Kinematic source model for simulation of near-fault ground motion field using explicit finite element method

This paper briefly reviews the characteristics and major processes of the explicit finite element method in modeling the near-fault ground motion field. The emphasis is on the finite element-related problems in the finite fault source modeling. A modified kinematic source model is presented, in which vibration with some high frequency components is introduced into the traditional slip time function to ensure that the source and ground motion include sufficient high frequency components. The model presented is verified through a simple modeling example. It is shown that the predicted near-fault ground motion field exhibits similar characteristics to those observed in strong motion records, such as the hanging wall effect, vertical effect, fling step effect and velocity pulse effect, etc.