Combined analysis of the geomorphic evolution of Greymouth with Multi-channel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW) provides new insight into the geotechnical implications of reclamation work. The MASW method utilises the frequency dependent velocity (dispersion) of planar Rayleigh waves created by a seismic source as a way of assessing the stiffness of the subsurface material. The surface wave is inverted to calculate a shear wave velocity (Park et al., 1999). Once corrected, these shear-wave (Vs) velocities can be used to obtain a factor of safety for liquefaction susceptibility based on a design earthquake. The primary study site was the township of Greymouth, on the West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island. Greymouth is built on geologically young (Holocene-age) deposits of beach and river sands and gravels, and estuarine and lagoonal silts (Dowrick et al., 2004). Greymouth is also in a tectonically active region, with the high seismic hazard imposed by the Alpine Fault and other nearby faults, along with the age and type of sediment, mean the probability of liquefaction occurring is high particularly for the low-lying areas around the estuary and coastline. Repeated mapping over 150 years shows that the geomorphology of the Greymouth Township has been heavily modified during that timeframe, with both anthropogenic and natural processes developing the land into its current form. Identification of changes in the landscape was based on historical maps for the area and interpreting them to be either anthropogenic or natural changes, such as reclamation work or removal of material through natural events. This study focuses on the effect that anthropogenic and natural geomorphic processes have on the stiffness of subsurface material and its liquefaction susceptibility for three different design earthquake events. Areas of natural ground and areas of reclaimed land, with differing ages, were investigated through the use of the MASW method, allowing an initial estimation of the relationship between landscape modification and liquefaction susceptibility. The susceptibility to liquefaction of these different materials is important to critical infrastructure, such as the St. John Ambulance Building and Greymouth Aerodrome, which must remain functional following an earthquake. Areas of early reclamation at the Greymouth Aerodrome site have factors of safety less than 1 and will liquefy in most plausible earthquake scenarios, although the majority of the runway has a high factor of safety and should resist liquefaction. The land west of the St. John’s building has slightly to moderately positive factors of safety. Other areas have factors of safety that reflect the different geology and reclamation history.

Localement, les mouvements du sol en surface peuvent être amplifiés durant un séisme. Les plus grands déplacements se situent à la fréquence naturelle du sol. Son estimation est donc nécessaire pour caractériser l'effet de site. L'analyse du bruit ambiant permet de déterminer directement la fréquence fondamentale hors activité sismique et sans nuisance pour l'environnement. Plusieurs campagnes de bruit ambiant ont été réalisées entre 2006 et 2007 par la commission géologique du Canada sur le territoire québécois. Les résultats obtenus ont permis de tester la validité de la méthode et d'en étudier les différents paramètres d'analyses. Une campagne d'enregistrement de bruit ambiant a été effectuée en juin 2007 dans le cadre d'une étude de stabilité de pente. Elle a permis de mettre en évidence le rôle important de la topographie dans l'estimation de la fréquence de résonance. Malgré une différence de hauteur du dépôt en amont et en aval de la pente, les fréquences naturelles sont identiques. Afin de confirmer l'influence de la topographie sur l'estimation locale de la fréquence de résonance, les résultats de deux méthodes d'investigation ont été comparés. La méthode MASW (Modal Analysis of Surface Waves), développée à l'université de Sherbrooke, permet de déterminer le profil des vitesses de cisaillement en surface et ainsi la fréquence propre. La méthode de Nakamura propose d'étudier le rapport spectral des composantes horizontales et verticales du bruit ambiant. Ce rapport spectral présente un pic à la fréquence fondamentale. Cette étude démontre que la méthode des rapports spectraux donne une estimation de la fréquence naturelle d'un sol qui prend en compte l'ensemble du relief. Les données obtenues à partir de la méthode MASW, ont permis d'effectuer des simulations numériques avec des vitesses de cisaillement du sol et des topographies différentes. Plusieurs modèles ont été réalisés pour trois vitesses de cisaillement, avec deux pentes différentes et avec une variation de topographie en surface et au niveau du roc. Les résultats obtenus indiquent que la topographie d'un site créée une bande de fréquence néfaste pour le dimensionnement parasismique. Cette bande est comparable au pic étalé en fréquence sur les rapports spectraux. Par ailleurs, les bornes de cette bande de fréquence sont les fréquences fondamentales théoriques des épaisseurs de dépôt extremum du site.

