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M. Çelebi

Publications and source records attributed to M. Çelebi.

30 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

The magnitude 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake of 17 January 1994

The most costly American earthquake since 1906 struck Los Angeles on 17 January 1994. The magnitude 6.7 Northridge earthquake resulted from more than 3 meters of reverse slip on a 15-kilometer-long south-dipping thrust fault that raised the Santa Susana mountains by as much as 70 centimeters. The fault appears to be truncated by the fault that broke in the 1971 San Fernando earthquake at a depth of 8 kilometers. Of these two events, the Northridge earthquake caused many times more damage, primarily because its causative fault is directly under the city. Many types of structures were damaged, but the fracture of welds in steel-frame buildings was the greatest surprise. The Northridge earthquake emphasizes the hazard posed to Los Angeles by concealed thrust faults and the potential for strong ground shaking in moderate earthquakes.

Los Angeles

Response study of a flexible building using three earthquake records

This paper examines the response of a flexible building during three earthquakes. The records from the building are long and contain low frequencies. The site frequency (0.33-0.38 Hz) is in proximity to the fundamental translational frequency (??? 0.45 Hz), which is closely coupled with the fundamental torsional frequency (???0.57 Hz). The inherent structural damping is low (???2-3%). Each of these factors contribute to the long-duration response of the building with several cycles of beating.

Conference Paper

The October 12, 1992, Dahshur, Egypt, Earthquake

Cairo and northeastern Egypt experienced a rare, damaging earthquake on October 12, 1992. The earthquake, which measured 5.9 on the Richter magnitude scale, was centered near the village of Dahshur, about 18 km south of Cairo. The computed hypocentral depth of the earthquake, about 25 km, is consistent with the fact that fault rupture associated with the earthquake did not reach the surface. Despite its relatively moderate size, the earthquake caused many casualties and heavy damage. These losses included more than 500 fatalities, more than 6,500 injuries, and about 8,300 damaged or destroyed buildings. The Foreign Broadcast Service estimated monetary losses directly attributable to the earthquake at $300 million. We were part of an international reconnaissance team that investigated the Dahsur earthquake. This article summarizes our findings and points out how even a relatively moderate sized earthquake can cause widespread damage and a large number of casualities.

Earthquakes & Volcanoes (USGS)

Seismic response of Pacific Park Plaza. I. Data and preliminary analysis

The objective of this paper is to present analyses of a set of acceleration response records obtained during the October 17, 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake (Ms = 7.1) from the 30-story, three-winged, ductile moment-resistant reinforced-concrete-framed Pacific Park Plaza Building, located in Emeryville, east of San Francisco, Calif. The building was constructed in 1983, and instrumented in 1985 with 21 channels of synchronized uniaxial accelerometers deployed throughout the structure, and three channels of accelerometers located at free-field outside on the north side of the building, all connected to a central recording system. In addition, a triaxial strong-motion accelerograph is deployed at free-field on the south side of the building. The predominant response modes of the building and the associated frequencies at approximately 0.4 Hz and 1.0 Hz are identified visually from the unprocessed records, and also from Fourier amplitude spectra of the processed records, which, as expected, reveal significant torsional motion. In addition, the response spectra of the free-field and basement motions are very similar. These spectra show that significant structural resonances at higher modes influence both the ground level and the free-field motions, thus rising the question as to the definition of free-field motion, at least at this site. This part of the paper includes the preliminary analyses of the data acquired from this building. Part 2 of the paper provides detailed analyses of the data using system identification techniques.

Journal of Structural Engineering

Topographical and geological amplification: Case studies and engineering implications

Topographical and geological amplification that occurred during past earthquakes are quantified using spectral ratios of recorded motions. Several cases are presented from the 1985 Chilean and Mexican earthquakes as well as the 1983 Coalinga (California) and 1987 Supersition Hills (California) earthquake. The strong motions recorded in Mexico City during the 1985 Michoacan earthquake are supplemented by ambient motions recorded within Mexico City to quantify the now well known resonating frequencies of the Mexico City lakebed. Topographical amplification in Canal Beagle (Chile), Coalinga and Superstition Hills (California) are quantified using the ratios derived from the aftershocks following the earthquakes. A special dense array was deployed to record the aftershocks in each case. The implications of both geological and topographical amplification are discussed in light of current code provisions. The observed geological amplifications has already influenced the code provisions. Suggestions are made to the effect that the codes should include further provisions to take the amplification due to topography into account.

