other. This
movement may occur rapidly and forms an
earthquake.
TECTONIC
EARTHQUAKE
PLATE TECTONIC BOUNDARIES

CONVERGENT BOUNDARIES (Desiccative

Margin) – plates are colliding and unleashing great
geological forces. As they collide, the edges of one
or both plates may be forced up or denser plates
will be forced under the lighter plate creating a
subduction zone.
Subduction zones – plate tectonic boundaries
where two plates converge, and one plate is thrust
beneath the other.
DIVERGENT BOUNDARIES (Constructive
Margin) – Occurs when two tectonic plates move
away from each other.
TRANSFORM BOUNDARIES (Conservative
Margin) – Two plates sliding past each other.

Plate Tectonics is the theory supported by a

wide range of evidence that considers the
earth’s crust and upper mantle to be
composed of several large, thin,
relatively rigid plates that move relative
to one another.
-According to the Plate Tectonic Theory the
earth’s crust consist of a number of large
rigid blocks called Crustal Plates and
these plates bear the loads of long
masses, water bodies or both and are in
constant motion on the viscous mantle,
overriding, plunging beneath one another
and colliding with each other.
MAJOR TECTONIC
PLATES
1.PACIFIC PLATE
2.EURASIAN PLATE
3.NORTH AMERICAN PLATE
4.SOUTH AMERICAN PLATE
5.INDO-AUSTRALIAN PLATE
6.AFRICAN PLATE
7.ANTARCTIC PLATE

TECTONIC EARTHQUAKE
INTER-PLATE EARTHQUAKE
- Earthquakes that occurs along the edges of
interacting plates.
-Most earthquakes (90%) are of this type.

INTRA-PLATE EARTHQUAKES
-Earthquakes occurring within the plate
boundaries.
-Rare compared to inter-

TYPES OF EARTHQUAKE
-Type of earthquake that accompanies
volcanic eruption.
-Defined as one that occurs in conjunction
with volcanic activity, but it is believed
that while eruptions and earthquakes
both result from tectonic forces in the
rocks, they need not occur together.
-Caused by the movement of magma
beneath the surface of the earth.
 FAULT AND ITS GEOMETRY
QUESTION
IS IT THE FAULT OR THE EARTHQUAKE THAT CAME FIRST?
DOES EARTHQUAKE CAUSE FAULTS OR FAULTS CAUSE EARTHQUAKES?

FAULT – is a discontinuous displacement of

rocks along a surface. It separates two
adjacent rock masses into blocks with a thin
zone of crushed rock called gouge in between.

FAULT TRACE – A line created across the

surface of the earth due to fault break.
STRIKE T
#

FAULT TERMINOLOGIES N
ra

C
STRIKE – The angle in anticlockwise ·
e
direction between the fault trace and a line
DIP
on the surface pointing North.

DIP – The angle that a fault plane makes

with a horizontal plane measured
HANGING
downward from horizontal. WALL
FOOTWALL

FOOT WALL – The lower wall of an

inclined fault

HANGING WALL – The upper wall of an TYPES OF FAULTS OF

inclined fault. MOTION
SLIP – The amount of displacement on a
fault during an earthquake.

STRIKE SLIP PIP SUP

NORMAL REVERSE
STRIKE-SLIP FAULTING – are
dipping with horizontal
displacement along the strike of the
fault. When looking across the fault,
if objects on the opposite side move
to your right the fault is right-lateral
strike-slip fault, and if the objects on
the opposite side move to your left
the fault is a left-lateral strike-slip
fault.

DIP-SLIP FAULTING – are inclined at

some angle to the surface, and
displacement is normal to the strike
direction, along the dip of the fault.
NORMAL FAULTS – the footwall moves
up with respect to the hanging wall.
Occurs in response to lithospheric
extension with fault plane dipping away
from the uplifted rocks.
REVERSE FAULTS – the footwall
moves down with respect to the hanging
wall. Occurs in response to lithospheric
shortening or compression with the fault
plane dipping beneath the uplifted rock.

SEISMOLOGY
SEISMOLOGY – originated from the Greek words “seismos” meaning
earthquake and “logos” meaning science.
-Science of the study of earthquakes
-is the study of the generation, propagation, and measurement of seismic waves
through earth and the sources that generate them.
-A good understanding of geophysical process that causes earthquakes and
various effects of earthquakes.

ENGINEERING SEISMOLOGY – deals with the effects of

earthquake on people and their environment and with methods of
reducing those effects.
BODY WAVES
– is a wave that is generated by the release of
energy at the focus that is the hypocenter and
moves in all directions travelling internally
through the body of Earth.

P-WAVES – Primary waves, also called

longitudinal waves.
-Compression or Tension in direction of wave.
-Travels through solid, liquid, and gasses.
-These are the fastest among the waves. It travels
about 8-13 km/sec. These waves first reaches
the seismic station and hence recorded.

S-WAVES – Secondary waves, also called shear

waves.
-Perpendicular to the direction of the wave.
-Travel only through solids.
-Relatively slow than P-waves, travels 5-7 km/sec.

SURFACE
WAVES
-is a wave that moves along the
surface of the Earth where buildings
and people are.
L-WAVES – Love waves, cause
oscillation at right angle to it at surface
but with no vertical component.
-Faster than Rayleigh waves.
-Cause maximum damage to the
structure in association to
secondary waves by moving in both
vertical and horizontal direction.

RAYLEIGH WAVES – makes a

material particle oscillate in an
elliptical path in vertical plane.
-Slower than love waves
 MEASUREMENT OF EARTHQUAKE
SEISMOGRAM – a record of the ground motion at a
particular point on the earth’s surface.

SEISMOMETER – measures the ground motion,

usually by observing the behavior of an appropriately
oriented pendulum, or by observing the magnetic fields
needed to keep a mass stationary.

SEISMOGRAPH – it is the whole package, a device for

measuring ground motions and one for processing those
motions so that they can be recorded.

INTENSITY – It is the qualitative measure of the actual

shaking at a location during an earthquake. The intensity
scale is based on perception by people and animals,
performance of a building, change of natural surroundings.

MAGNITUDE – It is the quantitative measure of the actual

size of earthquake. Size of an earthquake by the amount of
strain energy released by the fault rapture. The most
commonly used magnitude scale is the Richter Scale.

MODIFIED
MERCALLI
INTENSITY
SCALE