ORIGINAL PAPER

Spatial Distribution of Shear Wave Velocity for LateQuaternary Alluvial Soil of Kanpur City, Northern India

Sambit Prasanajit Naik • Nihar Ranjan Patra •

Javed N. Malik

Received: 18 December 2012 / Accepted: 12 September 2013

� Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013

Abstract Empirical correlation between standard

penetration resistance (SPT-N) and shear wave veloc-

ity measured by seismic downhole techniques are

prepared of the alluvial soil of quaternary age for the

Kanpur city. The Kanpur city is having seismic threat

from Himalaya and it falls in seismic zone III

according to seismic zones of India. Standard pene-

tration test as well seismic downhole test has been

carried out up to 30 m at twelve different locations of

Kanpur city. The measured SPT-N values and shear

wave velocity values are used to develop empirical

correlation between SPT-N and shear wave velocity.

The proposed correlations have been compared with

the existing regression equations by various other

investigators. It is found that the proposed correlation

exhibit good performance (10 % error bar). Also the

measured shear wave velocity has been used to

prepare spatially distributed contour map of 50, 75

and 100 m/s using ArcGIS-9 software. It is observed

that the shear wave velocity values for the northern

part of Kanpur city vary from 125 to 825 m/s. In

southern part, it is varying from 125 to 500 m/s where

as in the central part of the city the shear wave velocity

varies from 125 to 375 m/s. The eastern part of the city

also shows some variation in shear wave velocity

which ranges from 250 to 625 m/s. The western part of

the city shows the variation of shear wave velocity

from B125 to 500 m/s. The soil type of the study area

are classified as per NEHRP and new Italian O.P.M.C

classification system as B, C and D type soil with

having site period of 0.1–0.9 s and Poisson’s ratio

varying from 0.1 to 0.4.

Keywords Alluvial soil � Shear wave velocity �Standard penetration test � HFT � Spatial

distribution � Site period

List of symbols

SPT-N Standard penetration resistance

Vs Shear wave velocity

r Regression coefficient

GSI Geological Survey of India

PWD Public Work Department

CPWD Central Public Work Department

ASTM American Standard for Testing Material

1 Introduction

Shear wave velocity (Vs) propagation during an earth-

quake is strongly controlled by the unconsolidated

sediments like those found in alluvial deposits overlying

S. P. Naik � N. R. Patra (&) � J. N. Malik

Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of

Technology, Kanpur 208016, Uttar Pradesh, India

e-mail: nrpatra@iitk.ac.in

S. P. Naik

e-mail: psambit@iitk.ac.in

J. N. Malik

e-mail: javed@iitk.ac.in

123

Geotech Geol Eng

DOI 10.1007/s10706-013-9698-3

hard rock terrain (Kramer 1996). It is well known that a

river site is the most favorable site for human settlement.

Due to this reason site response analysis for such sites is

an important component of the seismic design in those

sites. Moreover Vs offers a promising tool for ground

response analysis in cases where there is a lack of

availability of sufficient in situ data as conducting tests

in inaccessible locations is not possible. The present

study area is situated in the Indo-Gangetic plain and

comes under seismic zone III as per the Indian Standard

code (IS 1983Part-I 2002). The study area can face

seismic hazards due to the occurrence of far source

earthquakes in the Himalayan Frontal Fault system. In

India such studies are only confined to metropolitan

cities like Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, and Bangalore

(Uma et al. 2010; Boominathan et al. 2011; Rao and

Satyam 2007; Sitharam and Anbazhagan 2008; Mhaske

and Choudhury 2011). 1803 earthquake of Gharwal

Himalaya (MW 7.5) affected buildings, archeological

monuments like QutbMinar in Delhi, long standing

temple at Bhitargaon, 27 km away from Kanpur

(Rajendran and Rajendran 2005). Also this earthquake

caused damages to the oscillations in houses, roof

collapse in cities like Agra, Mathura, Delhi and Aligarh,

Kanauj (Rajendran and Rajendran 2005). So any

earthquake of more than magnitude 7 in and near

Kumaun Himalaya can affect the buildings, monuments

due to liquefaction, shaking etc. within a range of

400 km radius area from epicenter. Figure 1 shows the

epicentral distance of 1803 earthquake. Since Kanpur is

situated within a range of 300 km of epicentral distance

of Himalayan earthquake, it is essential to study the

seismic hazards and its effect on Kanpur city shown in

Fig. 1. Several correlations between both uncorrected

and corrected SPT-N value and Vs are reported by (Seed

and Idriss 1981; Sykora and Stokoe 1983; Jinan 1987;

Lee 1990; Mayne and Rix 1995; Kiku et al. 2001;

Hasancebi and Ulusay 2007; Dikmen 2009). In India

also many attempts have been made for the correlation

of Standard penetration resistance and Shear wave

velocity. Uma et al. (2010) and Boominathan et al.

