Can someone explain to me what is meant by "seismic site characterization". The methods or processes involved. References to material concerning this topic will be appreciated.
I'm certain that with a bit of searching the internet, you'll be able to find adequate information, especially in geotechnical forums and or papers.
A good reference text is Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering by Steven Kramer. Good for structural and geotechnical engineer.
In essence seismic site characterization is the process by which dynamic soil/ground properties are investigated and defined. It would include a deterministic or probablistic methodology and soil investigation but using dynamic soil testing methods as well static procedures. Following the field investigation, you would be able to discern the seismic site hazards and properties such as acceleration, shear wave velocity, site specific response spectra, liquefaction potential etc.
Regards,
Qshake
Eng-Tips Forums:Real Solutions for Real Problems Really Quick.
search this site for "seismic" and im certain you will find a lot of into. ive posted links to fema451 along with several others. fema451 has a lot of presentation style material explaining the process, theory, calcs, etc. also check nehrp documents. like i said ive posted links to most of these documents several times here. if you have trouble stumbling on to them let me know and i'll repost. good luck.