Dynamic plate-soil interaction - finite and infinite, flexible and rigid plates on homogeneous, layered or Winkler soil

An integral method to calculate the solution of a homogeneous or layered soil due to a harmonic point load is described. An infinite plate at the surface of the soil can be introduced in this integration in wavenumber domain, too. Finite structures on the soil are calculated by a combined finite element and boundary element method, which makes use of the point load solution of the soil. The compliance functions for a vertical point load and some vibration modes are calculated for realistic parameters of the plate and the soil and for a wide range of frequencies. The influence of the stiffness of the soil and the foundation is investigated, showing that the soil mainly affects the low-frequent response whereas the structural properties are more important at higher frequencies. A rigid approximation of flexible plates is only found at low frequencies, if the elastic length is used as the radius of a rigid disk. At higher frequencies, a characteristic behaviour of the flexible plate of approximately is observed, what is in clear contrast to the compliance of rigid foundations. A plate on a visco-elastic support (Winkler soil) shows similar displacements as a plate on a homogeneous half-space, but the maximal stresses between the plate and the soil are considerably smaller which is found to be more realistic for a plate on a layered soil. For practical applications, a normalized diagram and some explicit formulas of the exact and the approximate solutions of an infinite plate on a homogeneous half-space are given, which is a useful model to represent the soil-structure interaction of flexible foundations.     

Approximate soil–structure interaction analysis by a perturbation approach: The case of soft soils

An approximate solution of the classical eigenvalue problem governing the vibrations of a relatively stiff structure on a soft elastic soil is derived through the application of a perturbation analysis. The full solution is obtained as the sum of the solution for an unconstrained elastic structure and small perturbing terms related to the ratio of the stiffness of the soil to that of the superstructure. The procedure leads to approximate analytical expressions for the system frequencies, modal damping ratios and participation factors for all system modes that generalize those presented earlier for the case of stiff soils. The resulting approximate expressions for the system modal properties are validated by comparison with the corresponding quantities obtained by numerical solution of the eigenvalue problem for a nine-story building. The accuracy of the proposed approach and of the classical normal mode approach is assessed through comparison with the exact frequency response of the test structure.     

Wave dispersion in high‐rise buildings due to soil–structure interaction

Nonparametric techniques for estimation of wave dispersion in buildings by seismic interferometry are applied to a simple model of a soil–structure interaction (SSI) system with coupled horizontal and rocking response. The system consists of a viscously damped shear beam, representing a building, on a rigid foundation embedded in a half‐space. The analysis shows that (i) wave propagation through the system is dispersive. The dispersion is characterized by lower phase velocity (softening) in the band containing the fundamental system mode of vibration, and little change in the higher frequency bands, relative to the building shear wave velocity. This mirrors its well‐known effect on the frequencies of vibration, i.e. reduction for the fundamental mode and no significant change for the higher modes of vibration, in agreement with the duality of the wave and vibrational nature of structural response. Nevertheless, the phase velocity identified from broader band impulse response functions is very close to the superstructure shear wave velocity, as found by an earlier study of the same model. The analysis reveals that (ii) the reason for this apparent paradox is that the latter estimates are biased towards the higher values, representative of the higher frequencies in the band, where the response is less affected by SSI. It is also discussed that (iii) bending flexibility and soil flexibility produce similar effects on the phase velocities and frequencies of vibration of a building. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Soil-structure interaction analysis of the Hualien containment model

This paper presents results from forced vibration tests, microtremor observations and earthquake response analysis of a nuclear reactor containment model constructed on stiff soil in Hualien, Taiwan. The dynamic behavior of the soil-structure system is simulated successfully with two numerical models: a sway-rocking model, whose soil parameters are evaluated on the basis of the continuum formulation method, and a finite element model, using the program SASSI with the flexible volume substructuring approach. The dependences of the soil parameters of both models on the amplitudes of the different dynamic excitations are investigated in detail. An original numerical simulation of microtremor is performed. Comparison with results of a previous study involving a rigid tower on a soft soil site in Chiba, Japan is offered.     

Dynamic soil–structure interaction effects on the seismic response of asymmetric buildings

An approach is formulated for the linear analysis of three-dimensional dynamic soil–structure interaction of asymmetric buildings in the time domain, in order to evaluate the seismic response behaviour of torsionally coupled buildings. The asymmetric building is idealized as a single-storey three-dimensional system resting on different soil conditions. The soil beneath the superstructure is modeled as linear elastic solid elements. The contact surface between foundation mat and solid elements of soil is discretised by linear plane interface elements with zero thickness. An interface element is further developed to function between the rigid foundation and soil. As an example, the response of soil–structure interaction of torsionally coupled system under two simultaneous lateral components of El Centro 1940 earthquake records has been evaluated and the effects of base flexibility on the response behaviour of the system are verified.     

