The relatively low number of seismic ground motion data covering diverse source and site conditions complicates seismic hazard estimation, particularly for nonlinear time history analysis (NLTHA), fragility analysis and hazard analysis. This study focuses on reducing these gaps by using Physics-Based Simulations (PBS) to calculate seismic ground motions that take into consideration fault characteristics, wave propagation paths, and site-specific effects. A dedicated PBS database is developed, with a set of seismic scenarios differing in magnitude, source-to-site distance, and ground conditions. The validation process, as shown, involves the comparison between simulated ground motion intensity values – specifically Spectral Acceleration and Peak Ground Velocity (PGV) – with output from empirical Ground Motion Prediction Equations (GMPEs). The rather good agreement between the presented comparative results is a preliminary validation step, which demonstrates the ability of PBS to simulate realistic seismic response, and adds credibility to the use of PBS as a valuable tool for seismic hazard analysis and engineering applications.
Smiroldo et al. (Thu,) studied this question.