Earthquake Ground Surface Rupture Estimation

The database on ground surface rupture is evaluated, and the empirical relations of rupture length,width and displacement with magnitude of earthquake are presented for both mean and the maximum values. One can show that there are always some data away from the fitted curve. The reason is that some factors, the thickness of soil layer, the properties of soil and so on, are not taken into account. And for getting rid of the limit of the data, the numerical simulation is necessary. Aconstitutive model of soil under disturbance state and the technique of strain localization are emphasized here, which should simulated the phenomenon of ground rupture focuses on a very narrow zone, in which the deformation is intense, and strength and stiffness have degraded severely. Unfortunately, only a simple example of onset strain localization detected is illuminated here for limited space.