“Gh.

Asachi” Tehnical University of Iaşi Faculty of Civil and Building Equipment Engineering
67, D. Mangeron Blvd., Iaşi, 700050, România 43, D. Mangeron Blvd, Iaşi, 700050, România
tel: +40+232-278680 tel: +40-232-278680/1479, fax: +40-232-233368
www.tuiasi.ro www.ce.tuiasi.ro
Department of Structural Mechanics
tel: +40-232-278680/1447, tel/fax: +40-232-239213
www.ce.tuiasi.ro/english/departments/mechanics.html

Earthquake Engineering

a lecture delivered to the 4th year students

by
Fideliu Păuleţ-Crăiniceanu, Associate Professor
tel: +40-232-278680/1488
Lecture 3 fideliu@ce.tuiasi.ro, www.ce.tuiasi.ro/~fideliu
 Seismology for Civil Engineers
seismic scales

• Subjective Scales - Intensity Scales

– Based on:
• human feelings.
• effects on structures.
• living beings.

• Objective Scales - Magnitude Scales

– Based on measurements.
 Seismology for Civil Engineers
seismic scales

• Subjective Scales - Intensity Scales

– Based on:
• human feelings
• effects on structures
• living beings behavior.
– History:
• 1564 Gastaldi, 1783 Pignafaro, 1883 Rossi-Forel (10 grades)
• 1902 Mercalli, 1904 Cancani => Mercalli-Cancani- Sieberg
• 1931 Neuman => Mercalli Modified (MM) Scale, 12 grades
• 1964 Medvedev-Sponheur-Karnik (MSK), 12 grades
• Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA), 8 grades.
 Seismology for Civil Engineers
seismic scales
MM
Description
Intensity

I Not felt except by a very few under especially favorable conditions.

II Felt only by a few persons at rest, especially on upper floors of buildings. Delicately
suspended objects may swing
III Felt quite noticeably by persons indoors, especially on upper floors of buildings.
Many people do not recognize it as an earthquake. Standing motor cars may rock
slightly. Vibration similar to the passing of a truck. Duration estimated.
IV Felt indoors by many, outdoors by few during the day. At night, some awakened.
Dishes, windows, doors disturbed; walls make cracking sound. Sensation like
heavy truck striking building. Standing motor cars rocked noticeably.
V Felt by nearly everyone; many awakened. Some dishes, windows broken. Unstable
objects overturned. Pendulum clocks may stop

VI Felt by all, many frightened. Some heavy furniture moved; a few instances of fallen
plaster. Damage slight.
 Seismology for Civil Engineers
seismic scales
MM
Description
Intensity

