{"id":1557,"date":"2021-10-30T20:14:36","date_gmt":"2021-10-30T18:14:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gein.noa.gr\/?page_id=1557"},"modified":"2021-12-08T11:58:22","modified_gmt":"2021-12-08T09:58:22","slug":"engineering-seismology","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.gein.noa.gr\/en\/research\/research-topics\/engineering-seismology\/","title":{"rendered":"Engineering Seismology"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The scientific domain between seismology and earthquake engineering focuses on the characteristics of ground shaking due to earthquakes, which in turn affects our structures and infrastructures founded at any given location.<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
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\u00a0Why study this topic? The challenges<\/b><\/h2>\n

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Engineering seismology is the field linking seismologists to engineers. Seismology studies how earthquakes happen, while earthquake engineering studies how structures respond to them. Norman Abrahamson, one of the most renowned scientists in this field, has been known to say that \u2018Engineers do not design for earthquakes; they design for ground motions\u2019. Indeed, engineers do not design our society\u2019s buildings and infrastructures to withstand a given earthquake that may occur dozens or even hundreds of kilometres away, but rather to withstand a given (strong) ground motion applied at foundation level. Engineering seismology uses seismic data recorded at permanent and temporary accelerometric networks and other infrastructures, as well as theoretical and numerical tools and methods, in order to estimate the characteristics of the expected ground shaking that will determine the response of the building stock at a given region under seismic excitation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Ground motion at a given site is affected by the seismic source (the magnitude and rupture mechanism of the event), the path travelled by the seismic waves from the source (a.k.a. focus or hypocentre) to the site where the structure of interest lies, and the underground characteristics of the site itself (layering, material properties of the soils and rock formations present). The ground shaking caused by any given earthquake cannot be reduced, generally speaking, nor can it be predicted in an absolute manner. However, some of its characteristics (maximum intensity, duration, frequency content) can be estimated, and based on such predictions, the load-bearing elements of a structure can be designed so as to exhibit the required strength and serviceability during an earthquake in order to avoid casualties. Thus, advances in seismic hazard research can lead to the reduction of seismic risk and societal losses, and to the improvement of future seismic design codes.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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Our key research activities<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

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