Elements of Earthquake Engineering

Elements of
Earthquake
Engineering
INTRODUCTION
A S S IS TA N T P R O F E SS O R ME G H A
G U P TA
What is an earthquake??
 An Earthquake is the result of a sudden release of
energy in the earth’s crust that creates seismic waves.
 Earthquakes are the shaking, rolling or sudden shock of the earth’s
surface.
 They are the Earth's natural means of releasing stress.
 Earthquakes can be felt over large areas although they usually last
less than one minute.
 Earthquakes cannot be predicted, although scientists are working on it.
• Earthquakes constitute one of the worst natural hazards which often
turn into disaster causing widespread destruction and loss to human life.
• The effects of earthquake vary upon the magnitude and intensity.

Earthquakes occur every now and then all round the world, except in
some places where earthquakes occur rarely. The devastation of cities
and towns is one of the effects of earthquake.
Earthquake Terminology
Epicenter:
It is the point on the (free) surface of the earth vertically above the place of origin (hypocenter) of an earthquake.
This point is expressed by its geographical latitude and longitude.
• Hypocenter or Focus:
The point within the earth where earthquake rupture starts is called focus or hypocentre.
It is the source of elastic waves inside the earth.
• Magnitude:
It is the quantity to measure the size of an earthquake in terms of its energy and is independent of the place of the
observation.
• Focal depth :
The depth of the focus from the epicentre is called focal depth.
It is an important parameter in determining the damaging potential of earthquake. Most of the damaging
earthquake have shallow focus with focal depth less than 70 km.
Continue…
Causes of earthquake
• Earthquakes are caused by tectonic movements in the Earth's crust. The main cause is that
when tectonic plates collide, one rides over the other, causing orogeny (mountain building),
earthquakes and volcanoes.
• The boundaries between moving plates form the largest fault surfaces on Earth. When they
stick, relative motion between the plates leads to increasing stress. This continues until the
stress rises and breaks, suddenly allowing sliding over the locked portion of the fault,
releasing the stored energy as shock waves.
Faults & Folding
A fault is defined as a fracture plane along which the rocks have been displaced. There are
vertical as well as horizontal displacements. Earthquakes are caused due to sudden movements
of rocks along faults. Such earthquakes are called tectonic earthquakes.
Remember that the horizontal as well as vertical movements of rocks result from the operation
of endogenetic forces beneath the earth's surface. It is due to such movements that folds and
faults are created.
Types of Faults
* NORMAL FAULT
A normal fault drops rock on one side of the

fault down relative to the other side.
A normal fault is caused by tension.
Continue..
THRUST FAULT: A thrust fault raises rock on one side of the
fault up relative to the other side.
A thrust fault is caused by

compression.
Continue..
* SLIP-STRIKE FAULT:
In a slip-strike fault, rocky blocks on
either side of fault scrape along
side-by-side.
A slip-strike fault is caused by shearing.
Left-lateral faults in
siltstone. Near
Lillooet, British
Columbia (Canada).
The Structure of the Earth and
Plate Tectonics
Structure of the Earth
• The Earth is made
up of 3 main
layers:
– Core
– Mantle
– Crust
The Crust
This is where we live!
The Earth’s crust is made of:
Continental Crust
- thick (10-70km)
-buoyant (less dense than oceanic crust)
- mostly old
Oceanic Crust
- thin (~7 km)

-dense (sinks under continental crust)
- young
Continue..
Crust: or the lithosphere, is the outer part of the earth is where the life exist. The average thickness of
crust beneath continents is about 40km where as it decreases to as much as 5km beneath oceans. The
oceanic crust is constituted by basaltic rocks and continental part by granitic rocks overlying the basaltic
rocks. Compared to the layers below, this layer has high rigidity and anisotropy.
Mantle: is a 2900 km thick layer. The mantle consists of 1) Upper Mantle reaching a depth of about 400
km made of olivine and pyroxene and 2) Lower Mantle made of more homogeneous mass of
magnesium and iron oxide and quartz. No earthquakes are recorded in the lower mantle. The specific
gravity of mantle is about 5. The mantle has an average temperature of about 2200degree Celsius and
the material is in a viscous semi molten state. The mantle act like fluid in response to slowly acting
stresses and creeps under slow loads. But it behaves like as solid in presence of rapidly acting stresses,
e.g. that caused by earthquake waves.
Continue..
Core: has a radius of 3470 km and consists of an inner core of radius 1370 km and an outer core (1370
km < R < 3470 km). The core is composed of molten iron, probably mixed with small quantities of
other elements such as nickel and sulphur or silicon. The inner solid core is very dense nickel-iron
material and is subjected to very high pressures. The maximum temperature in the core is estimated to
be about 3000 degree Celsius. The specific gravity of outer core is about 9-12 where as that of inner
core is 15.
Plate Tectonics
• The Earth’s crust is divided into 12 major plates which are moved in various
directions.
• The plates collide, pull apart, or scrape against each other.
• Each motion causes different types of features on the Earth’s crust.
• The word, tectonic, refers to changes in the crust because of plate interaction.
World Plates
What are tectonic plates made of?
• Plates are made of rigid