(2011) had determined the shear wave velocity for

Fig. 1 The epicentral zones of Major Historical Himalayan

earthquake. Black dotted line which shows Isosesimal zone of

1803 earthquake which includes cities like Kanpur, Banaras,

Delhi, Mathura, Lucknow, Aligarh, Agra. (After Rajendran and

Rajendran 2005)

Geotech Geol Eng

123

Chennai. Sitharam and Anbazhagan (2008) have done

similar work for Bangalore. Hanumanthrao and Ram-

anna (2008) had also studied the variation of shear wave

velocity for Delhi, India. However, the methodology

adopted for determination of shear wave velocity

includes a lot of approximation Gulerce (2010). The

SPT and Shear wave velocity data measured in the same

depth in same borehole will give more accurate

correlation than the SPT values and shear wave velocity

determined from different locations Gulerce (2010). To

minimize the approximation in data collection and

calculation of shear wave velocity, the measurement of

SPT-N values and shear wave velocity have been

collected from the same depths and same boreholes.

There is no site characterization study has been carried

out before for the study area. There is no correlation

between SPT-N and shear wave velocity is available in

any literature for Kanpur city. Also, a complete shear

wave velocity profile map for the Kanpur city is still

unavailable. In the present study an attempt has been

made to prepare the shear wave velocity profile map

along with correlation between SPT-N and Shear wave

velocity with 10 % error bar for Kanpur city. Also by

using the measured shear wave velocity, seismic site

classification based on NEHRP and NEW Italian

O.P.M.C. n classification system for the alluvial soil of

Kanpur city has been carried out. The shear wave

velocities were used for the estimation of site period of

the soil of study area.

2 Geological Setting of the Study Area

Kanpur is the largest industrial city of India. It is

having 450 km2 with an approximate population of 3

million inhabitants in its area. It lies between

26.4583�N, 80.3173�E within the Indo-Gangetic

Plain. The base map of the study area is given in

Fig. 2. The general geology of the study area is

mainly sand, silt and clay deposits of Ganga, Yamuna

and Pandu River (Tripathi 2009). The Kanpur city

composed of alluvial formation of Lower Pleistocene

to Recent Deposits. Broadly the geology of the

Kanpur region is divided into two parts, the older

alluvium and the recent alluvium with Kankar. The

recent alluvial deposits are found in Upper

Fig. 2 The geological map

of the study area showing

predominance of Alluvial

deposits along with the

locations where of SPT-N

and seismic downhole tests

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Pleistocene to recent period mostly occurring along

the course of rivers. The older alluviums, alluvial

deposit mostly occurring in the central part were

deposited during lower to upper Pleistocene period.

Though Kanpur city is having alluvial deposits and

drained by two major river systems of World, the

water table is shallow. It varies from 2 to 15 m. In

monsoon season, along the course of river water table

lies at the surface level itself.

3 Methodology

The shear wave velocity for the top 30 m (Vs30) soil

deposits is mostly widely used parameter for the site

amplification studies due to ground shaking. It is also

one of the important parameter for the site character-

ization of sites having thick soil deposits with flat

topography (Holzer et al. 2005, Kanlı et al. 2006).

Therefore, boreholes were drilled at twelve locations

up to a depth of 30 m. The SPTs were carried out at

1.5 m interval up to 30 m depth as per Indian Standard

IS-2131 (1981). Disturbed and undisturbed soil sam-

ples were collected from each borehole at 1.5 m depth

intervals. Eight borehole data were collected from

Central Public Works Department (CPWD), Lucknow

and Public work Department, Kanpur (PWD). Fig-

ure 2 shows the locations of boreholes for this study.

Typical soil profile of study area from Mandhana,

Sirhi-Itara, Karibgawn, Ramaipur and Panki sites are

shown in Fig. 3. The groundwater table in the study

area is shallow and varies between 2 and 15 m. The

area contains mainly alluvial soil deposits. The

undisturbed soil specimens extracted from boreholes

were tested in the laboratory to determine the grain

size distribution and Atterberg limits as per the ASTM

code (ASTM D4318-10 2010). The detailed soil

classification of Kanpur region shows the soil deposits

of the region constitutes 30–90 % silt, 2–99 % sand

and 2–50 % clay fraction. The gravel content is

0–11 %. The specific gravity varies from 2.62 to 2.72.

