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Slope topography-induced spatial variation correlation with observed building damages in Corso during the May 21, 2003, M w 6.8, Boumerdes earthquake (Algeria)

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Abstract

During the May 21, 2003 M w 6.8 Boumerdes earthquake, in the “Cité des 102 Logements” built on a hilltop, in Corso, heavy damages were observed: near the crest, a four-story RC building collapsed while others experienced severe structural damage and far from the crest, slight damage was observed. In the present paper, we perform a 2D slope topography seismic analysis and investigate its effects on the response at the plateau as well as the correlation with the observed damage distribution. A site-specific seismic scenario is used involving seismological, geological, and geotechnical data. 2D finite element numerical seismic study of the idealized Corso site subjected to vertical SV wave propagation is carried out by the universal code FLUSH. The results highlighted the main factors that explain the causes of block collapse, located 8-26 m far from the crest. These are as follows: (i) a significant spatial variation of ground response along the plateau due to the topographic effect, (ii) this spatial variation presents high loss of coherence, (iii) the seismic ground responses (PGA and response spectra) reach their maxima, and (iv) the fundamental frequency of the collapsed blocks coincides with the frequency content of the topographic component. For distances far from the crest where slight damages were observed, the topographic contribution is found negligible. On the basis of these results, it is important to take into account the topographic effect and the induced spatial variability in the seismic design of structures sited near the crest of slope.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments that were a great help in improving the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculté de Génie Civil, Université des Sciences et de la Technologie Houari Boumedienne (USTHB), BP 32, El Alia, Bab-Ezzouar, 16111, Algiers, Algeria

    Akila Messaoudi

  2. Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Travaux Publics (ENSTP), Rue Sidi Garidi BP 32, Kouba, 16051, Algiers, Algeria

    Akila Messaoudi

  3. Centre National de Recherche Appliquée en Génie Parasismique (CGS), Rue Kaddour Rahim, BP 252, Hussein Dey, 16008, Algiers, Algeria

    Nasser Laouami & Nourredine Mezouar

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  1. Akila Messaoudi
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  2. Nasser Laouami
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  3. Nourredine Mezouar
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Correspondence to Akila Messaoudi.

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Messaoudi, A., Laouami, N. & Mezouar, N. Slope topography-induced spatial variation correlation with observed building damages in Corso during the May 21, 2003, M w 6.8, Boumerdes earthquake (Algeria). J Seismol 21, 647–665 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10950-016-9627-z

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