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It has been widely recognised that near-fault ground motions can be distinctly different from far-fault ground motions, in terms of their amplitudes and spectral characteristics, and there are a number of studies investigating the effects of near-fault ground motions on the structural response. However, only a few studies focus on underground tunnels, and most of them consider vertically incident seismic waves, neglecting the wave passage effect which is critical for long tunnels. This paper investigates the consequences of near-fault pulse-like ground motions on the seismic tunnel response, with an example of a tunnel embedded in saturated poroelastic soil. The input motions are represented by obliquely incident P1 waves, and the wave passage effect along the longitudinal direction is considered by a 2.5D modelling technique. The seismic tunnel response for near-fault pulse-like and far-fault ground motions is compared. Additionally, artificial ground motions, which have consistent acceleration response spectra with the near-fault pulse-like ground motions, but without velocity pulses, are generated to gain further insight into the contribution of velocity pulses. It is shown that the near-fault pulse-like ground motions can noticeably increase the tunnel internal forces, due to large seismic energy associated with the velocity pulses. For pulse-like ground motions with similar acceleration response spectra, the fling-step velocity pulse can be more detrimental to the tunnel than the forward-directivity velocity pulse. Moreover, the amplification effect of the near-fault pulse-like ground motions on the tunnel internal forces tends to be more prominent for large vertical angles of incidence, highlighting the significance of considering the oblique incidence case for seismic design. • Interaction of the tunnel and saturated poroelastic soil for obliquely incident seismic waves. • The longitudinal tunnel response due to the wave passage effect. • Near-fault pulse-like ground motions tend to increase internal forces in the tunnel lining. • Effects of forward-directivity and fling-step velocity pulses. • Influences of pulse-like ground motions are more prominent for large vertical angles of incidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Segmented tunnels are widely used nowadays. However, most existing studies on the seismic response of underground tunnels are based on the model of continuous linings, without considering the segment joints. This paper presents a numerical study aiming to investigate the factors that affect the seismic response of segmented tunnels, with a step further than previously, considering obliquely incident seismic waves. The numerical simulation is carried out by a 2.5D coupled finite element-boundary element (FE-BE) model, which can properly simulate the soil-tunnel interaction for obliquely incident seismic waves and predicts both the transverse and longitudinal seismic responses of the tunnel. It is shown that the joint distribution is one of the critical factors that determine the seismic responses of the segmented tunnel, and the influence of the segment joints tends to be more pronounced when they are located near the positions of large transverse bending moments in the tunnel lining. Compared with the homogeneous tunnel, the reduction in the transverse bending moment and axial force of the segmented tunnel is significant, while it is minor in the longitudinal bending moment and axial force, and the effect of the segment joints highly depends on the soil-tunnel relative stiffness. In addition, the influence of the spectral characteristics of the input motions on the tunnel responses is highlighted. • Dynamic soil-segmented tunnel interaction for 3D obliquely incident seismic waves. • The segment joints lead to smaller tunnel internal forces while larger deformations. • The effects of the segment joints on the tunnel longitudinal internal forces are small. • The effects of the segment joints highly depend the soil-tunnel relative stiffness. • Input motions with significant long-period spectral accelerations cause large tunnel responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Application of local artificial boundary conditions in high-efficient spectral element method (SEM) is a problem that needs further study, where difficulties focus on how to design an appropriate numerical scheme of artificial boundaries that is in good accordance with the unequally-spaced grid nodes and high-order property of the element. Liao's local artificial boundary, i.e. multi-transmitting formula (MTF), provides a convenient way of implementing arbitrary-order displacement-type boundaries because it is defined directly in discrete form and can be transformed into numerical schemes by using merely some interpolation approaches. A new set of numerical schemes of MTF is developed and its accuracy and stability are thoroughly discussed in the application of spectral-element simulation of 1D and 2D seismic wave propagation. The new MTF scheme cannot be written into a binomial form like the traditional one does. This fact has a significant influence on numerical properties of high-order boundary, but merely slightly affects the performance of lower-order boundaries which are daily used in practical simulations. Numerical examples compared with viscous-spring or perfectly matched layer (PML) boundary exhibits that stable and quite good accuracy can be achieved by using the proposed method. • A set of numerical schemes of MTF boundary are proposed for spectral-element simulation of seismic wave propagation. • It is a method of implementing displacement-type artificial boundaries in unequally-spaced spectral-element grid. • Spectral-element MTFs don't have the binomial form as traditional MTFs, leading to a slight reduction on accuracy. • Compared to viscous-elastic and PML boundaries, 2nd- or 3rd-order MTFs are much simpler and can give quite good results. • Seismic wave input through artificial boundaries can be easily achieved by using the MTF boundary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]