The compression index values ranges from 0.01 to

0.60. The cohesion value ranges from 0.1 to 2 kg/cm2

and the angle of friction ranges from 0 to 40 degrees.

Typical geotechnical classification for Naramau site is

given in Table 1. The data from the bore log indicates

that the alluvial tract generally contains silty sand with

some patches of loose to stiff clay layer and sandy

layer. The soil specimens are classified as ML, CL, CI

and SP according to Unified Soil Classification System

(ASTM D 2487-83-04-08 1985).

In the present study, the seismic downhole tech-

nique has been used to measure in situ compression

and shear wave velocity profiles of soil. The seismic

downhole test is the most simple and cost effective

surface wave method to estimate the shear wave

velocity (Kamil 1996). Like other surface wave

method it also involves three steps: field setup,

acquisition and construction of velocity versus time

curve and calculation of shear wave velocity profile.

The seismic downhole test was carried out as per the

American Standard for Testing Material for the

downhole test ASTM D 4428, ASTM 7400-9463

(2007, 2008). The borehole depth was 30 m from the

ground surface. CS/DS-1 Model of seismic downhole

equipment supplied by Olson Instruments. Inc, USA

were used for measurement of shear wave velocity of

the alluvial soil deposits of Kanpur city. In this present

study, the triaxial geophone was lowered to the desired

depth of measurement. The sources for the measure-

ment were generated at the surface by hitting a

hammer in wooden plank which has been attached to

the accelerometer with it to generate shear and

compressional waves at desired depth where the

geophone is located. The three component geophones

are separated 4 cm and lowered together downhole.

The generated shear and compressional wave were

recorded by the geophone and collected by the

Freedom data PC attached to the geophone. The

Freedom data pc was connected to the triaxial

geophone by means of three phase channel system.

Readings were taken at a constant depth interval of

1.5 m in each borehole up to a depth of 30 m. The

spacing between the borehole and the source was

2–3 m (Hunter et al. 2002). The vertical component of

the receiver is used to capture the vertically propagat-

ing compressional waves (P) and the radial transverse

component senses the horizontally polarized shear

wave (SH). Figure 4 illustrates the picking of shear

wave and compressional wave from the seismic

downhole test by Olson Instruments Freedom Data

PC showing the aforementioned record. Channel 5 is

the vertical component of the three component

geophone, which is measuring the vertically polarized

shear wave energy. Channels 6 and 7 are the radial and

transverse components, respectively, and they mea-

sure the compressional wave energy. Typically, the

radial component is aligned with the source and is thus

Geotech Geol Eng

123

used to measure the arrival of the compressional wave

more accurately. Channel 8 is the trigger component

from the P-SV source for timing. The arrival times of

the shear wave energy were picked by the 1st split in

polarization of the waves (Fig. 4b and it is the

transverse component of the data collected in the

Fig. 3 Typical borelog showing the soil profile with water table of the study are a Mandhana, b Karibgawn, c Sirhi-Itara, d Ramaipur

and e Panki. The diagram shows the depth of water table and the abundance of alluvial soil

Geotech Geol Eng

123

Ta

ble

1T

yp

ical

geo

tech

nic

also

ilcl

assi

fica

tio

nfo

rN

aram

auS

ite,

Kan

pu

rci

ty

Dep

th

(m)

SP

T-N

Vs

(m/s

)

Den

sity

(KN

/m3)

Sp

ecifi

c

gra

vit

y

Gra

vel

%

([4

.75

mm

)

San

d%

(4.7

5–

0.0

75

mm

)

Sil

t%

(0.0

02

–0

.07

5m

m)

Cla

y%

(\0

.00

2m

m)

LL

PL

PI

/(�

)C

(kg

/cm

2)