Influence of different sites on seismic base shear of buildings

In this paper, a statistical study based on thirty-two strong rock motions is presented for the dynamic base shear of buildings on three different sites representing stiff soil, deep cohesionless soil and soft clay conditions. A short and squatty building and a tall and slender building are selected. For each building height, frame, wall and shearwall–frame systems are considered. It is found that short and squatty frame systems have the largest base shear. As for buildings on rock, the response of buildings on stiff and deep cohesionless soil conditions depends on the peak horizontal acceleration and peak horizontal velocity of the rock motion. Furthermore, the soil–structure interaction which affects only the stiff structures is found to reduce the dynamic base shear.     

Influence of free field variability on linear soil–structure interaction (SSI) by indirect integral representation

An integral equation for the representation of the response of a structure impinged by an incident wave field including soil–structure interaction is proposed. It requires the knowledge of the fundamental solution for the overall soil–structure domain when a unit load is applied to the structure. This fundamental solution is obtained by means of a substructuring technique and boundary integral equations using the Green tensors for homogeneous or horizontally stratified soil media. The effects of a non‐stationary modulated random incident field are addressed in terms of the instantaneous power spectral density of the structural response of interest for a given coherency function of the free field. Several applications of the proposed procedure are presented. The first one considers kinematic interaction of a rigid circular foundation and is used to validate the numerical implementation. The second one considers a complex structure on a stiff stratified soil and the last one considers the pounding effect between two adjacent, identical structures resting on a thin soft soil layer. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simulation of the response of base-isolated buildings under earthquake excitations considering soil flexibility

The accurate analysis of the seismic response of isolated structures requires incorporation of the flexibility of supporting soil.However,it is often customary to idealize the soil as rigid during the analysis of such structures.In this paper,seismic response time history analyses of base-isolated buildings modelled as linear single degree-of-freedom(SDOF) and multi degree-of-freedom(MDOF) systems with linear and nonlinear base models considering and ignoring the flexibility of supporting soil are conducted.The flexibility of supporting soil is modelled through a lumped parameter model consisting of swaying and rocking spring-dashpots.In the analysis,a large number of parametric studies for different earthquake excitations with three different peak ground acceleration(PGA) levels,different natural periods of the building models,and different shear wave velocities in the soil are considered.For the isolation system,laminated rubber bearings(LRBs) as well as high damping rubber bearings(HDRBs) are used.Responses of the isolated buildings with and without SSI are compared under different ground motions leading to the following conclusions:(1) soil flexibility may considerably influence the stiff superstructure response and may only slightly influence the response of the flexible structures;(2) the use of HDRBs for the isolation system induces higher structural peak responses with SSI compared to the system with LRBs;(3) although the peak response is affected by the incorporation of soil flexibility,it appears insensitive to the variation of shear wave velocity in the soil;(4) the response amplifications of the SDOF system become closer to unit with the increase in the natural period of the building,indicating an inverse relationship between SSI effects and natural periods for all the considered ground motions,base isolations and shear wave velocities;(5) the incorporation of SSI increases the number of significant cycles of large amplitude accelerations for all the stories,especially for earthquakes with low and moderate PGA levels;and(6) buildings with a linear LRB base-isolation system exhibit larger differences in displacement and acceleration amplifications,especially at the level of the lower stories.     

Modelling liquefaction-induced building damage in earthquake loss estimation

The assessment of building damage caused by liquefaction-induced ground deformations requires the definition of building capacity and vulnerability as a function of the demand, as well as damage scales to describe the state of the damaged building. This paper presents a framework for resolving these issues within the context of earthquake loss estimations, where large variations in building stock and ground conditions must be considered. The principal modes of building response to both uniform and differential ground movements are discussed and the uncertainties in their evaluation are highlighted. A unified damage scale is proposed for use in both reconnaissance and assessment of all modes of building damage, including ‘rigid body’ response of structures on stiff foundations to uniform or differential ground movements. The interaction of ground shaking and liquefaction in the context of induced structural damage is also briefly considered. The paper raises important aspects of earthquake loss estimations in regions of liquefaction potential, which remain relatively poorly defined at present.     

Sensitivity of seismic structural response to interpretation of soils data

This paper investigates the sensitivity of the predicted seismic response of buildings in a PWR nuclear power station to the potential changes in the techniques and methods of interpreting soil data that have occurred over the last decade. The investigation is based on the soil-structure interaction (SSI) response of a typical PWR reactor building on a soft site during a seismic event. The current techniques and methods of interpretation of soils data tend to lead to a stiffer site with lower soil material damping than the earlier techniques. This leads to an increase in the SSI natural frequencies of typical buildings and an increase in its seismic response. This increase in the seismic response could put into question any seismic design based on seismic loads derived using the previously accepted generic soil data. The paper concludes with a recommendation for further consideration of the proposed departure from the previously accepted soil data.     