lithosphere.
The lithosphere is made up of the crust

and the upper part of the mantle
Plate Movement
“Plates” of lithosphere are moved around by the underlying hot mantle convection cells
Three types of plate boundary
Divergent Boundaries
• Spreading ridges
– As plates move apart magma fills up the gap
Iceland: An example of
continental rifting
• Iceland has a divergent plate boundary
running through its middle
Convergent Boundaries
Forms mountains, e.g. European Alps, Himalayas
When two continental plates collide neither plate can be subducted
due to their high bouyancy. With this type of collision there are no
features such as a subduction zone, trench or acretionary wedge. The
collision of two continental plates occurs when a sea becomes
narrower until both plates collide. After collision the oceanic
lithosphere breaks off and sinks into the mantle. The subduction zone
eventually becomes inactive The two continents become welded
together as they are compressed together over time. The crust is
thickened by the underthrusting of one continent under the other.
These regions have both shallow focus earthquakes and deep focus
earthquakes as the oceanic lithosphere is subducted under the
mounatin range. Thrust faults and highly metamorphised granites are
common charcteristics of these collision zones. The most well known
example of this collision zone is the Himalayas where India has
collided with Asia.
Continue..
• Continent-Oceanic Crust Collision Called SUBDUCTION
Oceanic crust may collide with a continent. The oceanic plate is
denser, so it undergoes subduction. This means that the oceanic
plate sinks beneath the continent. This occurs at an ocean trench.
Subduction zones are where subduction takes place. where
plates collide there are lots of intense earthquakes and volcanic
eruptions. The subducting oceanic plate melts as it reenters the
mantle. The magma rises and erupts. This creates a volcanic
mountain range near the coast of the continent. This range is
called a continental arc. The Andes Mountains, along the
western edge of South America, are a volcanic arc.
• Oceanic plates subducts underneath the
continental plate
• Oceanic plate heats and melts
• The melt rises forming volcanoes
• E.g. The Andes
Ocean-Ocean Plate Collision
• When two oceanic plates collide, one runs over the other which
causes it to sink into the mantle forming a subduction zone.
• The subducting plate is bent downward to form a very deep
depression in the ocean floor called a trench.
The worlds deepest parts of the ocean are found along
trenches.
– E.g. The Mariana Trench is 11 km deep!
As the subducting plate is pushed deeper into the mantle, it
melts. The magma this creates rises and erupts. This forms a
line of volcanoes, known as an island arc. Japan,
Indonesia, the Philippine Islands, and the Aleutian Islands
of Alaska are examples of island arcs.
Transform Boundaries
• Where plates slide past each other
Above: View of the San Andreas transform fault

Earthquakes and Plate
Tectonics…
• As with volcanoes, earthquakes are not
randomly distributed over the globe
• At the boundaries between plates,

friction causes them to stick together.
When built up energy causes them to
break, earthquakes occur.
Figure showing the distribution of earthquakes

around the globe
Where do earthquakes form?
Plate Tectonics Summary
• The Earth is made up of 3 main layers (core, mantle, crust)
• On the surface of the Earth are tectonic plates that slowly move
around the globe
• Plates are made of crust and upper mantle (lithosphere)
• There are 2 types of plates
• There are 3 types of plate boundaries
• Volcanoes and Earthquakes are closely linked to the margins of the
tectonic plates
Elastic Rebound Theory
A Mechanism used by geologists to explain Earthquakes and surface ruptures, seen when a deep fault’s
movement breaks through to the Earth’s surface.
They occur at all types of plate boundaries. An elastic rebound is an explanation for how energy is
spread during earthquakes.
The primary cause of an earthquake is faults on the crust of the earth
“A Fault is a break or fracture b/w two blocks of rocks in response to stress.”
 This movement may occur rapidly, in the form of an earthquake or may occur
slowly, in the form of creep.
Earth scientists use the angle of the fault with respect to the surface (known as the dip) and
the direction of slip along the fault to classify faults.
Some major causes of earthquakes
on basic of its causes are:
Surface causes
Volcanic causes
Tectonic causes
Surface cause: Great explosions,

landslides, slips on steep coasts, dashing of
sea waves , avalanches , railway trains, heavy
trucks, some large engineering projects cause
minor tremors. some of them are man made,
other are natural.
Volcanic cause
Volcanic eruptions produce earthquakes. Earthquakes may precede, accompany and frequently
follow volcanic eruptions.
They are caused by sudden displacements of lava within or beneath the earth crust.
There are two general categories of earthquakes

that can occur at a volcano:
 volcano-tectonic earthquakes
 long period earthquakes.
Tectonic cause
Structural disturbances resulting in the parts of the lithosphere is the main cause
of this type of earthquake. Most of the disastrous earthquakes belong to this category
and occur in areas of great faults and fractures. Sudden yielding to strain produced
on the rocks of accumulating stress causes displacements especially along
old fault zones known as great transform faults.
Seismic waves
What is a seismic wave ?
Propagation of energy through the earth caused by earthquakes or artificial vibrations.
What is the use of its study?
•Seismic refraction data is useful for mapping depth to bedrock, crustal thickness, and
uppermost mantle velocity.
•Seismic reflection profiles show details of layering within sedimentary basins and
gross structure of the deeper crust.

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What are the different types of seismic waves?

What are the major causes of earthquakes?

Elements of

• The effects of earthquake vary upon the magnitude and intensity.

A normal fault drops rock on one side of the

A thrust fault is caused by

The Earth’s crust is made of:

- thin (~7 km)

• Plates are made of rigid

The lithosphere is made up of the crust

Above: View of the San Andreas transform fault

• At the boundaries between plates,

Figure showing the distribution of earthquakes

“A Fault is a break or fracture b/w two blocks of rocks in response to stress.”

Surface cause: Great explosions,

There are two general categories of earthquakes

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