Seismic waves in a three-dimensional block medium

Abstract: We study numerically the propagation of seismic waves in a three-dimensional block medium. The medium is modeled by a spatial lattice of masses connected by elastic springs and viscous dampers. We study Lamb's problem under a surface point vertical load. The cases of both step and pulse load are considered. The displacements and velocities are calculated for surface masses. The influence of the viscosity of the dampers on the attenuation of perturbations is studied. We compare our numerical results for the block medium with known analytical solutions for the elastic medium.