Approximate soil-structure interaction analysis by a perturbation approach: The case of stiff soils

An approximate solution of the classical eigenvalue problem governing the vibrations of a structure on an elastic soil is derived through the application of a perturbation analysis. For stiff soils, the full solution is obtained as the sum of the solution for a rigid-soil and small perturbing terms related to the inverse of the soil shear modulus. The procedure leads to approximate analytical expressions for the system frequencies, modal damping ratios and participation factors for all system modes that generalize those presented by other authors for the fundamental mode. The resulting approximate expressions for the system modal properties are validated by comparison with the corresponding quantities obtained by numerical solution of the eigenvalue problem for a nine-story building. The accuracy of the proposed approach and of the classical normal mode approach is assessed through comparison with the exact frequency response of the test structure.     

Earthquake response of structures with partial uplift on winkler foundation

The effects of transient foundation uplift on the earthquake response of flexible structures are investigated. The structural idealization chosen in this study is relatively simple but it incorporates the most important features of foundation uplift. In its fixed base condition the structure itself is idealized as a single-degree-of-freedom system attached to a rigid foundation mat which is flexibly supported. The flexibility and damping of the supporting soil are represented by a Winkler foundation with spring-damper elements distributed over the entire width of the foundation. Based on the response spectra presented for several sets of system parameters, the effects of foundation-mat uplift on the maximum response of structures are identified. The influence of earthquake intensity, structural slenderness ratio, ratio of foundation mass to structural mass, foundation flexibility and p-δ effects on the response of uplifting structures is also investigated.     

Parametric analysis of eccentric structure–soil interaction system based on branch mode decoupling method

In order to carry out parametric analysis of eccentric structure–soil interaction system, an analytical model based on branch mode decoupling method is presented in this paper. The solution of system equations is implemented in the frequency domain by assuming that the superstructure maintains classic normal modes. The transfer functions of translational and torsional response are derived later. The influence of eccentricity ratio, torsional to translational frequency ratio, height-to-base ratio and foundation flexibility on the curve and peak value of transfer functions and torsionally coupled degree are analyzed and discussed systematically. Results of analysis indicate that the flexibility of foundation soil can weaken the torsional response of superstructure substantially, and the natural frequencies of interaction system reduce as the flexibility of foundation soil increase. The influence of eccentricity ratio on the peak values of transfer functions varies with the torsional to translational frequency ratio, which can be summarized as the decrease of translational component and the increase of torsional component. The translational displacement of SSI system is larger than that of fixed-base condition, while the deformation amplitude is notably reduced. The torsional response decreases as well. As the height-to-base ratio increase, the varying tendency of response is further enhanced. The torsionally coupled degree of eccentric structure is remarkably affected by the torsional to translational frequency ratio, which is significantly reduced under soft soil condition.     

Out-of-plane (SH) soil-structure interaction: a shear wall with rigid and flexible ring foundation

Soil-structure interaction (SSI) of a building and shear wall above a foundation in an elastic half-space has long been an important research subject for earthquake engineers and strong-motion seismologists. Numerous papers have been published since the early 1970s; however, very few of these papers have analytic closed-form solutions available. The soil-structure interaction problem is one of the most classic problems connecting the two disciplines of earthquake engineering and civil engineering. The interaction effect represents the mechanism of energy transfer and dissipation among the elements of the dynamic system, namely the soil subgrade, foundation, and superstructure. This interaction effect is important across many structure, foundation, and subgrade types but is most pronounced when a rigid superstructure is founded on a relatively soft lower foundation and subgrade. This effect may only be ignored when the subgrade is much harder than a flexible superstructure: for instance a flexible moment frame superstructure founded on a thin compacted soil layer on top of very stiff bedrock below. This paper will study the interaction effect of the subgrade and the superstructure. The analytical solution of the interaction of a shear wall, flexible-rigid foundation, and an elastic half-space is derived for incident SH waves with various angles of incidence. It found that the flexible ring (soft layer) cannot be used as an isolation mechanism to decouple a superstructure from its substructure resting on a shaking half-space.     