Estimating S-wave velocities (Vs) from Rayleigh-wave velocities (VR) is widely used in field seismic testing for geotechnical engineering purposes. In this research, two widely used surface-wave methods, the Spectral-Analysis-of-Surface-Waves (SASW) and Multichannel-Analysis-of-Surface-Waves (MASW) methods, are evaluated and compared in field experiments. An experimental parametric study was undertaken of the SASW and MASW methods. Conventional seismic sources in the SASW method are sledge hammers, bulldozers and vibroseises. For MASW testing, sledge hammers and small shakers are usually used as the seismic sources. In this research, MASW testing was performed with traditional and non-traditional sources at a site owned by the City of Austin, Texas. Experimental dispersion curves and Vs profiles from SASW tests are used as references for the field parametric study with the MASW method. The source type, source offset, receiver spacing and number of receivers were varied to evaluate the impact of each variable on the field experimental dispersion curve. Two type of receivers, 1-Hz and 4.5-Hz natural-frequency geophones, were also compared in these tests. A second part of this research involved studying the use of characterizing geotechnical materials based on Vs. This work included two projects. The first project involved basalt on the Big Island of Hawaii. To develop empirical ground motion prediction models for the purpose of earthquake hazard mitigation and seismic design on the Big Island, the subsurface site conditions beneath 22 strong motion stations were investigated by SASW tests. Vs profiling was performed to depths of more than 100 ft. Vs30, the average Vs in the top 30 m, was also calculated to assign NEHRP site classes to different testing locations. Different materials, mainly thought to be stiff basalt, were characterized and grouped based on the Vs values. These groups were then compared with reference curves for sand and gravel (Menq, 2003) to differentiate the groups. The second project dealing with charactering geotechnical materials based on Vs involved of soil/rock profiles at a project site in British Columbia, Canada. The goals in terms of this research were to: (1) compare the Vs profiles from the different test locations to investigate the stiffnesses of different geologic materials, the variability in the material stiffnesses, and the estimated depth to bedrock, and (2) to compare the Vs profiles to existing geological and geotechnical information such as nearby boreholes, cone penetration tests and seismic cone penetration tests. Good agreement between SASW Vs profiles and boring records is expected when lateral variability at the site is low. However, when lateral variability is significant, then the difference between localized measurements, like borings and CPT results, and global measurements, like SASW Vs results, can further contribute to understanding the site conditions as shown at the site in British Columbia, Canada. / text

La Multi-Channel Acquisition of Surface Waves (MASW) est devenu populaire depuis quelques années pour l'auscultation non destructive de milieux tabulaires naturels ou artificiels (Béton). Cette méthode, basée sur le comportement dispersif des ondes de surface, comporte deux étapes principales. Une courbe de dispersion des vitesses de phase des ondes de surface est, dans un premier temps, extraite d'un sismogramme par une transformée du champ d'onde (transformée p-?). L'inversion de cette dernière conduit enfin à une interprétation du milieu ausculté sous la forme d'un profil 1D des vitesses de propagation des ondes transverses en fonction de la profondeur. Cette dissertation propose une évaluation de la faisabilité de l’utilisation de la MASW pour le contrôle non destructif de structures souterraines. Cette étude s’est focalisée à évaluer puis à procéder aux différentes modifications nécessaires pour son utilisation en milieu présentant une surface concave (surface très répandue dans les structures de type galeries, tunnel ou puits) / Multi-Channel Acquisition of Surface Waves (MASW) has become very popular in recent years for non destructive testing of both layered natural and artificial (concrete) media. This method, based on the dispersive behaviour of surface waves, consists of two major steps. A phase velocity dispersion curve is first extract from the seismogram using a wave field transform (p-? transform). Then the inversion of this latter produces a 1D interpretation of the medium in terms of transverse wave velocities versus depth. While these two major steps of the method are well-documented for plane stratified media, it’s not the case when the investigated structure has a complex geometry. This dissertation deals with the evaluation of the feasibility to use MASW for non destructive evaluation of underground structures. After a brief survey of the problems that could be encountered with tunnel non destructive evaluation, this study focuses to determine and then proceed to the modifications needed to adapt the method for a concave geometry structure use

