Implications of high-frequency decay parameter, “κ-kappa”, in the estimation of kinematic soil-structure interaction effects

Abstract In the present study, the difference between the peak seismic response measures recorded on building basements and those at nearby free-field conditions is studied by means of estimating the high-frequency spectral decay parameter, “κ” (known as “kappa”). Computation of “κ” is performed for selected accelerographic stations belonging to three strong motion networks, namely the Hellenic National Accelerographic Network (HNAN) in Greece, the Center for Engineering Strong Motion Data (CESMD) in California, USA and the Building Research Institute (BRI) in Japan. Parameter “κ” is computer according to Anderson and Hough (1984), while an automated signal energy-based procedure is developed to calculate the S-wave windows of each waveform, accounting for any errors. Site-specific restrictions on the upper frequency limit, f2, for the calculation of “κ” at the foundation level are imposed, based on the empirical transfer functions between foundation and free-field motions. Based on the above procedure, non-linear regression analyses are conducted to relate “κ”, as computed for free-field and foundation motions (κff, - κfnd), to magnitude Mw, source-to-site distance Repi and shear wave velocity VS30. Simulation of ground motions though the point-source stochastic method is accomplished, utilizing the regression expression to define “κ” and assess its effectiveness to predict the variation of intensity between free-field and foundation motions as a proxy for assessing soil-structure interaction effects. It is shown that the regression-based expressions, combined with stochastic simulations, consist a promising tool for correcting seismic motions recorded at a building foundation or basement levels and thus, for reliably predicting the corresponding intensity and characteristics of the actual “building-free” ground motions.