Synthesis of Strong Ground Motions at Two Dam Sites during the Great Wenchuan Earthquake

Abstract

The ground motions on two dam sites during the great Wenchuan earthquake with magnitude 8.0, motions are synthesized from 30 finite fault based hybrid source models and inversed regional parameters of source spectrum and motion attenuation. The results show that the peak ground acceleration values are less than those estimated directly from the Intensities Ⅹ and Ⅺ at the two sites, with mean values 259 and 716 gals. The motion at Shapai is much stronger than that at Zipingpu, and the spectrum is also wider than the latter, but the corresponding duration is shorter during the earthquake.