Thesis advisor: John E. Ebel / Degradation within an earth embankment structure is often unobservable from the surface. In order to evaluate the structural integrity of earth embankment dams and levees and identify subsurface zones of weakness that may result in future failures, various geophysical methods have been proposed as effective subsurface imaging tools. This study presents the results of using the horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR), seismic refraction analysis, and multi-channel analysis of surface waves (MASW) methods to estimate subsurface seismic structures for two earth embankment dams located in Chestnut Hill, MA, and Franklin Falls, NH. The estimated seismic velocity structures from the seismic refraction analysis and MASW performed in this study confirm the HVSR method is able to effectively estimate depth to bedrock at sites atop earth embankments using estimated fundamental frequencies. The MASW was found to resolve a low-velocity zone in the subsurface at the Chestnut Hill reservoir embankment that the seismic refraction method was unable to image, and this low-velocity zone is required to best fit a theoretical HVSR to an observed spectrum. Furthermore, the variation and uncertainty in fundamental frequency estimation were investigated by making repeated HVSR measurements at the Chestnut Hill embankment. / Thesis (BS) — Boston College, 2023. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences.. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: Earth and Environmental Sciences.

Modern sensing systems such as distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) can produce massive quantities of geophysical data, often in remote locations. This presents significant challenges with regards to data storage and performing efficient analysis. To address this, we have designed and implemented efficient algorithms for two commonly utilized techniques in geophysical imaging: cross-correlations, and multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW). Our cross-correlation algorithms operate directly in the wavelet domain on compressed data without requiring a reconstruction of the original signal, reducing memory costs and improving scalabiliy. Meanwhile, our MASW implementations make use of MPI parallelism and GPUs, and present a novel problem for the GPU. / Master of Science / Modern sensor designs make it easier to collect large quantities of seismic vibration data. While this data can provide valuable insight, it is difficult to effectively store and perform analysis on such a high data volume. We propose a few new, general-purpose algorithms that enable speedy use of two common methods in geophysical modeling and data analytics: crosscorrelation, which provides a measure of similarity between signals; and multichannel analysis of surface waves, which is a seismic imaging technique. Our algorithms take advantage of hardware and software typically available on modern computers, and the mathematical properties of these two methods.

O método da análise multicanal de ondas superficiais foi empregado em um estudo de caso no sítio controlado do Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas da Universidade de São Paulo - IAG-USP, localizado no campus Butantã, São Paulo, em terrenos da bacia sedimentar de São Paulo. O estudo visou à investigação geológica rasa, ou seja, ao mapeamento dos estratos sedimentares presentes e do contato sedimentos-embasamento. Além disso, procurou-se, através de testes de diversos parâmetros de aquisição, chegar-se a uma rotina para a aquisição e tratamento dos dados provenientes de fontes ativas (marreta e queda de peso) e passivas (tráfego de veículos) que possa ser indicada para ensaios em outras áreas da cidade de São Paulo que apresentem condições semelhantes às da área estudada. Na aquisição com fontes ativas foram registrados dados com diversos offsets mínimos e na passiva foi aplicada a técnica Passive Roadside com o arranjo de geofones disposto próximo e paralelamente à via de tráfego. Foram realizadas as etapas de pré-processamento dos dados, geração das imagens de dispersão, extração das curvas de dispersão e inversão. A combinação de imagens geradas a partir de dados adquiridos com diferentes fontes resultou numa imagem com melhor razão sinal-ruído, e consequentemente na produção de melhores curvas que foram invertidas para a geração dos perfis 1D das velocidades da onda S. De modo geral, os perfis de velocidades obtidos a partir dos dados obtidos com o emprego de uma marreta para geração da onda mapearam as interfaces geológicas mais superficiais, já os perfis resultantes dos dados adquiridos com o uso de uma fonte tipo queda de peso alcançaram profundidades maiores, por vezes amostrando o embasamento. No caso das fontes passivas, as principais interfaces de contato foram imageadas, conseguindo-se com sucesso o mapeamento do embasamento, que na área está a mais de 50 metros de profundidade. Correlações com o perfil litológico e de dados de ensaios SPT de um furo de sondagem localizado no centro do arranjo revelaram que as diferenças na determinação da profundidade das interfaces foram menores do que 10%. Desta forma, o método mostrou ser uma ferramenta prática e eficiente nas aplicações geotécnicas, principalmente em ix áreas urbanas onde o ruído é elevado, o que muitas vezes inviabiliza o uso da investigação sísmica convencional (refração ou reflexão). / The multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) method was employed in a case study on the controlled site in the Institute of Astronomy, Geophysics and Atmospheric Sciences (IAG), University of São Paulo (USP), located on the campus Butantã, São Paulo, in the grounds of the sedimentary basin São Paulo. The study aimed to shallow geological investigation, in other words, mapping of sedimentary strata present and the sediment-basement contact. In addition, It is sought to, by testing with different acquisition parameters, to get a routine for the acquisition and processing of data from active sources (sledgehammer and drop weight) and passive (vehicle traffic) that can be suitable for testing in other areas of the city of São Paulo who have similar conditions of the study area. In the acquisition with active sources were registered data with many different offsets and passive acquisition has been applied to the Passive Roadside MASW technique with the conventional linear receiver array disposed near and parallel to the traffic lane. Were performed, pre-processing of the data, generation of images of dispersion, extraction of dispersion curves and inversion. The combination of images generated based on data acquired from various sources resulted in image with improved signal to noise ratio and consequently in the production of finest curves that have been inverted to generate the 1D shear-wave velocities profiles. In general, the velocity profiles obtained from the data were acquired with the use of a sledgehammer to the wave generation mapped shallowest geological interfaces, but the resulting profiles of the acquired data using a font type \"drop weight\" reached greater depths, sometimes sampling the basement. In the case of passive sources, the main contact interfaces were imaged, achieving successful mapping of the basement, which in this area is over 50 meters deep. Correlations with the lithological profile and SPT data from a borehole located in the center of the array revealed that the differences in the depth determination of the interfaces was less than 10%. Thus, the method showed to be an efficient and practical tool in geotechnical applications, especially in urban areas where the noise is high, which often prevents the use of conventional seismic survey (reflection or refraction).

