Selection of ground motion time histories for nonlinear analysis of earth dams.

The selection of natural accelerograms for use in nonlinear analyses of earth dams is still a challenging issue. Customary approaches make essentially use of factors such as earthquake magnitude, distance and site class to obtain spectrum-compatible records with a target spectrum. However, wide ranges in displacements predictions can still occur when these accelerograms are used in nonlinear dynamic analyses of dams. In this paper the selection of a suite of seven accelerograms to be used as input for the dynamic analyses of an earth dam in Central Italy is presented. The influence of ground motion parameters such as duration and Arias intensity on the dynamic response is highlithed and its valuable assistance in selecting input ground motion is emphasized