VII Damage negligible in buildings of good design and construction; slight to moderate
in well-built ordinary structures; considerable damage in poorly built or badly
designed structures; some chimneys broken.
VIII Damage slight in specially designed structures; considerable damage in ordinary
substantial buildings with partial collapse. Damage great in poorly built
structures. Fall of chimneys, factory stacks, columns, monuments, walls. Heavy
furniture overturned
IX Damage considerable in specially designed structures; well-designed frame
structures thrown out of plumb. Damage great in substantial buildings, with
partial collapse. Buildings shifted off foundations.
X Some well-built wooden structures destroyed; most masonry and frame structures
destroyed with foundations. Rails bent.
XI Few, if any (masonry) structures remain standing. Bridges destroyed. Rails bent
greatly.
XII Damage total. Lines of sight and level are distorted. Objects thrown into the air.
I. Instrumental Not felt except by a very few under especially favorable
conditions.
II. Feeble Felt only by a few persons at rest, especially on upper floors
of buildings. Delicately suspended objects may swing.
III. Slight Felt quite noticeably by persons indoors, especially on the
upper floors of buildings. Many do not recognize it as an
earthquake. Standing motor cars may rock slightly. Vibration
similar to the passing of a truck. Duration estimated.
IV. Moderate Felt indoors by many, outdoors by few during the day. At
night, some awakened. Dishes, windows, doors disturbed;
walls make cracking sound. Sensation like heavy truck
striking building. Standing motor cars rocked noticeably.
Dishes and windows rattle alarmingly.
V. Rather Felt by nearly everyone; many awakened. Some dishes and
Strong windows broken. Unstable objects overturned. Clocks may
stop.
VI. Strong Felt by all; many frightened and run outdoors, walk
unsteadily. Windows, dishes, glassware broken; books off
shelves; some heavy furniture moved or overturned; a few
instances of fallen plaster. Damage slight.
VII. Very Difficult to stand; furniture broken; damage negligible in
Strong building of good design and construction; slight to moderate
in well-built ordinary structures; considerable damage in
poorly built or badly designed structures; some chimneys
broken. Noticed by persons driving motor cars.
VIII. Damage slight in specially designed structures; considerable
Destructive in ordinary substantial buildings with partial collapse.
Damage great in poorly built structures. Fall of chimneys,
factory stacks, columns, monuments, walls. Heavy furniture
moved.
IX. Ruinous General panic; damage considerable in specially designed
structures, well designed frame structures thrown out of
plumb. Damage great in substantial buildings, with partial
collapse. Buildings shifted off foundations.
X. Disastrous Some well built wooden structures destroyed; most masonry
and frame structures destroyed with foundation. Rails bent.
XI. Very Few, if any masonry structures remain standing. Bridges
Disastrous destroyed. Rails bent greatly.
XII. Total damage - Almost everything is destroyed. Lines of sight
Catastrophic and level distorted. Objects thrown into the air. The ground
moves in waves or ripples. Large amounts of rock may move.
 Seismology for Civil Engineers
seismic scales

Example of isoseismal map :

the Mercalli Intensity ratings
of localities near the Oct. 17,
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.
 Seismology for Civil Engineers
seismic scales
JMA
Description
Intensity

0 Not felt: too weak to be felt by humans; registered only by seismographs.

I Slight: felt only feebly by persons at rest or by those who are sensitive to an earthquake.

II Weak: felt by most persons, causing shaking of windows and Japanese lattice sliding doors
(shoji).
III Rather strong: shaking of houses and buildings, heavy rattling of windows and Japanese latticed
sliding doors, swinging of hanging objects, sometimes stopping pendulum clocks, and
moving of liquids in vessels. Some persons are so frightened as to run out of doors.
IV Strong: resulting in strong shaking of houses and buildings, overturning of instable objects,
spilling of liquid out of vessels.
V Very strong: causing cracks in brick and plaster walls, overturning of stone lanterns and grave
stones, etc. and damaging of chimneys and mud and plaster warehouses. Landslides in steep
mountains are observed.
VI Disastrous: causing demolition of more than 1% of Japanese wooden houses; landslides, fissures
on flat ground accompanied sometimes by spouting of mud and water in low fields.
VII Ruinous: causing demolition of almost all houses; large fissures and faults are observed.
 Seismology for Civil Engineers
seismic scales

MM 0 I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII

MSK I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII

JMA 0 I II III IV V VI VII

PGA 0.5 1 2 5 10 20 50 100 200 500 1000 cm/s2

Equivalence between different seismic intensity scales

MM = Mercalli Modified Scale

MSK = Medvedev-Sponheur-Karnik Scale
JMA = Japanese Meteorological Agency Scale
PGA = Peak Ground Acceleration
 Seismology for Civil Engineers
seismic scales

• Objective Scales – Magnitude Scales

– Based on measurements
– Local Magnitude Scale – Richter Scale
• Charles Richter, 1935 (based on Wadati, 1931)
– Seismic Moment Scale
– Spectral Intensity Scale
• Housner
– Spectral Action Scale
• Medvedev
 Seismology for Civil Engineers
seismic scales

