The possible amplification of seismic waves in soil deposits is crucial for the seismic design of buildings and geotechnical systems. The most common approaches for the numerical simulation of seismic site response are the equivalent linear (EQL) and the nonlinear (NL). Even though their advantages and limitations have been investigated in several studies, the relative field of applicability is still under debate.This study tested both methods over a wide population of soil models, which were subjected to a set of acceleration time histories recorded from strong earthquakes. A thorough comparison of the results of the EQL and the NL approaches was carried out, to identify the conditions in which the relative differences are significant. This assessment allowed for the definition of simplified criteria to predict when the two schemes are or are not compatible for large expected shaking levels. The proposed criteria are based on simple and intuitive parameters describing the soil deposit and the ground‐motion parameters, which can be predicted straightforwardly. Therefore, this study provides a scheme for the choice between the EQL and the NL approaches that can be used even at the preliminary design stages. It appears that the EQL approach provides reliable amplification estimates in soil deposits with thickness up to 30 m, except for very deformable soils, but this depth range may be extended at long vibration periods. This result reveals a good level of reliability of the EQL approach for various soil conditions encountered in common applications, even for high‐intensity shaking.

中文翻译：

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选择用于抗震建筑设计的地面响应分析方法的简化标准：等效线性与非线性方法

土壤沉积物中地震波的可能放大对于建筑物和岩土系统的抗震设计至关重要。地震现场响应数值模拟最常用的方法是等效线性 (EQL) 和非线性 (NL)。尽管在几项研究中已经研究了它们的优点和局限性，但相关的适用领域仍然存在争议。 本研究在大量土壤模型上测试了这两种方法，这些模型受到一组从强地震记录的加速时间历程的影响. 对 EQL 和 NL 方法的结果进行了彻底比较，以确定相对差异显着的条件。该评估允许定义简化的标准，以预测两种方案何时适合或不适合大的预期震动水平。所提出的标准基于描述土壤沉积物和地面运动参数的简单直观的参数，这些参数可以直接预测。因此，本研究为 EQL 和 NL 方法之间的选择提供了一种方案，即使在初步设计阶段也可以使用。似乎 EQL 方法在厚度高达 30 m 的土壤沉积物中提供了可靠的放大估计，但非常易变形的土壤除外，但此深度范围可能会在长振动周期中扩展。该结果表明 EQL 方法对于常见应用中遇到的各种土壤条件具有良好的可靠性，