Simulation of Near-Fault Pulse-Like Ground Motion and Investigation of Seismic Response Characteristics in Subway Stations

The availability of reasonable input ground motions is a prerequisite for investigating the seismic response of near-fault structures. Currently, realistic near-fault pulse-like seismic records are lacking internationally. Moreover, the existing records exhibit distinct regional characteristics, which hardly meet the demand for seismic analysis of various engineering structures. Collecting and analyzing the pulse-like seismic records, a linear attenuation expression is proposed in this study to describe the time-varying frequency amplitude decay over duration. On this basis, a new model compatible with horizontal and vertical components is developed for near-fault ground motions. The model parameters are estimated for 100 near-fault records and regressed against the prediction equations. The variability and correlation of the ground motion in two directions are analyzed through the residual correlation matrix. Finally, taking a subway station as the engineering background, the effects of velocity pulse and vertical seismic motions on the underground structures are addressed through simulated motions and realistic records. Compared with existing approaches, the proposed method not only aligns with the time-frequency distribution characteristics of near-fault ground motions but also considers the correlation between horizontal and vertical components. In addition, consistent with the results from recorded ground motions, the synthetic motions yield enlarged seismic responses of the underground structure, thereby guaranteeing analysis accuracy for the engineered structures subjected to pulse-like ground motions. The inclusion of vertical excitation prominently amplifies the vertical displacement of the slab under pulse-like ground motions.