Scattering of obliquely incident seismic waves by a cylindrical valley in a layered half-space

Three-dimensional scattering of seismic waves by a cylindrical alluvial valley embedded in a layered half-space is investigated by using the combination of the boundary integral representation and the finite element method. The surface displacements due to incident plane harmonic body waves (P, SV and SH) propagating at an arbitrary angle to the axis of the cylindrical valley are evaluated numerically for two semi-elliptical alluvial valleys. The presence of the layer is found to have a strong effect on the amplification of the surface displacements in some cases. The three-dimensional motion seems to be quite critical and may cause large amplification. The surface ground motion becomes significant when compared with corresponding free-field motion as the wavelengths become comparable to the characteristic length of the valley. The maximum amplification always occurs atop the valley. Numerical results show that the amplitude and the amplification pattern of the surface displacement strongly depend upon the frequency, the angle and the type of the incident waves.