Gro

up

sym

bo

l

1.5

01

02

35

18

.30

2.6

60

.95

41

8.4

80

.20

31

.52

5.8

6.6

51

.10

24

.7M

L

31

42

39

18

.30

2.6

61

6.9

56

4.0

61

.71

41

.53

1.9

13

.21

.23

27

.0M

L

4.5

01

42

36

17

.90

2.6

8–

–3

3.3

54

.13

6.8

22

.91

5.8

0.3

01

0.8

CL

61

72

69

17

.50

2.6

50

.38

32

.26

8.3

–3

5.8

24

.96

.86

1.5

12

3.4

ML

7.5

21

31

01

8.8

02

.65

0.3

93

5.8

65

.3–

40

26

.01

12

1.5

02

3.2

ML

91

73

00

16

.90

2.6

93

06

04

.36

37

25

17

1.4

4.1

CI

10

.52

02

67

16

.90

2.6

70

.17

22

91

0–

––

––

SM

12

17

25

41

92

.67

0.6

81

19

0–

––

––

SM

13

.52

42

78

21

.40

2.6

70

90

91

.5–

––

––

SM

15

19

25

71

9.5

02

.67

08

31

70

.2–

––

––

SM

16

.52

02

76

19

.60

2.6

70

.18

21

80

.2–

––

––

SM

18

18

24

71

9.6

82

.67

8.3

68

1.4

10

––

––

––

S

19

.51

72

41

20

.34

2.6

42

.99

11

.8–

––

––

–S

21

15

23

51

9.8

62

.64

57

39

28

18

––

––

–G

P

22

.51

42

31

21

.08

2.6

91

65

5–

28

––

––

–S

M

24

18

22

72

1.4

72

.67

0.3

97

––

––

––

–S

25

.51

72

22

21

.67

2.6

40

.17

22

62

––

––

–S

27

19

24

02

1.4

22

.67

33

77

––

––

––

–S

M

28

.51

72

51

20

.50

2.6

42

47

6–

––

––

––

S

30

17

25

61

9.6

22

.64

4.0

39

5.1

1.0

2–

––

––

–S

Geotech Geol Eng

123

field. The arrivals of compressional wave energy were

picked by the 1st break, positive or negative at a given

depth.

The travel time of the body waves (S- and P-waves)

between each geophone and the source were recorded

by the Freedom data pc. The maximum shear and

compression wave velocities (i.e., Vs and VP) of all soil

layers were determined from the recorded data using the

WinGeo-2.3 software. In the present study the direct

method was adopted for the interpretation of downhole

seismic data as reported by Batsila (1995) and Auld

(1977). By the direct method, the picked time for the

shear wave was first calculated and then the shear wave

velocity was calculated. Typical test results showing the

variation of shear wave velocity and SPT-N with depth

for sites of the city namely for Mandhana, Sirhi-Itara,

Karibgawn and Ramaipur are shown in Fig. 5. Figure 5

indicates that a very good correlation between SPT-N

and Vs exists for all sites except Karibgawn site where it

shows wide deviation of SPT-N and Vs. For Karibgawn

site also the shear wave velocity profile follows the same

trend as obtained for other sites. However, the variation

is due to presence of older alluvium.

The shear wave velocity profile of the study area

follows the lithological boundary of the soil profile to

study the effect of lithological boundaries. The typical

diagram showing the variation of shear wave velocity

with litholgical boundary of Kanpur soil (for Panki,

Sirhi-Itara and Karibgawn site) is shown in Fig. 6. In

Fig. 6b it shows the shear wave velocity decreases at a

depth of 8–20 m. This may be due to the presence of

saturated clay layer. Similarly for Fig. 6a lower values

of Vs are observed for the soil layer at depths 11–22 m.

Saturated clayey soil layer is present at depths of

11–22 m, below the water table which is overlying and

underlying by silty layers with high percentage of

Kankar. This may be the reason for recorded lower Vs

values at depths 11–22 m.

4 Correlation Between SPT-N and Shear Wave

Velocity (VS)

It is always gives better estimation of shear wave

velocity from field experiments but it is not always

economically feasible to make experimental collection

of Vs at all locations. For the effective use of the bore log

data available statistical correlation between SPT-N

(both corrected and uncorrected) and Vs developed by

the authors for three categories of soils for the Kanpur

city. In this study 120 data pairs are used for developing

the correlation for all soil, silty soil and clayey soil.

Correlation for sandy soil cannot be developed in the

study area because of very low number of data available

for sandy soil. The proposed correlation using the

uncorrected SPT-N for Kanpur soil is given in Eqs. 1, 2

and 3 for all soil, silty soil and clay soil.