Local Magnitude Scale (Richter Scale)

definition
The Richter Magnitude = base 10 logarithm of the maximum
amplitude, measured in micrometers (10-6 m) of the earthquake
record obtained by a horizontal Wood-Anderson seismograph with
magnification 2800, the natural period T = 0.8 s, damping coefficient
0.8, and corrected to a distance of 100 km.
M log 10 A
For distances different from 100 km from epicenter, corrections are applied.
The magnitude is directly linked to the energy (in ergs) in the focus:
log 10 E 11.8 1.5M (ergs)

1erg = 1dyne·1cm = 1g·cm/s2·1cm = 1g·cm2·s-2

Seismology for Civil Engineers
seismic scales
Local Magnitude Scale (Richter Scale)
Seismograph: definition
T = 0.8 sec, ξ = 0.8
magnification = 2800

x(t) Epicenter
mass

100 Km

Hypocenter (Focus)

x(t)
microns
A=max|x(t)|

time (s)

M log 10 A
 Seismology for Civil Engineers
seismic scales

Sample of the data used by Richter to

construct the magnitude scale in California.
A magnitude 3.0 earthquake is defined as the
size event that generates a maximum ground
motion of 1 millimeter (mm) at 100 km distance.
 Seismology for Civil Engineers
seismic scales

Richter Scale nomogram

 Seismology for Civil Engineers
seismic scales

Richter
Earthquake Effects
Magnitude
< 3.5 Generally not felt, but recorded.
3.5 5.4 Often felt, but rarely causes damage.
At most slight damage to well-designed buildings. Can
5.5 6.0 cause major damage to poorly constructed buildings
over small regions.
Can be destructive in areas up to about 100 kilometers
6.1 6.9
across where people live.
Major earthquake. Can cause serious damage over
7.0 7.9
larger areas.
Great earthquake. Can cause serious damage in areas
≥8
several hundred kilometers across.
 Seismology for Civil Engineers
seismic scales
Richter Frequency of
Description Earthquake Effects
Magnitudes Occurrence
Micro < 2.0 Microearthquakes, not felt. About 8,000 per day
2.0-2.9 Generally not felt, but recorded. About 1,000 per day
Minor
3.0-3.9 Often felt, but rarely causes damage. 49,000 per year (est.)
Noticeable shaking of indoor items, rattling
Light 4.0-4.9 6,200 per year (est.)
noises. Significant damage unlikely.
Can cause major damage to poorly
constructed buildings over small regions. At
Moderate 5.0-5.9 800 per year
most slight damage to well-designed
buildings.
Can be destructive in areas up to about 100
Strong 6.0-6.9 120 per year
miles across in populated areas.
Can cause serious damage over larger
Major 7.0-7.9 18 per year
areas.
Can cause serious damage in areas several
8.0-8.9 1 per year
hundred miles across.
Devastating in areas several thousand miles
Great 9.0-9.9 1 per 20 years
across.
Extremely rare
10.0+ Never recorded.
(Unknown)
Based on U.S. Geological Survey documents.
 Seismology for Civil Engineers
seismic scales

Magnitude Scales

Magnitude Symbol Wave Period

Local (Richter) M, ML S or Surface Wave* 0.8 s
Body-Wave mb P 1s
Surface-Wave Ms Rayleigh 20 s
Moment Mw Rupture Area, Slip > 100 s

Mw = 2/3 * log10(m) - 10.73

where:
m = seismic moment = G x (Rupture Area) x (Fault Offset).

log10m = 16.1+1.5M
where:
m = seismic moment;
M = ML = local (Richter) magnitude.
 Seismology for Civil Engineers
seismic scales

Gutenberg and Richter developed two magnitudes for application to distant

earthquakes:
• mb (body-wave magnitude) is measured using the first five seconds of a
teleseismic (distant) P-wave;
• Ms (surface-wave magnitude) is derived from the maximum amplitude
Rayleigh wave.
Seismology for Civil Engineers
seismic scales

A comparison of the two seismic scales.

