Three‐dimensional analysis of spatially varying ground motions around a uniform canyon in a homogeneous half‐space

Abstract Department of Civil Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, U.S.A. A direct boundary element method to determine the three‐dimensional seismic response of an infinitely‐long canyon of arbitrary but uniform cross‐section cut in a homogeneous viscoelastic half‐space is presented. The seismic excitation is represented by P, SV, SH or Rayleigh waves at arbitrary angles with respect to the axis of the canyon. The accuracy of the procedure and implementing computer program is demonstrated by comparison with previous solutions for the limiting case of two‐dimensional response, recently obtained three‐dimensional response results for infinitely‐long canyons, and three‐dimensional boundary method solutions presented in this paper for finite canyons.