Fig. 4 a Diagram showing the Screen shot of Olson Instru-

ments Freedom Data PC during the processing of data collected

from field for a seismic downhole test. b Shows the split in 1st

polarized shear waves during the processing of seismic

downhole data

Geotech Geol Eng

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Fig. 5 Variation in

shearwave velocity and

SPT-N valuue with depth

from some of the locations

of Kanpur city a Mandhana,

b Sirhi-Itara, c Ramaipur

and d Karibgawn

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Vs ¼ 78:46N0:390 r2 ¼ 0:898� �

for all soil ð1Þ

Vs ¼ 84:08N0:368 r2 ¼ 0:866� �

for silty soil ð2Þ

Vs ¼ 81:18N0:377 r2 ¼ 0:927� �

for clay soil ð3Þ

The relationship between Vs and uncorrected SPT-

N with the coefficient of regression for all soil, silty

soil and clay soil is shown in Fig. 7.

Similarly, correlation between corrected SPT-N

and shear wave velocity has been developed for the

same soil and given in equation 4, 5 and 6.

Vs ¼ 73:53N0:40060 r2 ¼ 0:884

� �for all soil ð4Þ

Vs ¼ 77:49N0:3960 r2 ¼ 0:901� �

for silty soil ð5Þ

Vs ¼ 85:49N0:41260 r2 ¼ 0:811

� �for clay soil ð6Þ

The SPT-N has been corrected for overburden

pressure, hammer energy, borehole diameter, rod

length, water table correction according to Youd

et al. (2001). The parameter taken for the correction of

SPT-N is the penetration value, water table and

hammer type. In this present study, only attention is

given to use functional form to correlate Vs to N60.

Nearly all published correlations between SPT-N and

Shear wave velocity consider only Vs to N60 without

considering the effect of vertical effective stress

including most recent one by Dikmen (2009), Has-

ancebi and Ulusay (2007), Uma et al. (2010),

Anbazhagan et al. (2013). Also Sykora and Stokoe

(1983) evaluated Vs as a function of (N1)60 and found

poor correlation and suggested correlating with N60

instead. So the present study also uses only N60 instead

of N160. The corrected SPT-N and shear wave velocity

correlation with regression coefficient is shown in

Fig. 8.

4.1 Comparison of the Present Correlation

with the Reported Correlations

The developed correlations between the shear wave

velocity and uncorrected SPT-N values for all soil, for

silty soil and for clay soil are plotted with the available

correlations reported by others (Table 2) and are

shown in Fig. 9.

In Fig. 9a, the developed correlation and the

available correlations are plotted for ‘‘all type soil’’.

Fig. 6 Typical diagram showing the variation of shear wave velocity with lithology for Panki, Sirhi-Itara and Karibgawn site of

Kanpur region

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It can be observed, the correlations of Seed and

Idriss (1981); Iyisan (1996); Ohsaki and Iwasaki

(1973); Jafari and Asghari (1997); Imai and

Tonouchi (1982) predicts similar values of shear

wave velocity up-to SPT-N value 15 for the alluvial

soil. For the SPT-N values more than 15, the above

Fig. 7 The relationship between uncorrected SPT-N and Shear

wave velocity with regression coefficient for a all soils, b silty

soils and c clay soil

Fig. 8 The relationship between corrected SPT-N value and

Shear wave velocity with regression coefficient for a all soils,

b silty soils and c clay soils

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correlations predict higher shear wave velocity. The

correlations of Kiku et al. (2001) and Fujiwara

(1972) predicts lower shear wave velocity values for

SPT-N values of 10 for the alluvial soil. All the other

correlations listed in Table 1 including the proposed

correlation are giving more or less similar shear

wave velocity values.

Similarly comparisons are made for ‘‘silty soil’’ and

‘‘clayey soil’’. For SPT-N values 10 or more than 10,

correlations of Lee (1990); Kamil (1996) and Pitilakis

et al.(1999) predict lower values of Vs for silty soil and

for SPT-N values more than 10 these correlations

predicts more or less similar shear wave velocity. For

SPT-N value 20 or more than 20 correlations given by

Jafari and Asghari (1997) predicts higher shear wave

velocity in comparison to the predicted correlations in

the present study. Similarly for SPT-N\20, it predicts

lower values of shear wave velocity than the predicted

correlations in the present study. The comparison of

reported correlations and present study for silty soil

shown in Fig. 9b. Except these reported correlations

all other correlations listed in Table 2 predicts similar

values.

For clay soil, the correlations by Lee (1990);

Pitilakis et al. (1999) predict higher values of Vs for

SPT-N values more than 15 in comparison to the

values from the present correlation. Whereas Imai and

Tonouchi (1982); Hasancebi and Ulusay (2007)

predict lower values than the values from the present

correlation (Fig. 9c).

