Lifeline response to spatially variable ground motions

Abstract

Abstract Lifeline systems have been heavily damaged during past earthquakes; this has often been attributed to the effect of differential ground motion at the supports of these long structures. Based on a stochastic model for the ground excitation the responses of pipelines and bridges of various span lengths subjected to either perfectly or partially correlated random input motions in the axial, lateral (i.e. transverse horizontal) and vertical directions are investigated and the significance of the spatial variation of ground motion is examined.