Characterising Shear Modulus and Damping from in Situ and Laboratory Tests for the Seismic Area of Catania

The paper shows the dynamic characterisation of three different sites of the city of Catania which is one of the most seismically active areas of Italy. The results of in situ and laboratory investigations are described and compared. Moreover normalised laws are proposed to consider shear modulus decay and damping ratio increase with strain level. Special attention is paid to the variation of shear modulus and damping ratio with strain level and depth. The deposits under consideration consist of different type of soils and represent the geotechnical variability in the municipal area of Catania.