INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY MADRAS, CHENNAI

Department of Civil Engineering

CE 6310 Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering

Assignment # 0: Introduction to GEE: Fundamentals of Vibration, Earthquake

Geology and Geophysics
Fundamentals of Vibration
1.

2. (a) A mass is supported by a spring. The static deflection of the spring due to the mass is
0.381 mm. Find the natural frequency vibration.
(b) For a machine foundation, given weight of the foundation = 45 kN and spring constant =
104 N/m, determine (i) natural frequency of vibration, and (ii) period of oscillation.
3. (a)

(b)

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6. Derive the equation governing the free motion of a simple pendulum, which consists of a
point mass m suspended by a light string of length L.
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8.

9. (a)

(b)

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10.

11. A reciprocating engine is mounted on a foundation as shown in Fig. 11.1. The unbalanced
forces and moments developed in the engine are transmitted to the frame and the
foundation. An elastic pad is placed between the engine and the foundation block to reduce
the transmission of vibration. Develop two mathematical models of the system using a
gradual refinement of the modeling process.

Figure 11.1 A reciprocating engine on a foundation

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19.

20. Calculate the natural frequency and damping ratio for the system in Fig. 20.1. Assume that
no friction acts on the rollers. Is the system overdamped, critically damped, or
underdamped?

Figure 20.1
21. Consider the diving board of Fig. 21.1 For divers, a certain level of static deflection is
desirable, denoted by Δ. Compute a design formula for the dimensions of the board (b, h,
and l) in terms of the static deflection, the average diver’s mass, m, and the modulus of the
board.

Figure 21.1

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28.
Consider the simple model of a building subject to ground motion suggested in Fig.
28.1. The building is modeled as a single-degree-of-freedom spring–mass system
where the building mass is lumped atop two beams used to model the walls of the
building in bending. Assume the ground motion is modeled as having amplitude of
0.1 m at a frequency of 7.5 rad/s. Approximate the building mass by 105 kg and the
stiffness of each wall by 3.519 × 106 N/m. Compute the magnitude of the deflection
of the top of the building.

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 Figure 28.1
29.
A machine weighing 2000 N rests on a support as illustrated in Fig. 29.1. The
support deflects about 50 mm as a result of the weight of the machine. The floor
under the support is somewhat flexible and moves, because of the motion of a
nearby machine, harmonically near resonance (r = 1) with an amplitude of 2 mm.
Model the floor as base motion, assume a damping ratio of ζ = 0.01, and calculate
the transmitted force and the amplitude of the transmitted displacement.

Figure 29.1
30.

Earthquake Geology and Geophysics

31. Write short notes on the following:

(a) Geology of earthquakes (b) Continental drift and Plate tectonics
(c) Geological implications of earthquakes (d) Seismic zonation of India
(e) Engineering considerations in seismic areas
(f) Engineering and earthquake seismology (g) Tsunamis.

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32. Answer the following questions:
(a) Give your ideas about the origin and interior of earth.
(b) What are faults? Describe the different types of faults in rock with neat sketches. How
are they recognized in the field?
(c) Write a detailed account on earthquakes with particular reference to their intensity,
periodicity, causes and distribution.
(d) What determines the size of an earthquake?
(e) What controls the amount of slip in an earthquake?
(f) What physical features and factors of faulting control the extent of dynamic earthquake
rupture?
(g) How do faults grow and evolve with time?
(h) How does the earthquake process get going?
(i) How many earthquakes happen each year? How many earthquakes happen every
month? Day? Minute?
(j) How can the weight of Earth be determined?
(k) What causes the periodic reversals of the earth's magnetic field? Have there been any
successful attempts to model the phenomenon?
(l) What is the point of operating sensitive seismographs around large reservoirs?
What is the lowest number of seismographs you would install to locate local
earthquakes? And why?
(m) How long does it take a stone to fall 60 m? Now estimate how long it will take
rubble to fall from the top of a high building in an earthquake.
(n) Suppose that the fracture line for a particular rock is τ = 80 - 0.5σ, where stresses are in
MPa. What angle would the normal to a fracture plane make with σ 1 ? If σ 1 is 400 MPa
at failure, what is σ 2 ?
(o) Use Mohr’s circle to show why (a) Rocks at depth do not fracture under litho-static
pressure alone, and (b) The deviatoric stress needed for fracture increases at greater
depth.
(p) Assume that oceanic lithosphere has a thermal conductivity of 3.1 Wm-1oC-1 (a) Find the
heat flow for old oceanic lithosphere, assuming a linear temperature gradient, a basal
temperature of 1450oC, and plate thickness of 95 km. ( b) How would this value change
for a basal temperature of 1350oC and plate thickness 125 km? (c) If the lithosphere
under midplate region were thinned to 50 km while the basal temperature remains
1350oC, what would the heat flow be, assuming a linear temperature gradient?
33. (a) Write down the general expression for the normal gravity formula. Explain which
geophysical parameters determine each of the constants in the formula?
(b) What is the topographic correction in the reduction of gravity data? Why is it needed?
(c) The equatorial radius of the Earth is 6378 km and gravity at the equator is 9.780 m/s2.
Compute the ratio m of the centrifugal acceleration at the equator to the gravitational
acceleration at the equator. If the ratio m is written as 1/k, what is the value of k?
34.

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