Ground‐Motion and Soil‐Response Analyses for Leninakan, 1988 Armenia Earthquake

Abstract

Two earlier papers by the writers, appearing in the preceding issue of the journal, presented an overview of the seismological and engineering aspects of the 1988 Armenia earthquake and examined building damage statistics contrasted to geologic and geotechnical soil profiles. Possible regions of appreciable soil amplification effects were identified in the cities of Leninakan and Kirovakan. The present paper and companion paper, in the same issue of the journal, present results from analytical soil amplification studies using actual soil profiles from Leninakan and Kirovakan, and investigate whether or not current state‐of‐practice methods could adequately explain the damage statistics and their local and geographical distribution in the two cities. The present paper deals with Leninakan, which is located in the center of a very wide flat valley, having a width‐to‐maximum‐soil‐thickness ratio of about 55. Results indicate that, when using proper laboratory and field measurements of soil properties, one‐dimensional soil amplification analyses can explain well not only the trends observed in the intensity and distribution of damage to buildings, but also observations made of response of various structures in Leninakan. The companion paper describes the one‐ and three‐dimensional soil amplification analyses and valley effects in Kirovakan and summarizes the overall conclusions drawn from this research related to soil effects during the Armenia earthquake.