M. Fadaee, M.k. Jafari, M. Kamalian, M. Moosavi, A. Shafiee,
Volume 11, Issue 2 (Transaction B: Geotechnical Engineering 2013)
During past earthquakes, many instances of building damage as a result of earthquake surface fault rupture have been observed.
The results of investigating a potential mitigation scheme are presented in this paper. Such plan provides a wall in the soil with
the aim of surface displacement localization in the narrow pre-determined location. This may reduce the risk of the future rupture
downstream the wall. To evaluate the efficiency of the method, this paper (i) provides validation through successful class “A”
predictions of 1g model tests for fault deviation by weak wall and (ii) conducts sensitivity analyses on fault position, fault offset
and wall shear strength. It is shown that wall can be designed to deviate rupture path even downstream of the wall can be
protected.