Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering Design

Pseudo-static analysis is still the most-used method to assess the stability of geotechnical systems that are exposed to earthquake forces. However, this method does not provide any information about the deformations and permanent displacements induced by seismic activity. Moreover, it is questionable to use this approach when geotechnical systems are affected by frequent and rare seismic events. Incidentally, the peak ground acceleration has increased from 0.2-0.3 g in the seventies to the current value of 0.6-0.8 g. Therefore, a shift from the pseudo-static approach to performance-based analysis is needed.

Over the past five years considerable progress has been made in Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering Design (EGED). The most recent advances are presented in this book in 6 parts.

The evaluation of the site amplification is covered in Part I of the book. In Part II the evaluation of the soil foundation stability against natural slope failure and liquefaction is treated. In the following 3 Parts of the book the EGED for different geotechnical systems is presented as follows: the design of levees and dams including natural slopes in Part III; the design of foundations and soil structure interaction analysis in Part IV; underground structures in Part V. Finally in Part VI, new topics like the design of reinforced earth retaining walls and landfills are covered.