基础柔性对土-结构相互作用系统响应影响的一个解析解

采用波函数展开法,通过SH波入射均匀半空间中二维埋置半圆形刚柔复合基础-单质点模型,推导土-刚柔复合基础-上部结构动力相互作用的解析解,并验证解的正确性。研究表明:基础柔性对于系统响应峰值与系统频率有较大影响。考虑基础柔性后,上部结构相对响应峰值相比全刚性基础结果均有一定减小,且系统频率也会产生向低频偏移的现象。     

Dynamic response of flexible rectangular foundations on an elastic half-space

An approximate method for the analysis of the dynamic interaction between a flexible rectangular foundation and the soil with consideration of the out-of-plane deformation of the foundation is presented. The procedure is based on an extension of the subdivision method developed by Wong and Luco for rigid foundations. Numerical results describing the influence of the flexibility of the foundation on the vertical and rocking impedance functions and on the contact stresses between the foundation and the soil are presented. The possibility of representing a flexible foundation by an equivalent rigid foundation having the same force-displacement relationships is also discussed. The results obtained indicate that at low frequencies, the dynamic stiffness coefficients for flexible foundations are lower than those for a rigid foundation of the same area. At higher frequencies the opposite behaviour is observed. The radiation damping coefficients for flexible foundations are significantly lower than those for a rigid foundation of the same area.     

Soil–structure interaction for a SDOF oscillator supported by a flexible foundation embedded in a half-space: Closed-form solution for incident plane SH-waves

A closed-form analytical solution is presented for the dynamic response of a SDOF oscillator, supported by a flexible foundation embedded in an elastic half-space, and excited by plane SH waves. The solution is obtained by the wave function expansion method. The solution is verified for the special case of a rigid foundation by comparison with published results. The model is used to investigate the effect of the foundation flexibility on the system response. The results show that the effect is significant for both foundation response and structural relative response. For a system with more flexible foundation, the radiation damping is smaller, the foundation response is larger, especially for obliquely incident waves, while the structural relative response is smaller, and the system frequency shifts towards lower frequencies. This simple model may be helpful to obtain insight into the effects of soil–structure interaction for a slim structure on an extended flexible foundation.     

Soil-structure interaction at higher frequency factors

Approximate solutions to the forced vibrations of a rigid circular plate attached to the surface of an elastic halfspace are presented for large values of the frequency factor. These results are important when solving soil-structure interaction problems when such problems involve high-frequency factors. This situation arises when high-frequency components of earthquakes are associated with a relatively rigid foundation of a large base area and located on a soft terrain. Similar situations occur in cases of blast loadings and impact and in the foundations of large high-speed machinery. These solutions are used to solve the problem of the motion of a rigid mass on an elastic halfspace subjected to steady state and transient horizontal accelerations. From these results, it is deduced that a large rigid mat foundation located on soft terrain significantly attenuates input accelerations and consequently may be useful as the foundation of large massive rigid structures such as a nuclear power station.     

低频激振器楼面激振试验研究

本文对一座六层双向单跨的1:4钢框架模型进行土槽中低频激振器楼面激振试验,根据牛顿第二定律和作用力与反作用力原理,将激振器输出的信号转化为作用在结构上的动力作用,研究上部动力荷载作用下土与结构的动力相互作用。对采集的信号进行频谱分析和时域分析,研究体系的基频和模型顶层的加速度和位移反应,并与刚性地基上的结果进行比较。结果表明,土与结构的相互作用能有效降低体系的动力反应。考虑SSI效应时,大刚度结构对顶层加速度的削弱及位移的放大可能小于小刚度结构,这种削弱作用的大小主要是由结构的刚重比来决定。     

Estimating kinematic interaction of raft foundations from earthquake records and its effects on structural response

A practical method for estimating kinematic interaction from earthquake records is presented. The kinematic interaction is characterized by a two-parameter model and these parameters can be estimated by using a frequency-domain systems identification method. The simple model can be used to model both wave passage effects and the effects of incoherent wave fields. Numerical simulation tests show that kinematic interaction parameters can be estimated to their best accuracy by using building base responses and the free-field excitation and can also be estimated by using building responses, base responses and the free-field excitation. The method was applied to two buildings with raft foundations and it was found that kinematic interaction was significant during earthquakes. Published theoretical models (wave passage effect) for vertically incident SH waves can be used to estimate the transfer functions up to 4–5 Hz and the models for horizontally propagating waves under-predict the estimated transfer functions by a significant amount at frequencies beyond about 1–2 Hz. Theoretical models for a massless rigid foundation under the excitation of an incoherent wave field predict the general trend of the estimated transfer function reasonably well over a large frequency range. The results of numerical examples show that the recorded response spectral attenuation of basement records at high frequencies with respect to the free-field is mainly caused by kinematic interaction, while the changes in storey shear and overturning moment in a structure due to soil flexibility are mainly the results of inertial interaction.