EARTHQUAKE-GENERATION MECHANISM: ELASTIC

REBOUND THEORY

The elastic rebound theory formulated by Harry F. Reid of Johns Hopkins

University shortly after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake in California.
Thus, according to the elastic rebound theory, earthquakes are generated
according to the following process (see Figure 3.17):
1. Stresses are generated and gradually accumulated along the sides of a
fault as a result of the relative motion between such two sides and the
friction forces that resist this motion.
2. Stresses along the sides of the fault overcome the frictional resistance of
the fault.
3. Fault suddenly slips.
4. The two sides of the fault rebound to an unstressed state causing a
disturbance.
5. Disturbance is propagated in the form of radial waves.
The concepts behind the elastic rebound theory serve not only to explain
the mechanism that generates earthquakes, but also to develop a technique
to determine the orientation of the causative fault. With reference to
Figure 3.19, it may be noted that after the rupture of a fault and the
rebound of its two sides, the rock adjacent to the fault will be subjected to
the distribution of tensile and compressive stresses shown in this figure.
That is, compressive stresses in two diametrically opposed quadrants and
tension stresses in the other two.
Schematic representation of elastic rebound theory
FOCUS, EPICENTER, RUPTURE SURFACE, AND FAULT SLIP

According to the elastic rebound theory, earthquakes originate right after a fault suddenly
ruptures. This rupture, however, is neither instantaneous nor concentrated at a single point.
Rather, it begins at a point below the earth’s surface, spreads across the fault plane with a
velocity V, and finally stops after the rupture extends to cover an area with an average length L
and average width W. In the process, the two fault surfaces are offset by a finite amount referred
to as the fault slip. Thus, earthquakes are characterized by the location of their focus or epicenter,
their focal depth, the size and orientation of the associated fault’s rupture surface, and the fault
slip.
With reference to Figure 3.21 and for the purpose of this characterization (Earthquake
Mechanism):
The Focus or Hypocenter of an Earthquake is defined as the point where the rupture of the
associated fault originates. The focus of the earthquake may be defined as the weak point at
which the first rupture occurs.
Epicenter is defined as the projection of the hypocenter on the earth’s surface.
Rupture Surface is considered to be the area within the fault plane that is displaced during an
earthquake.
Fault Slip is the corresponding relative displacement between the two sides of the fault.
Note :
 The ruptured area during an earthquake may range from a few to
thousands of square kilometers.
 A parameter related to fault displacement that is often used to characterize
the activity of earthquake faults is the Slip Rate. For a given fault, slip rate
is calculated by dividing the cumulative displacement of the fault,
determined from offset geological or geomorphic features, by the estimated
age at which the earliest displacement took place. Thus, slip rate is an
average value over a geological time interval.
FORESHOCKS AND AFTERSHOCKS

Large earthquakes are usually preceded and followed by a sequence of

tremors of smaller size that originate at approximately the same location.
The tremors preceding the so-called main shock are known as
Foreshocks. Those following the main shock are called Aftershocks.
Foreshocks are normally small in size and only a few occur before an
earthquake. Moreover, not all earthquakes are preceded by a foreshock.
Aftershocks may be relatively large in number and size, but their
frequency and size gradually decreases with time. Foreshocks are
believed to be the precursors of the fault rupture that generates the main
earthquake, whereas aftershocks are considered to be the result of
adjustments to the stress imbalances produced by such rupture.
Aftershocks almost as large as the main event have been observed in the
past.
Seismic Waves