The developed correlations between the uncor-

rected SPT-N value and shear wave velocity for all

soils for other Indian cities have been compared with

the present correlation developed for Kanpur city

(Fig. 10). For SPT-N values more than 10, correlations

by Hanumanthrao and Ramanna (2008) and Sitharam

and Anbazhagan (2008) predict higher shear wave

velocity values whereas for SPT-N values more than

10, the correlations by Uma et al. (2010) and Mhaske

and Choudhury (2011) predict lower value of Vs.

The variation of shear wave velocity may be due to

the variation of the lithology, age of the soil and also

Table 2 Existing

correlation between SPT-N

and shear wave velocity Vs

Authors Shear wave velocity (m/s)

All soil Clay soil Silty soil

Kanai (1966) 19N0.6

Ohba and Toriumi (1970) 84N0.31 85N0.310

Imai and Yoshimura (1970) 76N0.36 –

Fujiwara (1972) 92.1N0.337 –

Ohsaki and Iwasaki (1973) 82N0.39 – 59N0.47

Imai and Yoshimura (1975) 92N0.329 –

Imai (1977) 91N0.317 80.2N0.292

Ohta and Goto (1978) 85.35N0.348 –

JRA (1980) – 100N0.33

Seed and Idriss (1981) 61N0.5 –

Imai and Tonouchi (1982) 97N0.314 –

Jafari and Asghari (1997) 22N0.85 27N0.730 22N0.77

Iyisan (1996) 51.5N0.516 –

Kiku et al. (2001) 68.3N0.292 –

Hasancebi and Ulusay (2007) 90N0.308 97.89N0.269

Uma et al. (2010) 95.64N0.301 89.31N0.358

Kamil (1996) – 175 ? 3.75N

Lee (1990) – 114.43N0.310 106N0.17

Pitilakis et al. (1999) – 132N600.271 160N0.170

Hanumanthrao and Ramanna (2008) 82.6N0.43

Sitharam and Anbazhagan (2008) 78N600.4

Mhaske and Choudhury (2011) 72N0.4

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due to site-specific studies for the prediction of shear

wave velocity from SPT-N.

A graph between the scaled percentage error and

cumulative frequency of all correlations including

proposed correlation has been plotted for all soil and

shown in Fig. 11. The scaled percentage error has

been calculated using the Eq. 7.

Scaled percentage error ¼ VsðPreÞ � VsðMesÞ=VsðMesÞ� 100

ð7ÞFrom the graph it is infer that the scaled percentage

error for Kanai (1966); Kiku et al.(2001); Ohba and

Toriumi (1970); Imai and Yoshimura (1975) is more

in comparison to the present study and shows error

margin of 0 to -60. Seed and Idriss (1981) and Jafari

and Asghari (1997)shows error margin of -20 to 40 %

which more than the scaled percentage error is for

present study. Uma et al. (2010); Iyisan (1996);

Fujiwara (1972); Hasancebi and Ulusay (2007) show

the error margin of ±15–20 % which is more than the

present study. The present study shows the 95 % of the

data shows the error margin of ±10 % for all soil of

Fig. 9 Comparison between the proposed correlation and reported correlations for a all soil, b silty soil and c clayey soil

Fig. 10 Comparison between the present study and the

reported correlations from India for all soil

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123

Kanpur city. Similar trend also found for the silty soil

and clayey soil. These result shows the predicted

correlation by the present study predicts shear wave

velocity more efficiently than the reported correlation

by various authors previously.

5 Preparation of Shear Waves Velocity Profile

Map

The collected data were converted into point layers for

the all locations of Kanpur city and an average shear

wave velocity is calculated according to the equation

suggested by Wald and Mori (2000).

Average Vs for the whole soil layer for a particular site

¼ 30

,XN

i¼1

hi

vi

� �

ð8Þ

where hi and vi indicates the thickness (in meters) and

shear wave velocity for the ith layer in a total of N

number of layers exists in a 30 m thick deposits. In this

way the average shear wave velocity were calculated

for the site recorded shear wave velocity and estimated

shear wave velocity from SPT-N. GIS is the technol-

ogy which uses modeling, analysis and presentation of

geographically referenced data. The GIS technology is

becoming a standard tool for management of natural

resources.GIS software namely ArcGis 9.2 is being

used for the preparation of shear wave velocity map.

The map of Kanpur city along with point data of

average shear wave velocity was loaded in ArcGis. In

ArcGis the shape files of the Map of Kanpur having

scale 1:50,000 are created.

