Time history-analyses of building structures have been used for a quite long time for research at universities. Considering the advantage of time-history analysis relative to the equivalent static force method, the National Building of Canada and other modern building codes around the world require the use of time-history analysis in the design of specified types of buildings located in seismic regions. One of the main issues in the use of time-history analysis is related to the selection and scaling of the seismic excitations (i.e., accelerograms) to be compatible with the design spectrum for the location considered. Currently, both recorded (i.e., “real”) accelerograms and artificial accelerograms are used in the analyses. The objective of this study is to determine the effects of the selection and scaling of seismic excitations on the response of reinforced concrete frame buildings. Three reinforced concrete frame buildings with heights of 4 storey, 10 storey and 16 storey, designed for Vancouver (high seismic zone) were used in this study. Five sets of seismic excitations were used in the analysis – one set of “real” accelerograms, and four sets of artificial accelerograms obtained by different methods. All sets were scaled to be compatible with the design spectrum for Vancouver. Both linear and nonlinear time history analyses were conducted on the buildings considered. Interstorey drifts and storey shear forces were used as response parameters. The results from the linear analysis show that both the interstorey drifts and the shear forces are affected significantly by the type of the excitation set. Similarly, the effects of the type of the seismic excitations on the drifts from nonlinear analysis are substantial. On the other hand, the influence of the excitation sets on the storey shears from nonlinear analysis are quite small. Based on the results from this study, sets of scaled real records are preferred for use in time-history analysis of building structures. If such records are not available, then sets of simulated accelerograms based on the regional seismic characteristics should be used.

L’une des problématique scientifique majeure en sismologie est de pouvoir estimer les mouvements du sol attendus en un site pour un futur séisme. L’objectif de cette thèse est de tester et de valider deux méthodes de simulation des mouvements du sol basées sur l’approche des fonctions de Green empiriques et d’apporter des éléments pouvant aider au développement d’une méthodologie de simulation en aveugle. Dans une première partie, une méthode de simulation basée sur une approche stochastique en point-source est validée sur les données réelles de séismes récents bien instrumentés : le séisme des Saintes Mw6.4 et le séisme de L’Aquila Mw6.3. Nous avons développé une approche de simulation en aveugle en prenant en compte une incertitude sur le paramètre de rapport des chutes de contrainte C. Cette approche permet de générer un ensemble d’accélérogrammes synthétiques d’un séisme cible suffisamment variés pour être représentatifs d’un grand nombre de scénarios de sources possibles et prenant en compte dans un sens statistique de potentiels effets de directivité. Cette approche a également été appliquée à la simulation d’un séisme historique pyrénéen Mw6.1. Dans une seconde partie, nous nous appuyons sur un modèle de source étendue plus complexe, combinant des modèles cinématiques de sources composites fractales avec l’approche des FGEs. Le potentiel de la méthode est testé sur une application au séisme de L’Aquila. Cela a permis de produire des résultats très satisfaisants sur l’ensemble des paramètres des mouvements du sol analysés. Cette méthode de simulation apparaît comme étant très prometteuse pour la mise en œuvre d’une méthodologie de simulation en aveugle, même si la principale difficulté réside dans la nécessité de définir la variabilité de nombreux paramètres d’entrée mal connus dans le cadre de la simulation d’un futur séisme. / One of the major scientific problems in seismology is to estimate the ground motions expected at a given site from a future earthquake. The aim of this thesis is to test and validate two different methods of ground motions simulation based on the empirical Green’s function approach and to provide elements that can help to develop a blind simulation methodology. In a first part, a simulation method based on a stochastic point source approach is validated on the real data of recent earthquakes well instrumented : the Les Saintes earthquake Mw6.4 and the L’Aquila earthquake Mw6.3. We have developed a blind simulation approach by taking into account an uncertainty on the parameter of stress drop ratio C. This approach allows to generate a set of synthetic accelerograms of a target earthquake varied enough to be representative of a large number of possible source scenario and taking into account in a statistical sense potential directivity effects. This approach is also applied to the simulation of an historical Pyrenean earthquake Mw6.1. In a second part, we use a more complex extended source model, combining kinematic models of fractal composite sources with EGF approach. The potential of the method is tested on an application to L’Aquila earthquake. This has produced very satisfying results on all ground motion parameters analyzed. This simulation method appears to be very promising for the implementation of a blind simulation methodology, even if the main difficulty lies in the need to define the variability of many poorly known input parameters in the simulation of a future earthquake.