O método da análise multicanal de ondas superficiais foi empregado em um estudo de caso no sítio controlado do Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas da Universidade de São Paulo - IAG-USP, localizado no campus Butantã, São Paulo, em terrenos da bacia sedimentar de São Paulo. O estudo visou à investigação geológica rasa, ou seja, ao mapeamento dos estratos sedimentares presentes e do contato sedimentos-embasamento. Além disso, procurou-se, através de testes de diversos parâmetros de aquisição, chegar-se a uma rotina para a aquisição e tratamento dos dados provenientes de fontes ativas (marreta e queda de peso) e passivas (tráfego de veículos) que possa ser indicada para ensaios em outras áreas da cidade de São Paulo que apresentem condições semelhantes às da área estudada. Na aquisição com fontes ativas foram registrados dados com diversos offsets mínimos e na passiva foi aplicada a técnica Passive Roadside com o arranjo de geofones disposto próximo e paralelamente à via de tráfego. Foram realizadas as etapas de pré-processamento dos dados, geração das imagens de dispersão, extração das curvas de dispersão e inversão. A combinação de imagens geradas a partir de dados adquiridos com diferentes fontes resultou numa imagem com melhor razão sinal-ruído, e consequentemente na produção de melhores curvas que foram invertidas para a geração dos perfis 1D das velocidades da onda S. De modo geral, os perfis de velocidades obtidos a partir dos dados obtidos com o emprego de uma marreta para geração da onda mapearam as interfaces geológicas mais superficiais, já os perfis resultantes dos dados adquiridos com o uso de uma fonte tipo queda de peso alcançaram profundidades maiores, por vezes amostrando o embasamento. No caso das fontes passivas, as principais interfaces de contato foram imageadas, conseguindo-se com sucesso o mapeamento do embasamento, que na área está a mais de 50 metros de profundidade. Correlações com o perfil litológico e de dados de ensaios SPT de um furo de sondagem localizado no centro do arranjo revelaram que as diferenças na determinação da profundidade das interfaces foram menores do que 10%. Desta forma, o método mostrou ser uma ferramenta prática e eficiente nas aplicações geotécnicas, principalmente em ix áreas urbanas onde o ruído é elevado, o que muitas vezes inviabiliza o uso da investigação sísmica convencional (refração ou reflexão). / The multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) method was employed in a case study on the controlled site in the Institute of Astronomy, Geophysics and Atmospheric Sciences (IAG), University of São Paulo (USP), located on the campus Butantã, São Paulo, in the grounds of the sedimentary basin São Paulo. The study aimed to shallow geological investigation, in other words, mapping of sedimentary strata present and the sediment-basement contact. In addition, It is sought to, by testing with different acquisition parameters, to get a routine for the acquisition and processing of data from active sources (sledgehammer and drop weight) and passive (vehicle traffic) that can be suitable for testing in other areas of the city of São Paulo who have similar conditions of the study area. In the acquisition with active sources were registered data with many different offsets and passive acquisition has been applied to the Passive Roadside MASW technique with the conventional linear receiver array disposed near and parallel to the traffic lane. Were performed, pre-processing of the data, generation of images of dispersion, extraction of dispersion curves and inversion. The combination of images generated based on data acquired from various sources resulted in image with improved signal to noise ratio and consequently in the production of finest curves that have been inverted to generate the 1D shear-wave velocities profiles. In general, the velocity profiles obtained from the data were acquired with the use of a sledgehammer to the wave generation mapped shallowest geological interfaces, but the resulting profiles of the acquired data using a font type \"drop weight\" reached greater depths, sometimes sampling the basement. In the case of passive sources, the main contact interfaces were imaged, achieving successful mapping of the basement, which in this area is over 50 meters deep. Correlations with the lithological profile and SPT data from a borehole located in the center of the array revealed that the differences in the depth determination of the interfaces was less than 10%. Thus, the method showed to be an efficient and practical tool in geotechnical applications, especially in urban areas where the noise is high, which often prevents the use of conventional seismic survey (reflection or refraction).