Similarly polygon layers are being made using

the same data. The shear wave velocity collected

from different locations from Kanpur city along

with latitude and longitude taken from GPS were

plotted in ArcGIS 9.2. The SP line method has been

used for preparation of shear wave velocity map of

the area.

5.1 Discussion of Shear Wave Velocity Profile

Map of Kanpur City

The shear wave velocity and SPT-N values were

measured and collected from different parts of Kanpur

city and is shown in Table 3. From the present study, it

is seen that the shear wave velocity values for the

northern part of Kanpur city vary from 125 to 825 m/s.

In southern part, it is varying from 125 to 500 m/s

where as in the central part of the city the shear wave

velocity varies from 125 to 375 m/s. The eastern part

of the city also shows some variation in shear wave

velocity which ranges from 250 to 625 m/s. The

western part of the city shows the variation of shear

wave velocity from B125 to 500 m/s. To show the

spatial distribution of shear wave velocity throughout

the city a contour map of Vs of soil has been prepared

which will be helpful for design and seismic hazard

analysis. After measuring and calculating the shear

Fig. 11 Plot between

scaled percentage error and

cumulative frequency for all

soil

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123

wave velocity from developed correlations, the shear

wave velocity data were plotted on the shape file of

Kanpur city map with the help of ArcGIS 9.2 software.

To study the variation of shear wave velocity of

Kanpur city on micro, minor, and broad levels, the

spatially distributed contour maps of shear wave

velocity ‘Vs’ of soil for Kanpur city were plotted at an

intervals of 50, 75 % and 100 m/s. Figure 12 shows

the distribution of shear wave velocity with contour

interval of 50 m/s. It is found that the variation

contours of shear wave velocity are very close near

Bithoor (northern part of Kanpur) which may be due to

sudden change in soil type. The soil type of this region

is mainly silty soil, sand with calcrete/Kankar and

some patches of sand and clay layers. The water table

is shallow in this area. This area is very close to the

present channel of Ganga River. The presence of

sandy layer indicates the channel fill deposits of the

Table 3 Typical SPT-N

values with shear wave

velocity Vs of soil of some

of the locations of Kanpur

city

Locations Soil type Depth range of

borehole (m)

SPT-N

value

Measured shear

wave velocity

range (m/s)

Mandhana Silty sand 30 10–20 210–320

Naramau Silty sand 30 9–25 120–320

Panki Silty sand 30 12–28 150–400

Sirhi-Itara Sitly sand–sand–clay 30 10–31 200–300

Bakerganj Silty sand 30 6–30 200–300

Shambhua Clayey silt and sand 30 8–32 300–450

Ramaipur Silty sand 30 9–32 100–200

Karibgawn Clay–silty sand 30 12–35 200–300

Fig. 12 The contour map of shear wave velocity of interval 50 m/s for Kanpur city

Geotech Geol Eng

123

river where as the silty sand or clay type soil indicates

the flood plain deposits. This variation of soil layer

clearly tells us that the area is situated within a very

dynamic area in terms of fluvial dynamics. The

uncorrected SPT-N value for the northern part of

Kanpur city lies in between 5 and 40 with shear wave

velocity range more than 250 m/s. As a whole the

shear wave velocity of Kanpur city varies from 125 to

825 m/s. The contour map of interval 75 and 100 m/s

is shown in Figs. 13, 14 respectively.

6 Seismic Site Classifications and Site Period

Estimation of Kanpur City

The seismic site classification for the Kanpur city is

evaluated by NEHRP and new Italian O.P.C.M.n.3274/

2003 code of soil classification. The site classification

generally depends upon the geological setting and soil

thickness. According to classification the northern

part of the study area is showing higher shear wave

velocity ranges from 200 to 600 and classified as C,

and D type as per NEHRP site classification and B, C

type as per O.P.M.C site classification scheme. Higher

velocity areas (zone B and C) are shown by the

north and east part of the city which are situated near

the river bank where mostly soil type is sandy soil.

The central part and southern part of the soil

dominated by the silty and clayey soil of flood plain

deposits. The city will show moderate to low ampli-

fication according to NEHRP classification. Shear

wave velocity based classification of the soil of study

area is given in Table 4. The soil type will undergo

seismic damage during moderate to large magnitude

earthquakes.