The large strain energy released during an earthquake travels in the form of
seismic waves in all directions (Fig. 1.8), with accompanying reflections from
earth’s surface as well as reflections and refractions as they traverse the earth’s
interior (Fig. 1.9 ).
The seismic waves have as their theoretical origin the focus of the earth and
propagate in spherical wave fronts through the earth up to surface.
When the stored energy increases to levels that exceed the ability of the
friction forces to hold the plate boundaries together, sliding along those
boundaries occurs, creating a phenomenon known as elastic rebound. Elastic
rebound releases the stored energy in the form of seismic strain waves in all
directions. This marks the onset of an earthquake event. Figure 2-2 shows the
different types of seismic strain waves that are generated by earthquakes.
Strain waves are classified into two main groups:
1. Body Waves, which propagate through the earth’s mass. Body waves are
classified as :
(a) Fast primary waves (primary, longitudinal, or compressional waves) or
P-waves. It is condensation-rarefaction waves that involve volume changes.
It can travel across both solids and fluids.
(b) Slow shear waves (secondary, transverse, or shear waves) or S-waves. It
is shear waves and do not imply volume changes. It cannot travel across a
fluid part of the earth. They are sometimes called secondary waves because
they travel more slowly than P-waves in the same material.
2. Surface Waves (Q), that propagate through the earth’s crust. Surface
waves are classified as:

(a) Rayleigh waves or R-waves produce, as P-wave do, volume change.

(b) Love waves or L-waves propagate, the same as S-wave, with a
horizontal translation of particles, normally in the direction of the wave
motion.
Note:
 Body waves can be used to estimate the distance of the site of
measurement from the earthquake source. Because P-waves are faster than
S-waves, a measurement of the time difference between their arrivals at the
site can be converted into a distance.
 Note that these seismic strain waves travel through random media that
modify the waves with an infinite number of effects, which include filtering,
amplification, attenuation, reflection and refraction. These random
modifications give each site a different wave profile, making it very difficult
to predict the characteristics of an earthquake at a specific site. The extreme
randomness and uncertainty of earthquake characteristics require the use of
probabilistic means in the treatment and design of structures. Therefore, the
design and survival of structures is also based on probabilistic consideration
of earthquake excitations.
 The material particles in S-waves oscillate at right angles to the direction of
propagation of the wave [Fig. 1.10(b)], and cause shearing deformations as they
travel through a material. The direction of particle movement can be used to divide
S-waves into two components, SV (vertical plane movement) and SH (horizontal
plane movement). S-waves do not change the instantaneous volume of the material
through which they pass. However, the instantaneous shape of the material gets
distorted. The velocity of S-waves is directly proportional to the shear strength of
the material through which they pass. S-waves do not travel through liquids as
fluids have no shearing stiffness.
 In association with the effects of L-waves, S-waves cause maximum damage to
structures by rocking the surface in both horizontal and vertical directions.
When P- and S-waves reach the earth’s surface, most of their energy is reflected
back. Some of this energy is returned to the surface after being reflected from
different layers of soil and rock. Shaking due to earthquakes is more severe (about
twice as much) at the earth’s surface than at substantial depths.
 L-waves cause surface motion similar to that caused by S-waves, but with no
vertical component [Fig. 1.10(c)]. These are produced from the interaction of SH-
waves with a soft surficial layer and have no vertical component of particle
motion. L-waves are always dispersive, and are often described as SH-waves that
are trapped in by multiple reflections within the surficial layers.
 Rayleigh waves make a material particle oscillate in an elliptical path in the
vertical plane (with horizontal motion along the direction of energy transmission)
as shown in Fig. 1.10(d). These are produced by the interaction of P- and SV-
waves with the surface of earth. The velocity of Rayleigh waves depends on
Poisson’s ratio of the material through which they pass. Rayleigh waves are
believed to be the principal component of ground roll. Ground roll is a form of
coherent linear noise which propagates at the surface of earth, at low velocity and
low frequency.
Seismographs