Les méthodes de surveillance et d'inspection des structures en béton sont indispensables pour évaluer les dégradations du béton. L'étendue des dommages peut entraîner des frais considérables pour l'entretien et la réparation. Les techniques d'évaluation non destructives du béton durci aident à contrôler l'état de dégradation des structures de béton et ces résultats fournissent l'information nécessaire pour mettre en place l'entretien éventuel et les réparations nécessaires. Cette étude concerne l'utilisation des méthodes d'investigation basées sur la propagation des ondes de surface Rayleigh pour la caractérisation non intrusive des structures de béton. Des simulations numériques ont été effectuées pour examiner la propagation des ondes élastiques sur une dalle de béton afin de caractériser cette structure en utilisant la méthode MASW ( Modal Analysis of Surface Waves ). La technique MASW a été développée à l'Université de Sherbrooke pour le domaine de la géotechnique et du contrôle des infrastructures civiles. Les résultats des simulations numériques ont démontré plusieurs aspects importants dans la formation et la propagation des ondes de Rayleigh pour caractériser les couches de béton en profondeur.

Presented in this thesis are two studies that apply nondestructive testing methods to civil engineering problems. The first study examines the relationship between the small-strain and large-strain properties of exhumed cast iron water pipes. Nondestructive and destructive testing programs were performed on eight pipes varying in age from 40 to 130 years. New applications of frequency domain analysis techniques including Fourier and wavelet transforms of ultrasonic pulse velocity measurements are presented. The effects of Lamb wave propagation on the ultrasonic testing results are investigated. Microstructure evaluation revealed two different types of cast iron within the pipes sampled: grey cast iron and ductile iron. A low correlation between wave propagation and large-strain measurements was observed. However, the wave velocities were consistently different between ductile and grey cast iron pipes (14% to 18% difference). Lamb waves were found to contribute significantly to the frequency content of the ultrasonic signals possibly resulting in the poor correlations observed. Therefore, correlations between wave velocities and large strain properties obtained using samples from exhumed water pipes must be used with caution in the condition assessment of aged water pipes especially for grey cast iron pipes. The second study presented in this thesis was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of three geophysical methods for geotechnical site characterization in swamps and environmentally sensitive wetland areas. The geophysical methods evaluated were electrical resistivity imaging (ERI), seismic refraction (SR), and multiple-channel analysis of surface waves (MASW). The geophysical test results were verified against the results from borehole and CPT logs. The ERI results were best for determining the depth to the glacial till. The SR results overestimated the depth to the till because of the presence of a stiffness reversal. The MASW results predicted the depth to the refusal till layer less accurately than the ERI method. However, this method was able to detect the three distinct layers above the till. These methods can be used as a basis for further development to optimize a procedure to reduce the number of boreholes required for conventional site investigations in areas that are environmentally sensitive or where access is restricted.