 Seismology for Civil Engineers
seismic scales

• Characteristics of an earthquake:
– measurements' data (e.g. Magnitude )
– intensity (e.g. MM grade)
– time history (e.g. duration, PGA, no. of zero
crossings, no. of high peaks)
– frequency content (e.g. FFT)
– time/frequency response spectra
– power density response
– etc.
 Seismology for Civil Engineers
seismic scales
El-Centro NS 1940
180

160

140

120
FFT amplitude

100

80

60

40

20

0
0 2 4 6 8 10
Frequency (Hz)

Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) of El-Centro NS 1943 earthquake acceleration record

Seismology for Civil Engineers
major Romanian earthquakes. history
Epicenter Depth
Date Time M I0
Latitude Longitude (km)
Aug 29 1471 10: 45.7 26.6 7.4 8
Aug 29 1473 45.6 25.4 6.4 8
Nov 24 1516 12: 45.7 26.6 7.2 9
Jun 9 1523 45.7 26.6 6.1 7
Jul 19 1545 08: 45.7 26.6 6.7 8
Aug 17 1569 05: 45.7 26.6 6.7 8
Aug 10 1590 20: 45.7 26.6 6.9 9
May 3 1604 03: 45.7 26.6 6.7 8
Dec 24 1605 15: 45.7 26.6 6.7 8
Jan 13 1606 01: 45.7 26.6 6.4 8
Nov 8 1620 13: 45.7 26.6 6.9 9
Feb 1 1637 02: 45.7 26.6 6.4 8
Aug 9 1679 01: 45.7 26.6 6.7 8
Aug 18 1681 00: 45.7 26.6 6.7 8
Jun 12 1701 01: 45.7 26.6 6.4 8
Oct 11 1711 01: 45.7 26.6 6.1 7
Seismology for Civil Engineers
major Romanian earthquakes. history
Epicenter Depth
Date Time M I0
Latitude Longitude (km)
Jun 11 1738 10: 45.7 26.6 6.9 9
Apr 16 1790 19: 45.7 26.6 6.7 8
Oct 26 1802 10:55 45.7 26.6 7.5 9
Nov 26 1829 01:40 45.7 26.6 6.4 8
Jan 23 1838 18:45 45.7 26.6 6.7 8
Dec 25 1880 14:30 45.7 26.6 6.1 7
Aug 17 1893 14:35 45.7 26.6 5.7 7
Sep 10 1893 03:40 45.7 26.6 5.7 7
Aug 31 1894 12:20 45.7 26.6 6.1 7
Mar 11 1896 23:00 45.7 26.6 5.5 7
Oct 6 1908 21:40 45.5 26.5 125 6.8 8
May 25 1912 18:02 45.7 27.2 90 6.4 7
May 25 1912 20:15 45.7 27.2 100 5.8 6
Apr 18 1919 06:20 47.7 27.2 100 5.7 6
Aug 9 1919 14:38 45.7 26.6 120 5.6 6
Mar 30 1928 09:38 45.9 26.5 120 5.6 6
Seismology for Civil Engineers
major Romanian earthquakes. history
Epicenter Depth
Date Time M I0
Latitude Longitude (km)
Nov 1 1929 06:57 45.9 26.5 160 6.6 7
Mar 29 1934 20:06 45.8 26.5 90 6.9 8
Sep 5 1939 06:02 45.9 26.7 120 6.1 6
Oct 22 1940 90:37 45.9 26.4 125 6.2 7
Nov 10 1940 01:39 45.9 26.7 135 7.3 9
Mar 12 1945 20:51 45.6 26.4 125 5.8 6
Sep 7 1945 15:48 45.9 26.5 80 6.5 8
Dec 9 1945 06:08 45.7 26.8 80 6.2 7
Mai 29 1948 04:48 45.8 26.5 130 6.0 7
Oct 1 1976 17:50 45.8 26.5 140 5.5 6
Mar 4 1977 21:22 45.8 26.7 110 7.2 9
Aug 31 1986 00:28 45.5 26.5 131 6.9 7
May 30 1990 13:40 45.8 26.9 80 6.7 8
May 31 1990 03:18 45.8 26.9 79 6.1 7
Oct 10 2004 20:34 45.8 26.7 100 6.0 6-7
May 14 2005 03:53 45.6 26.5 147 5.2
Feb 16 2006 04:49 45.7 26.7 130 4.1
 Seismology for Civil Engineers
major Romanian earthquakes. history

