Local site conditions have a strong effect on ground response during earthquakes. Two important soil parameters that control the amplification effects of seismic motions by a soil column are the soil hysteretic damping ratio and shear wave velocity. This paper presents the results of in situ damping ratio measurements performed using continuous surface wave attenuation data at a site in Semnan University campus and analysis used to obtain the near surface soils damping ratio profile. Once the frequency dependent attenuation coefficients are determined, the shear damping ratio profile is calculated using an algorithm based on constrained inversion analysis. A computer code is developed to calculate the shear damping ratio in each soil layer. Comparisons of the in situ shear damping ratio profile determined from continuous surface wave with cross hole independent test measurements are also presented. Values of shear damping ratio, obtained using continuous surface wave measurements, were less than the measured using cross hole tests, possibly because of the higher frequencies used in cross hole tests.

Keywords: Continuous surface waves, Damping ratio, Soil attenuation, Hysteresis loop

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