Amplification Pattern of Semi-Sine Shaped Valleys Subjected to Vertically Propagating Incident SH Waves

In this paper, different amplification patterns of 2-D semi-sine shaped valleys and their surroundings subjected to vertically propagating incident out-of-plane SH waves are presented. The half-plane time domain BEM approach proposed by the authors was used to obtain the results. Compared to the previous studies on boundary elements, avoiding a wide range of ground surface meshing and focusing the elements only on the valley surface were the obvious distinctions of the present study. In this regard, effects of key parameters such as shape ratio of the valley and wavelength of incident waves were considered. Evaluation of the results indicated significant influence of the mentioned parameters on the valley surface behavior. Also, the amplification potential of semi-sine shaped valley under vertically out-of-plane SH wave had a higher amplitude than in-plane SV wave. The obtained results can be used for seismic micro-zonation discussion in order to correct and complete the existing studies.