Course:

Soil Dynamics Module 2: Theory of vibrations

LECTURE3

Course: Soil Dynamics Module 2: Theory of vibrations

WAVE PROPAGATION:

Geological materials must be treated as continua, and their response to dynamic

disturbances must be treated as continua and their response to dynamic disturbances
must be described in the context of wave wave propagation.
The following conditions may be analysed:
o Waves in unbounded media (infinite extent)
One dimensional wave propagation
Three dimensional wave propagation
o Waves in a semi infinite body:
Rayleigh wave
Love wave
Higher mode surface waves
o Waves in a layered body:
One dimensional case: material boundary in an infinite rod
Three dimensional case: inclined waves
o Attenuation of stress wave.
When an earthquake occurs, different types of seismic waves are produced; body
waves and surface waves.
o Body waves (p & s waves) may travel through earths interior.
o It involves successive compression and refraction of the materials through
which they pass can travel through solids and fluids.
o The motion of an individual particle is perpendicular to the direction of s-wave
travel.
o Surface waves results from the interaction between body waves and the surface
and surficial layers of earth.
o They travel trough earths surface with amplitudes that decreases that about
twice the thickness of the earths crust, surface wave, rather than body waves,
will produce peak ground motion.

Course: Soil Dynamics Module 2: Theory of vibrations

Wave propagation velocity :

Velocity at which a stress wave would travel along the rod.

It depends only on the properties of the rod material (its stiffness and density) and is
independent of the amplitude of the stress wave.
It increases with increasing stiffness and with decreasing density.
When a body wave strikes a rigid boundary oriental perpendicular to its direction of
travel, the wave is perfectly when a body wave strikes a rigid boundary oriental
perpendicular to its direction of travel, the wave is perfectly reflected as an identical
wave travelling back in the opposite direction the zero-displacement boundary
conditions requires that the stress at the the boundary be the twice that of the wave
away from the boundary.
When a body wave strikes a normal boundary between two different materials, part of
the wave energy is reflected and part is transmitted across the boundary. The behavior
of the wave at the boundary is governed by the ratio of the specific impedences of the
materials on either side of the boundary.
The amplitude of a stress wave decreases as the travels through the earths crust.There
are two primary mechanics that causes this attenuation of wave amplitude.
o First, material damping, is due to absorption of energy by the materials
the wave is travelling through.
o Second, radiation damping, results from the spreading of wave energy
over a greater volume of material as it travels away from its source.

ACCELEROGRAPHS:

Strong ground motions are usually measured by accelerographs and expressed in the
form of accelerograms.
Most accelerographs currently in use are accelerometers, electrometer transducers that
produce an output voltage proportional to acceleration.
A number of different types of accelerometers are available.
Servo (force balance) accelerometers use a suspended mass to which displacement
transducer is attached to a piezoelectric material to sense accelerations.

Course: Soil Dyna

amics Module
e 2: Theorry of vibrattions

T
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Fig. Acccelerogram