Use in practice of seismic tests according to Eurocodes

Seismic tests consist in the measurement of propagation velocity of body or surface waves into the subsoil or at the contact soil/air or soil/water. Surface waves are dispersive by nature and propagate along the contact surface of two media having very different properties. Surface waves velocities can be measured at ground surface or at the sea floor. Body wave velocities are measured in hole and therefore require a single or multiple holes. A cost effective way of conducting such a test is to push into the soil the receivers as in the case of Seismic CPT (SCPT) or Seismic DMT (SDMT). Measurements require a source, single or multiple receivers, trigger and data acquisition system. This KN paper gives some details about testing procedures and focuses on the practical use of seismic measurements in Civil Engineering. More specifically, the following applications are considered: assessment of seismic action at a given site, definition of impedance function for dynamic soil-structure interaction, in situ assessment of damping ratio. A comparative case that was conducted at the University of Pavia campus, is shown.