Sensitivity Analysis of Numerical Coherency Model for Rock Sites

Characterization of ground motion incoherency can significantly reduce the seismic load imposed on large scale infrastructures. Because of difficulties in developing an empirical coherency function from a site-specific dense array, it is seldom used in practice. A number of studies used numerical si...

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Main Authors: Dongyeon Lee, Yonghee Lee, Hak-Sung Kim, Jeong-Seon Park, Duhee Park
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Applied Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/6/2925
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author Dongyeon Lee
Yonghee Lee
Hak-Sung Kim
Jeong-Seon Park
Duhee Park
author_facet Dongyeon Lee
Yonghee Lee
Hak-Sung Kim
Jeong-Seon Park
Duhee Park
author_sort Dongyeon Lee
collection DOAJ
description Characterization of ground motion incoherency can significantly reduce the seismic load imposed on large scale infrastructures. Because of difficulties in developing an empirical coherency function from a site-specific dense array, it is seldom used in practice. A number of studies used numerical simulations to develop generic coherency models. However, they have only been developed for idealized profiles. A comprehensive parametric study evaluating the effect of various parameters influencing the calculated coherency function has not yet been performed. We utilized the measured shear wave velocity (<i>V<sub>s</sub></i>) profile at Pinyon Flat, located in California, to perform a suite of time history analyses. This site was selected because the empirical coherency function developed here has been used as a reference model for rock sites. We performed several sensitivity studies investigating the effect of both the site spatial variability and numerical analysis parameters in order to provide a guideline for developing a coherency model from numerical simulations. The outputs were compared against the empirical coherency model to better illustrate the importance of the parameters. The coefficient of variation (CV) of <i>V<sub>s</sub></i> was revealed to be the primary parameter influencing the calculated plane-wave coherency, whereas the correlation length (CL) has a secondary influence. Site-specific convergence analyses should be performed to determine the optimum numerical parameter, including the number of analyses and depth of numerical model. Considering the importance of CV and <i>V<sub>s</sub></i>, it is recommended to perform field tests to determine site-specific values to derive numerical coherency functions.
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spelling doaj-art-3aed30bf6a2d4be2a379b23a1a50ed082025-08-20T03:43:51ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-03-01156292510.3390/app15062925Sensitivity Analysis of Numerical Coherency Model for Rock SitesDongyeon Lee0Yonghee Lee1Hak-Sung Kim2Jeong-Seon Park3Duhee Park4Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Republic of KoreaCentral Research Institute, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd., Daejeon 34101, Republic of KoreaCentral Research Institute, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd., Daejeon 34101, Republic of KoreaCentral Research Institute, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd., Daejeon 34101, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Republic of KoreaCharacterization of ground motion incoherency can significantly reduce the seismic load imposed on large scale infrastructures. Because of difficulties in developing an empirical coherency function from a site-specific dense array, it is seldom used in practice. A number of studies used numerical simulations to develop generic coherency models. However, they have only been developed for idealized profiles. A comprehensive parametric study evaluating the effect of various parameters influencing the calculated coherency function has not yet been performed. We utilized the measured shear wave velocity (<i>V<sub>s</sub></i>) profile at Pinyon Flat, located in California, to perform a suite of time history analyses. This site was selected because the empirical coherency function developed here has been used as a reference model for rock sites. We performed several sensitivity studies investigating the effect of both the site spatial variability and numerical analysis parameters in order to provide a guideline for developing a coherency model from numerical simulations. The outputs were compared against the empirical coherency model to better illustrate the importance of the parameters. The coefficient of variation (CV) of <i>V<sub>s</sub></i> was revealed to be the primary parameter influencing the calculated plane-wave coherency, whereas the correlation length (CL) has a secondary influence. Site-specific convergence analyses should be performed to determine the optimum numerical parameter, including the number of analyses and depth of numerical model. Considering the importance of CV and <i>V<sub>s</sub></i>, it is recommended to perform field tests to determine site-specific values to derive numerical coherency functions.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/6/2925spatial variabilitycoherency modelhard rock sitenumerical simulationplane-wave coherency
spellingShingle Dongyeon Lee
Yonghee Lee
Hak-Sung Kim
Jeong-Seon Park
Duhee Park
Sensitivity Analysis of Numerical Coherency Model for Rock Sites
Applied Sciences
spatial variability
coherency model
hard rock site
numerical simulation
plane-wave coherency
title Sensitivity Analysis of Numerical Coherency Model for Rock Sites
title_full Sensitivity Analysis of Numerical Coherency Model for Rock Sites
title_fullStr Sensitivity Analysis of Numerical Coherency Model for Rock Sites
title_full_unstemmed Sensitivity Analysis of Numerical Coherency Model for Rock Sites
title_short Sensitivity Analysis of Numerical Coherency Model for Rock Sites
title_sort sensitivity analysis of numerical coherency model for rock sites
topic spatial variability
coherency model
hard rock site
numerical simulation
plane-wave coherency
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/6/2925
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AT haksungkim sensitivityanalysisofnumericalcoherencymodelforrocksites
AT jeongseonpark sensitivityanalysisofnumericalcoherencymodelforrocksites
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