Structural Safety

Seismic response of transamerical building. I. Data and preliminary analysis

The objective of this paper is to present preliminary analyses of a set of acceleration response records obtained during the October 17, 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake (Ms = 7.1) from the 60-story vertically tapered, pyramid-shaped Trans-america Building-a landmark of San Francisco. The building was instrumented in 1985 with 22 channels of synchronized sensors consisting of 13 uniaxial accelerometers deployed throughout the structure and connected to a central recording system and three triaxial strong-motion accelerographs at three different levels of the structure. No free-field accelerographs are at the site. The acceleration records permit the study of the behavior of this unique structure. The predominant translational response of the building and the associated frequency at approximately 0.28 Hz are identified from the records and their Fourier amplitude spectra. The records do not indicate any significant torsional motion. However, there is rocking type soil-structure interaction, and an associated frequency of approximately 2.0 Hz is identified from the Fourier amplitude spectra of the differential motions between the ground level and that at the basement. In addition, the response spectra for the basement motions indicate significant resonance in both directions at a period of approximately 0.5 seconds.

Journal of Structural Engineering

Seismic response of transamerica building. II. System identification

A detailed analysis of the recorded seismic response of the Transamerica Building during the October 17, 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake is presented. The system identification algorithm used for the analysis is based on the discrete-time linear filtering approach with least-squares approximation, and assumes a multi-input, single-output model for the building. Fifteen modes in the north-south direction, and 18 modes in the east-west direction are identified from the records. The analysis shows that the building's response to the earthquake was dominated by a coupled mode of vibration at 0.28 Hz in the southwest-northeast direction, which is almost parallel to one of the diagonals in the building's square cross section. The reason for this behavior is the symmetry of the building's structural characteristics, as well as the strong polarization of the S-waves of the earthquake. Several higher modes of the building were excited during the strong-motion part of the earthquake. The results also show a significant amount of rocking in the building at a frequency of 2.15 Hz.

Journal of Structural Engineering

Some significant records from instrumented structures in California - USGS program

The main objective in seismic instrumentation of structures is to facilitate response studies that lead to improved understanding of the dynamic behavior and the potential for damage to structures under seismic loading. The purpose of this paper is: (1) to review the status of the programs for strong-motion instrumentation of structures in the United States and discuss various procedures and instrumentation schemes designed to best acquire response data from buildings and (2) to discuss preliminary results derived from recorded response data obtained from a well-instrumented structure during the recent Whittier Narrows earthquake of October 1, 1987 (M3 = 5.6).

Conference Paper

STRONG-MOTION INSTRUMENTATION OF STRUCTURES IN CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA AND ELSEWHERE.

Instrumentation of structures is part of earthquake hazard mitigation program of many institutions, including the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The USGS Strong-Motion Instrumentation of Structures Program is designed to complement other programs and to implement its own, within budget and other constraints. This paper reviews the overall national effort, cites examples of structures implemented and describes progress made to date. A recent example of instrumentation of an eight-story building in Charleston, South Carolina is documented.

Conference Paper

EARTHQUAKE PERFORMANCE OF A BRIDGE DECK AND ABUTMENT.

During the 24 April 1984 Morgan Hill Earthquake (M equals 6. 1), 15 channels of acceleration records were obtained at the site of the I-280-680/US 101 interchange 12 km west of the epicenter. These records include free field measurements as well as the acceleration response at one of the supporting column bases, and at three locations in one of the spans of the three-span continuous post-tensioned box-girder deck. The purpose of this paper is to review the performance of this bridge deck and its abutment through the study of these records. The objective in extensively instrumenting a bridge deck or any structure is to obtain relevant response data to study its behaviour during strong motion events and ultimately extrapolate conclusions for improved design.

Conference Paper