Pulses in ground motions identified through surface partial matching and their impact on seismic rocking consequence

In seismology and earthquake engineering, it is fundamental to identify and characterize the pulse-like features in pulse-type ground motions. To capture the pulses that dominate structural responses, this study establishes congruence and shift relationships between response spectrum surfaces. A similarity search between spectrum surfaces, supplemented with a similarity search in time series, has been applied to characterize the pulse-like features in pulse-type ground motions. The identified pulses are tested in predicting the rocking consequences of slender rectangular blocks under the original ground motions. Generally, the prediction is promising for the majority of the ground motions where the dominant pulse is correctly identified.