Dynamic non-linear soil behaviour in alpine areas

Silty Sand, Dynamic Behaviour, Earthquake Engineering, Basin Effects, Soil Structure Interaction, Alpine Valleys, Seismic Monitoring, Dams

Seismic events in alpine areas have a high impact on society. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, 9’182 casualties were caused by the two major earthquakes on April 24th and May 12th 2015 in Nepal, a country with predominantly rough topography.

In this context, mitigating the impact of earthquakes in alpine areas represents an essential task for geotechnical earthquake engineers. The accomplishment of this task is based on the analysis of the dynamic non-linear soil behaviour and its influencing factors using field, laboratory, and numerical investigations. Subsequently, these investigations create the possibility to develop methodologies for the evaluation of the seismic behaviour of inclined geotechnical structures (e.g. slopes, dams, and embankments) for practical applications in design or verification processes. The objective of this work was to make a contribution to geotechnical earthquake engineering and earthquake mitigation in alpine areas subjected to moderate seismicity, such as the Swiss Alps.

Finally, the practical application of the performed investigations in the earthquake mitigation in alpine areas is presented in the form of a displacement-based method of evaluation of the seismic behaviour of inclined geotechnical structures. The approximation of expected seismic displacements was made possible for structures such as dams, embankments, and slopes, located in areas of moderate seismicity. This method is currently being incorporated in the Swiss code SIA 269/8 (2016) and will serve the purpose of maintaining existing geotechnical structures as part of the public safety.

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