March 4th, 1977 earthquake, Vrancea:

- time: at 21:22, length: 55 sec.
- 1578 dead people (1424 in Bucharest)
- 11300 injured people
- 35000 destroyed living places
- 33 destroyed buildings in Bucharest
- Zimnicea total distroyed.
Seismology for Civil Engineers
major Romanian earthquakes. history
Seismology for Civil Engineers
major Romanian earthquakes. history
Seismology for Civil Engineers
major Romanian earthquakes. history
Seismology for Civil Engineers
major Romanian earthquakes. history

Model for plate break-off beneath the Carpathian arc (after Sperner, 1996).
Seismology for Civil Engineers
major Romanian earthquakes. history

Most accepted model for Vrancea area.

Seismology for Civil Engineers
major Romanian earthquakes. history
Seismology for Civil Engineers
major Romanian earthquakes. history
Seismology for Civil Engineers
major Romanian earthquakes. seismic zonation

200
Vrancea NS, March 4, 1977
Acceleration (cm/s2)

100

-100
195 cm/s2
-200
0 10 20 30 40

Time (s)
Acceleration record of Vrancea NS, March 4, 1977 Romanian Earthquake
Seismology for Civil Engineers
major Romanian earthquakes. seismic zonation
0.35
Densitatea spectrala normalizata 4 Martie 1977, M=7.2, comp.NS
0.30 30 Aug. 1986, M=7.0, comp. NS
0.25

0.20

0.15

0.10 p =2 /T p

0.05 INCERC Bucuresti

0.00
20 30 0 10
40
Pulsatia , rad/s
P100-2004 (A1). Normalized spectral power density function for the 4th
of March 1977 and 30th of August 1986 earthquakes, NS components,
measured at INCERC station located in Eastern Bucharest.
Seismology for Civil Engineers
major Romanian earthquakes. seismic zonation
 Seismology for Civil Engineers
major Romanian earthquakes. tectonic plates

Epicenter’s position in Vrancea

area for the earthquake from
Plates and sub-plates in Romanian territory.
May 14, 2005 (Mw=5.2).
Seismology for Civil Engineers
major Romanian earthquakes. seismic zonation
Seismology for Civil Engineers
major Romanian earthquakes. seismic zonation
MSK Scale
isoseismic lines:
•Index 1 – 50 years
return period;
•Index 2 – 100 years
return period.

P100-92. Seismic zonation of Romania

 Seismology for Civil Engineers
major Romanian earthquakes. seismic zonation

P100-2004 (C3). Seismic zonation of Romanian territory in terms of design PGA,

ag, for 100 years average return period earthquakes.
 Seismology for Civil Engineers
major Romanian earthquakes. seismic zonation

Seismic micro-zonation of Bucharest

 References
• Păuleţ-Crăiniceanu, F. Earthquake Engineering, Editura
Cermi, Iaşi, 1999
• P100-92, P100-2004
• Negoiţă, Al., & al., Earthquake Engineering, E.D.P.,
Bucureşti, 1985 (in Romanian)
• “Heat” - Historical Earthquake Theory
http://www.univie.ac.at/Wissenschaftstheorie/heat/heat.htm

• Vibrationdat.com http://www.vibrationdata.com/
• FEMA http://www.fema.gov/
• U.S. Geological Survey http://www.usgs.gov/