Mathematical Problems in Engineering
Volume 2008 (2008), Article ID 919420, 20 pages
doi:10.1155/2008/919420
Research Article
Peak Ground Acceleration Prediction by Artificial Neural Networks for Northwestern Turkey
Department of Civil Engineering, Eskişehir Osmangazi University, Batı Meşelik, 26480 Eskişehir, Turkey
Received 13 June 2008; Revised 5 September 2008; Accepted 12 October 2008
Academic Editor: Oleg Gendelman
Copyright © 2008 Kemal Günaydın and Ayten Günaydın. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Three different artificial neural network (ANN) methods, namely, feed-forward back-propagation (FFBP), radial basis function (RBF), and generalized regression neural networks (GRNNs) were applied to predict peak ground acceleration (PGA). Ninety five three-component records from 15 ground motions that occurred in Northwestern Turkey between 1999 and 2001 were used during the applications. The earthquake moment magnitude, hypocentral distance, focal depth, and site conditions were used as inputs to estimate PGA for vertical (U-D), east-west (E-W), and north-south (N-S) directions. The direction of the maximum PGA of the three components was also added to the input layer to obtain the maximum PGA. Testing stage results of three ANN methods indicated that the FFBPs were superior to the GRNN and the RBF for all directions. The PGA values obtained from the FFBP were modified by linear regression analysis. The results showed that these modifications increased the prediction performances.