A web application prototype for the multiscale modelling of seismic input

TL;DR

This paper presents a web application prototype that simplifies the generation of synthetic seismograms for earthquake modeling, enabling non-experts to produce seismic scenarios quickly and explore parameter effects interactively.

Contribution

It introduces a user-friendly web tool that encapsulates complex seismic modeling codes, making seismic input generation accessible to non-specialists and supporting educational and engineering applications.

Findings

Enables quick, near real-time seismic scenario generation

Facilitates parametric testing of earthquake models

Assists civil engineers in seismic design and analysis

Abstract

A web application prototype is described, aimed at the generation of synthetic seismograms for user-defined earthquake models. The web application graphical user interface hides the complexity of the underlying computational engine, which is the outcome of the continuous evolution of sophisticated computer codes, some of which saw the light back in the middle '80s. With the web application, even the non-experts can produce ground shaking scenarios at the local or regional scale in very short times, depending on the complexity of the adopted source and medium models, without the need of a deep knowledge of the physics of the earthquake phenomenon. Actually, it may even allow neophytes to get some basic education in the field of seismology and seismic engineering, due to the simplified intuitive experimental approach to the matter. One of the most powerful features made available to the users is indeed the capability of executing quick parametric tests in near real-time, to explore the relations between each model's parameter and the resulting ground motion scenario. The synthetic seismograms generated through the web application can be used by civil engineers for the design of new seismo-resistant structures, or to analyse the performance of the existing ones under seismic load.