Preparation of Vs30 shear wave velocity maps for Kayseri city center

In the field observations performed in the earthquake-affected regions after the devastating earthquakes, it is observed that the structural damage can be variable. For this reason, in earthquake resistant construction, the ground conditions should be good as well as the strength and quality of the structure. From this point of view, knowing the local ground conditions is very crucial in earthquake resistant city planning. The shear wave (S wave) is the second wave that reaches the earth from earthquake waves, and is also called transverse wave, taking into account the movement direction. The propagation velocity (Vs) of the shear wave in the soil is a parameter that reveals the strength and quality of the soil. Soil or rock masses with high shear waves have higher strength. The Vs30 value is defined as the average value of the shear wave velocities obtained as a result of seismic studies in the field up to a depth of 30 m, and soil classifications can be executed using this value. Kayseri province is one of the important provinces in our Central Anatolia Region where construction and industry are intense. On the other hand, Kayseri province is surrounded by active fault lines from the north and south. For this reason, it is important to know the local ground conditions in earthquake resistant construction in this province, which is under earthquake risk. In this thesis study, Vs30 values directly obtained by geophysical methods from previous survey studies for city planning in some settlement areas where settlements are dense in Kayseri and Vs values found by empirical methods considering SPT N30 values obtained from Standard Penetration tests, Vs30, ground amplification and soil classification maps were prepared with the help of Geographical Information Systems. These maps, prepared within the scope of this study, reveal that shear wave velocities decrease in the plains of Kayseri city center. On the other hand, shear wave velocity values increase and ground amplification values decrease in rock masses towards the north and south of the city. It is thought that the maps presented in this study will guide the development city planning studies.