6.1 Site Period Estimation of Kanpur Soil

First mode of vibration of the soil layer referred as site

period, one of the important parameter for seismic

microzonation. It is dependant of shear wave velocity

of the soil layer and thickness of the soil layer of the

study area. The site period is calculated by using the

expression given by Kramer (1996)

Ts ¼ 4H=Vs ð9Þ

Fig. 13 The contour map of shear wave velocity of interval 75 m/s for Kanpur city

Geotech Geol Eng

123

where, H is the total thickness of the alluvial sediments

and Vs is the average shear wave velocity of the

overburden soil. The site period calculated for the

alluvial soil using the shear wave velocity indicates

that the northern part is showing period of 0.1 s to

0.5 s where as the southern part shows 0.4–0.9. The

eastern and western part of the city shows 0.1–0.8 s.

The estimated site period indicates that the soil of the

city will undergo seismic damage. The site period of

some of the study area has been given in Table 4.

Although the soft silty clay and loose sandy deposits

are distributed in most part of the city, the observed

natural period is relatively low due to the fact that the

thickness of these deposits is relatively small and is

Fig. 14 The contour map of shear wave velocity of interval 100 m/s for Kanpur city

Table 4 NEHRP and new O.P.M.C Italian code of classification, Poisson’s ratio and site period of some of the sites of Kanpur soil

Locations Shear wave

velocity (m/s)

NEHRP

classification

O.P.M.C.n

classification

Poisson’s

ratio

Site

period (s)

IIT Kanpur 200–300 D C 0.3973 0.49

Mandhana 200–300 D C 0.3811 0.44

Naramau 200–300 D C 0.2575 0.26

Bithoor 500–700 C B 0.3239 0.27

Nankari 200–300 D C 0.3010 0.45

Panki 200–300 D C 0.2918 0.44

Army school 400–500 C B 0.2876 0.51

Shambhua 200–300 D C 0.2565 0.50

Dharmagandpur 200–300 D C 0.3127 0.43

Sirhi-Itara 200–300 D C 0.3011 0.54

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123

usually followed by relatively high velocity layers.

The natural period of the sites \0.6 s is the typical

period for shallow sediments (Dowrick 2003; Pitilakis

2004). Using the collected shear wave and compres-

sional wave velocity using seismic down hole test for

the alluvial soil of Kanpur were been used for the

estimation of Poisson’s Ratio coefficient of alluvial

soil. The effect of water table on Poisson’s ratio has

been studied for the study area. The estimated poison’s

ratio varies from 0.1 to 0.4. The estimated Poisson’s

ratio for different sites indicates it is having direct

relation with eater table those sites are having water

shallow water table having higher values because soils

are in saturated condition. The Poisson’s ratio for

some of the selective site has been given in Table 4.

7 Conclusions

From the above experimental and empirical analysis

of the present study the following conclusions can be

drawn.

1. Shear wave velocity measurement was carried out

by using seismic downhole technique for Kanpur

city along with standard penetration test. The

correlation between penetration values obtained

from standard penetration test and shear wave

velocity were developed for different type of soil

which is predominate in the study area i.e., silty

soil, clayey soil and all soil. The developed

correlations were compared with the empirical

equations developed by various authors for other

countries as well for Indian soil. The present study

shows the 95 % of the data shows the error margin

of ±10 % of the scaled percentage error pointing

towards a better estimation of shear wave

velocity.

2. The shear wave velocity map which will help for

the preliminary seismic hazard assessment of the

study area. The average shear wave velocity of the

alluvial soil of Kanpur city ranges from 125 to

825 m/s which indicated the soils are in loose

condition.

3. The seismic downhole technique was used for the

collection of shear wave velocity for the soil of

Kanpur city. For Kanpur city there is no shear

wave data base is available in literature. So the

present study is an attempt to make availability of

spatially distributed shear wave velocity contour

map for the Kanpur city.

4. The correlation between SPT-N and shear wave

velocity can be used for seismic hazard assess-

ment, designing of earthquake resistant structure.

The spatial distribution map will be helpful for

designers, practitioners for preliminary seismic

hazard assessment.

5. The measured shear wave velocity was used for

the seismic site classification of soil Based on

NEHRP and new Italian O.P.M.C. n code. The

soil of the study area is broadly classified as B, C

and D type soil.

6. Based on shear wave velocity data for Kanpur soil

Site period of the alluvial soil has been estimated.

The site period of Kanpur soil ranges from 0.1 to

0.9 s the site period indicates the soil will undergo

seismic shaking and the multistory buildings of

the study area are under seismic threats.

Acknowledgments The authors like to thank SERC division,

Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of

India for providing the fund for this research work.

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