The seismic wave are recorded by means of seismographs. Generally these

are instruments that record three orthogonal components of ground motion,
two horizontal ones and a vertical one. Seismographs can be designed to
record the acceleration, the velocity or the displacements of the seismic
ground motion. The most used for earthquake engineering purpose are those
which record acceleration, named accelerometers. The components of the
recorded ground acceleration a (t), named ax (t), ay (t) and az (t). The records
obtained from a seismograph are called seismograms. A seismogram is thus a
record of the variation with time of the displacement of the ground,
magnified by the magnification factor of the seismograph, at the location
where the seismograph is installed.
These are the basic elements of a seismograph:
1. The sensor, a device capable of providing a measurable signal of its
base motion.
2. The signal conditioning device, which is amplifies and filters the
output of the sensor. It may consist of a mechanical, optical or
electronic system, in accordance with the nature of the mentioned
output.
3. The recorder, a device that turns the conditional signal into a form
that can be used in seismology or in the earthquake engineering
calculus. The output of the recorder can be expressed on a magnetic
tape, a recording paper or film, or a digital record on a magnetic tape.

The arrival of P, S, and surface waves may be detected in a

seismogram by considering that the P, S, and surface waves arrive at
different times, have different amplitudes, and have different dominant
periods (i.e., interval between peaks). This way, the arrival of the P and
S waves can be clearly identified in the seismogram
Measures of Earthquakes

Earthquake measures quantify the size and effect of earthquakes. The size of an earthquake is measured
by the amount of energy released at the source, its magnitude, whereas the effect of an earthquake at
different locations is measured by its intensity at a specific site. Figure 2-3 defines the relevant
components of an earthquake with its measures at the source and at any site.
Magnitude
The size of an earthquake at its source is known as the magnitude of the
earthquake and is measured by the Richter scale. The magnitude, M, is
given as
M = log A
where:
A = Amplitude in mm measured on a Wood-Anderson type seismometer.
The earthquake may be described in general terms according to the
value of M as follows:
M = 1 to 2: Earthquake is barely noticeable.
M < 5: Earthquake is not expected to cause structural damage.
M > 5: Earthquake is expected to cause structural damage.
M = 8, 9: Earthquake causes the most structural damage recorded.
Note that ground motion intensity decreases with the distance from
focus.
Therefore, M does not measure local destructiveness of earthquakes.
The M-value is only an indication of the energy released.
Intensity

Intensity is a subjective measure of the local destructiveness of an earthquake at a given site.

Intensity scales are based on human feelings and observations of the effect of ground motion
on natural and man-made objects. The most popular scale of intensity is called the Modified
Mercalli scale (MM). This scale is divided into twelve grades (I to XII) as follows:
I. Not felt except under exceptionally favorable circumstances.
II. Felt by persons at rest.
III. Felt indoors; may not be recognized as an earthquake.
IV. Windows, dishes and doors disturbed; standing motor cars rock noticeably.
V. Felt outdoors; sleepers wakened; doors swung.
VI. Felt by all; walking unsteady; windows and dishes broken.
VII. Difficult to stand; noticed by drivers; fall of plaster.
VIII. Steering of motor cars affected; damage to ordinary masonry.
IX. General panic; weak masonry destroyed, ordinary masonry heavily damaged.
X. Most masonry and frame structures destroyed with foundations; rails bent slightly.
XI. Rails bent greatly; underground pipes broken.
XII. Damage total; objects thrown into the air.
Note that MM depends on the magnitude of the earthquake and on the distance between the
site and the source. This scale may be expressed as a function of magnitude and distance
from the epicenter by the following expression:
MM = 8.16 + 1.45 M - 2.46 ln r
where:
MM = Modified Mercalli scale intensity grade.
M = Earthquake magnitude (Richter scale).
R = Distance from epicenter (km).
A plot of this relation is shown in Figure 2-4.
Instrumental Scale
In general, both magnitude and intensity scales of earthquakes are useful in
estimating the size and severity of earthquakes. However, they are not useful
for engineering purposes, especially in structural engineering. Structural
engineers need a quantitative measure that can be used in analysis and design.
This measure is provided in an accelerogram, which is a record of the ground
acceleration versus time.
A correlation between the peak ground acceleration and the MM scale has been
observed. Statistical analysis shows that the following approximate relations may
be used for estimate purposes.