Investigation of correlations between shear wave velocities and CPT data: a case study at Eskisehir in Turkey

Seismic waves result from fault movement during earthquakes. Depending on the features of the physical environment through which they pass, there are variations in the velocity and amplitude of body waves, which occur underground, and surface waves, which occur on the Earth’s surface. The ratio of shear wave velocity ( V s ) to near-surface velocity is a parameter used widely in land use planning to predict the potential for amplified seismic shaking, especially in urban areas. The main objective of this study was to estimate V s by using cone resistance ( q c ) and lateral friction ( f s ) for a study area at Eskisehir Graben, to help mitigate geotechnical earthquake engineering problems in civil engineering and land use planning. In geotechnical shallow soil research, certain geophysical methods are used for measuring V s —a major form of seismic energy propagation—at the near surface. In this study, cone penetrometer data collected from seismic cone penetration tests (SCPT) includes q c , f s , and downhole V s . S-type seismic energy waveforms, which are produced on the surface, were measured at different depths using an S-type geophone in the city center of Eskisehir via SCPT. With SCPT, q c , friction ratios ( R f ), and V s values were measured at 42 different test points. R f properties are associated with soil thickness, and these were compared with dynamic soil properties ( V s ) using a standard statistical method; we calculated correlations amongst V s , q c , and R f measured from cone penetration tests.