Nuclear power plays a crucial role in energy supply in the world: around 15% of the electricity generated worldwide is provided from nuclear stations avoiding around 2.5 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions. As of January 2016, 442 reactors that generated 380+ GW were in operation and 66 new reactors were under construction. The seismic design of new nuclear power plants (NPPs) has gained much interest after the high-profile Fukushima Dai-ichi accident. In the UK, a tectonically stable continental region that possesses medium-to-low seismic activity, strong earthquakes capable of jeopardising the structural integrity of NPPs, although infrequent, can still occur. Despite that no NPP has been built in Great Britain after 1995, a New Build Programme intended to build 16 GW of new nuclear capacity by 2030 is currently under way. This PhD project provides a state-of-the-art framework for seismic probabilistic safety assessment and risk control of NPPs in Northwest Europe with particular application to the British Isles. It includes three progressive levels: (i) seismic input, (ii) seismic risk analysis, and (iii) seismic risk control. For seismic input, a suitable model to rationally define inputs in the context of risk assessments is proposed. Such a model is based on the stochastic simulation of accelerograms that are compatible with seismic scenarios defined by magnitude 4 < Mw < 6.5, epicentral distance 10 km < Repi < 100 km, and different types of soil (rock, stiff soil and soft soil). It was found to be a rational approach that streamlines the simulation of accelerograms to conduct nonlinear dynamic analyses for safety assessments. The model is a function of a few variables customarily known in structural engineering projects. In terms of PGA, PGV and spectral accelerations, the simulated accelerograms were validated by GMPEs calibrated for the UK, Europe and the Middle East, and other stable continental regions. For seismic risk analysis, a straightforward and logical approach to probabilistically assess the risk of NPPs based on the stochastic simulation of accelerograms is studied. It effectively simplifies traditional approaches: for seismic inputs, it avoids the use of selecting/scaling procedures and GMPEs; for structural outputs, it does not use Monte Carlo algorithms to simulate the damage state. However, it demands more expensive computational resources as a large number of nonlinear dynamic analyses are needed. For seismic risk control, strategies to control the risk using seismic protection systems are analysed. This is based on recent experience reported elsewhere of seismically protected nuclear reactor buildings in other areas of medium-to-low seismic activity. Finally, a scenario-based incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) is proposed aimed at the generation of surfaces for unacceptable performance of NPPs as function of earthquake magnitude and distance. It was found that viscous-based devices are more efficient than hysteretic-based devices in controlling the seismic risk of NPPs in the UK. Finally, using the proposed scenario-based IDA, it was found that when considering all controlling scenarios for a representative UK nuclear site, the risk is significantly reduced ranging from 3 to 5 orders of magnitude when using viscous-based devices.

La escasez de registros sísmicos de gran magnitud en algunas regiones del mundo limita la determinación de la respuesta sísmica de una edificación. En este sentido, los acelerogramas artificiales representan una alternativa para definir el evento sísmico porque consideran las condiciones específicas del sitio en estudio. Esta investigación analiza la respuesta sísmica de las estructuras para diversos registros sísmicos artificiales generados de espectros de diseño para distintas condiciones geotécnicas. El procedimiento de análisis empleado será el dinámico tiempo historia no lineal para obtener una mayor precisión en la respuesta sísmica. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que las derivas de entrepiso de las señales artificiales creadas con la función de intensidad de Liu se ajustan mejor a las derivas obtenidas del sismo real escalado. / The lack of large seismic records in some world regions limits the determination of the seismic response of a building. For that reason, artificial accelerograms represent an alternative to define the seismic event because they consider specific conditions of study site. This research analyses the structures seismic response for various artificial seismic records generated from design spectra and different geotechnical conditions. Dynamic nonlinear time history analyzing was used to obtain greater precision in the seismic response. The results obtained show that the mezzanine drifts of the artificial signals created with the Liu intensity function better fit the drifts obtained from the scaled real earthquake. / Trabajo de investigación

La escasez de registros sísmicos de gran magnitud considerados significativos, limita la determinación de la respuesta sísmica de una edificación de concreto armado. En este sentido, los acelerogramas artificiales representan una alternativa para definir el evento sísmico porque consideran condiciones específicas del sitio en estudio. Esta investigación analiza la respuesta sísmica de las estructuras para diversos registros sísmicos artificiales generados de espectros de diseño para distintas condiciones geotécnicas. El procedimiento de análisis empleado será el dinámico tiempo historia no lineal para obtener una mayor precisión en la respuesta sísmica. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que las derivas de entrepiso de las señales artificiales creadas con la función de intensidad de Liu se ajustan mejor a las derivas obtenidas del sismo real escalado. / The lack of large seismic records in some world regions limits the determination of the seismic response of a building. For that reason, artificial accelerograms represent an alternative to define the seismic event because they consider specific conditions of study site. This research analyses the structures seismic response for various artificial seismic records generated from design spectra and different geotechnical conditions. Dynamic nonlinear time history analysing was used to obtain greater precision in the seismic response. The results obtained show that the mezzanine drifts of the artificial signals created with the Liu intensity function better fit the drifts obtained from the scaled real earthquake. / Tesis