Two-dimensional site seismic response analysis for a strategic building in Catania

This study is part of a more extensive research aimed to the seismic risk mitigation in Eastern Sicily. The earthquakes that occurred in Sicily in 1169, 1542, 1693, 1818, 1908 and more recently in 1990, testify the high level of seismic hazard in this region. It is well recognized that local seismic effects can exert a significant influence on the distribution of damage during earthquake. Traditionally, these effects are studied by means of simple one–dimensional (1-D) models of seismic wave propagation, which take only the influence of the stratigraphic profile and soil proprieties into to account for the site seismic response. It is known that the seismic response is strongly influenced by stratigraphic and topographic features that can reduce or amplify the earthquake induced ground motion depending on the soil stiffness and on the ground topography. This paper concerns the results of a two-dimensional (2-D) finite element analysis carried out to evaluate the response of the site where the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) building is located in the town of Catania. The analysis, performed using as seismic input the accelerogram recorded in 1990 during the Santa Lucia earthquake, allowed to make some considerations about the expected accelerations at that the site and some comparison with the peak accelerations prescribed by Italian seismic code