Mitigation of seismic motion is an important factor in
earthquake engineering and
construction
Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form Physical object, objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Pr ...
in
earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...
-prone areas. The destabilizing action of an earthquake on constructions may be direct (seismic motion of the ground) or indirect (earthquake-induced
landslides,
liquefaction of the foundation soils and waves of
tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...
).
Knowledge of local
amplification of the seismic motion from the bedrock is very important in order to choose the suitable design solutions. Local amplification can be anticipated from the presence of particular stratigraphic conditions, such as soft soil overlapping the
bedrock, or where morphological settings (e.g. crest zones, steep slopes, valleys, or endorheic basins) may produce focalization of the seismic event.
The identification of the areas potentially affected by earthquake-induced
landslides
Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of environments, ...
and by
soil liquefaction can be made by geological survey and by analysis of historical documents. Even quiescent and stabilized landslide areas may be reactivated by severe earthquake.
Young soil may be particularly susceptible to liquefaction.
See also
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Base isolation
Seismic base isolation, also known as base isolation, or base isolation system, is one of the most popular means of protecting a structure against earthquake forces. It is a collection of structural elements which should substantially decoupl ...
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Seismic hazard
A seismic hazard is the probability that an earthquake will occur in a given geographic area, within a given window of time, and with ground motion intensity exceeding a given threshold. With a hazard thus estimated, risk can be assessed and incl ...
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Seismic performance
Seismic analysis is a subset of structural analysis and is the calculation of the response of a building (or nonbuilding) structure to earthquakes. It is part of the process of structural design, earthquake engineering or structural assessment ...
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Tuned mass damper
A tuned mass damper (TMD), also known as a harmonic absorber or seismic damper, is a device mounted in structures to reduce mechanical vibrations, consisting of a mass mounted on one or more damped springs. Its oscillation frequency is tuned ...
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Vibration control
In earthquake engineering, vibration control is a set of technical means aimed to mitigate seismic impacts in building and non-building structures.
All seismic vibration control devices may be classified as ''passive'', ''active'' or ''hybrid'' ...
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Crash testing
A crash test is a form of destructive testing usually performed in order to ensure safe design standards in crashworthiness and crash compatibility for various modes of transportation (see automobile safety) or related systems and comp ...
References
Building engineering
Earthquake and seismic risk mitigation
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