PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE USING A SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURE TO MEASURE AVERAGE SHEAR-WAVE VELOCITY TO A DEPTH OF 30 METERS ( VS 30 )

VS30 is used in the NEHRP Provisions and the 1997 Uniform Building Code to separate sites into classes for earthquake engineering design. VS30 can also be incorporated into local seismic hazard maps. Surface wave methods have been used to estimate VS30 for a number of years. These methods are nondestructive, and sample a larger volume of the subsurface as compared to borehole measurements.