Quantitative Evaluation of Near-Fault Records Generated via Wavelet Transform

Nonlinear time-history analysis is becoming more common in seismic analysis and design of structures. The key issue in performing this kind of analysis is the appropriate input ground motion. Many engineers select recorded motions from locations other than the project site and modify them by scaling or spectrum matching. A wavelet-based procedure has been used to generate ground motions that are design spectrum compatible. Near-fault ground motions containing strong velocity pulses are of interest in the fields of seismology and earthquake engineering. Sites located in the vicinity of seismic faults may experience ground motions with the effect of forward directivity, causing most of the seismic energy in a single pulse registered early in the velocity history. Baker introduced a quantitative way to distinguish and classify this kind of records. The principle purpose of this article is to survey generating spectrum-compatible time-histories for near-fault via wavelet transform by Baker’s method.

Keywords:

Wavelet transform , Artificial ground motion , Near-fault earthquakes , Spectrum-matching