Preliminary study on dominant frequency component of strong motion for the seismic damage of embankments

Abstract

Two dimensional non-linear FEM analyses are performed to investigate the dominant frequency components of a ground motion for the seismic performance of high embankments. The seismic performance of the embankments was defined by the residual displacements at shoulder, banquettes and toe. It was found that the displacements are mainly influenced by the intermediate frequency range (0.5-2 Hz). It was also found, however, that the damaging frequency range can be influenced by the natural frequency of the embankment slope. These conclusions are useful in the determination of input motion for seismic performance evaluation at an embankment site.