D-A-CH TAGUNG 2011 - SGEB

12. D-A-CH Tagung – Erdbeben und BaudynamikC. Könke (Hrsg.)Hannover, Deutschland, 15.–16. September 2011SPATIAL CORRELATION OF STRONG GROUND MOTION AND ITSINFLUENCE ON EARTHQUAKE LOSS ESTIMATIONF. Wenzel * and V. Sokolov*Geophysical Instituts, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Hertzstr. 16, 76187 Karlsruhe,GermanyE-mail: friedemann.Wenzel@kit.eduKeywords: strong ground motion; spatial correlation; loss uncertainty.Abstract. In addition to the mean values of possible loss during an earthquake, parameters ofthe probability distribution function for the loss to a portfolio (e.g., fractiles and standarddeviation) are very important. Recent studies have shown that the proper treatment of groundmotion variability and, particularly, the of ground motion are essential for the estimation of theseismic hazard, damage and loss for distributed portfolios. In this study, we compared theeffects of variations in the between-earthquake correlation and in the site-to-site correlation onseismic loss and damage estimations for the extended objects (hypothetical portfolio) andcritical elements (e.g., bridges) of a network. A scenario earthquake approach and a portfoliocontaining a set of hypothetical building and bridges were used for the purpose. We showedthat the relative influences of the types of correlation on characteristics of loss distribution andthe probability of damage are not equal. In some cases, when the median values of lossdistribution or the probability that at least one critical element of a lifeline will be damaged areconsidered, and when the spatial correlation of ground motion is used, the possible variationsin the between-earthquake correlation may be neglected. The shape of the site-to-sitecorrelation function (i.e., the rate of decrease of the coefficient of spatial correlation withseparation distance) seems to also be important when modelling spatially correlated groundmotion fields.1155