Sliding and overturning potential of Christchurch 2011 earthquake records

The 22 February 2011 Mw 6.3 earthquake produced a number of unique accelerograms in the city of Christchurch and the port of Lyttelton. Four of these records are analyzed in this paper. The two are from the Christchurch Catholic Cathedral College and Christchurch Hospital stations in the center of the city, which were placed on top of loose sandy soils that suffered softening due to liquefaction; one is from the Lyttelton station, Lyttelton Port Company, on a rock outcrop; and one is from the station at the Heathcote Valley Primary School, on stiff colluvial silts and sands near the edge of a steep and stiff sedimentary basin. The (elastic) response spectra are discussed and related to some salient characteristics of the motions. Symmetric and asymmetric sliding of a block resting through Coulomb friction on horizontal or inclined planes and rockingoverturning of rigid blocks, when excited at their base by these records, offer a strong indication of their destructiveness potential. The corresponding sliding and overturning spectra of the 2011 records are compared with those of some historic accelerograms to get an understanding of the severity of ground shaking that caused 170 deaths and heavy geotechnical and structural damage in the city of Christchurch. The possible role played by the unusually large vertical accelerations is also explored. Copyright (c) 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.