The mechanics of unsatured soils are strongly related to the suction phenomenon that occurs between solid soil particles, which change when the water content of the soil does not remain constant. The soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) provides information related to soil suction and water content; and to obtain said curve, different direct and indirect methods can be used. In this research, the soil-water characteristic curve for sand is obtained by implementing the filter paper test. For this, three reconstituted samples of sandy soils from Lima - Peru (relative density between 20% and 60%) were tested following the wet trajectory of the curve. Samples were stored for at least seven days until equilibrium was reached. In tihs way, discrete points of the soil-water characteristic curve were obtained. SWCC equations such as Brooks and Corey (1964), Van Genuchten (1980) and Frendlund a...

Seismic response analyses are performed using a minimum number of seismic records as input motions in order to achieve a statistically strong estimation. Unfortunately, the available information recorded from the current seismic networks is still scarce regarding events with considerable magnitude. In this context, the Random Vibration Theory (RVT) arises as an alternative tool for performing site response analyses without the need of seismic records, since it only requires adequate probabilistic seismic hazard assessment. In this study, RVT was applied to three shear-wave velocity profiles in Lima city with distinct geomorphological origin. These profiles are characteristic for gravelly, sandy and fine deposits so the influence of each soil type in their corresponding transfer function was taken into account. In that sense, the three RVT-based normalized response spectra show good agree...

In recent years, the development of seismic networks in Metropolitan Lima, administrated by public and private institutions, has received special attention since it makes possible the quantification of different seismic indexes under the occurrence of earthquakes. Therefore, the integration of the information both from acceleration sensors and site conditions from microzoning studies allows the estimation of the possible extent of the damage in quasi-real time. In this study, the implementation of a system to evaluate seismic parameters in a uniform grid of 250 x 250 m2 resolution is reported. In this regard, peak ground acceleration (PGA) values from the available time-history records are computed and reduced to the engineering bedrock level. Then, by means of the interpolation technique called Ordinary Kriging, in which each seismic station is considered as a random variable and the co...