Dynamic interaction for idealized off-shore structures

The structure is idealized as a uniform slender beam of circular cross-section which supports a rigid tip mass and which is connected at its base to a rigid foundation mass, the latter being attached to the surface of a visco-elastic half-space. An analytical solution for harmonic response of the partially submerged structure is obtained in terms of the normal modes of the corresponding structure in vacuo. This is achieved by introducing fluid-structure coupling into the model. A similar structural model has been described in a companion paper and used to study soil-structure interaction. Numerical results show the dependence of response on various parameters and contribute towards a better understanding of the dynamics of off-shore towers.     

Antiplane response of a dike on flexible embedded foundation to incident SH-waves

The response of an elastic circular wedge on a flexible foundation embedded into a half-space is investigated in the frequency domain for incident pane SH-waves. The problem is solved by expansion of the motion in all three media (wedge, foundation and half-space) in cylindrical wave functions (Fourier-Bessel series). The structural model is simple, but accounts for both differential motions of the base and for the effects of soil-structure interaction. Usually, structural models in earthquake engineering consider either differential ground motion, but ignore soil-structure interaction, or consider soil-structure interaction, but for a rigid foundation, thus ignoring differential ground motion. The purpose of the study is to find how stiff the foundation should be relative to the soil so that the rigid foundation assumption in soil-structure interaction models is valid. The shortest wavelength of the incident waves considered in this study is one equal to the width of the base of the wedge. It is concluded that, for this model, a foundation with same mass density as the soil but 50 times larger shear modulus behaves as ‘rigid’. For ratio of shear moduli less than 16, the rigid foundation assumption is not valid. Considering differential motions is important because of additional stresses in structures that are not predicted by fixed-base and rigid foundation models.     

A seismic free field input model for FE-SBFE coupling in time domain

A seismic free field input formulation of the coupling procedure of the finite element (FE) and the scaled boundary finite-element (SBFE) is proposed to perform the unbounded soil-structure interaction analysis in time domain. Based on the substructure technique, seismic excitation of the soil-structure system is represented by the free-field motion of an elastic half-space. To reduce the computational effort, the acceleration unit-impulse response function of the unbounded soil is decomposed into two functions; linear and residual. The latter converges to zero and can be truncated as required. With the prescribed tolerance parameter, the balance between accuracy and efficiency of the procedure can be controlled. The validity of the model is verified by the scattering analysis of a hemi-spherical canyon subjected to plane harmonic P, SV and SH wave incidence. Numerical results show that the new procedure is very efficient for seismic problems within a normal range of frequency. The coupling procedure presented herein can be applied to linear and nonlinear earthquake response analysis of practical structures which are built on unbounded soil. Supproted by: the National Key Basic Research and Development Program under Grant No. 2002CB412709     

Dynamic interaction analysis of a circular cylindrical shell of finite length in a half-space

A study on the transient response of a circular cylindrical shell of finite length embedded in a homogeneous, isotropic and linear elastic half-space is presented. The soil-structure system is subjected to suddenly applied explosion waves. The numerical method employed is a combination of the time domain semi-analytical boundary element method used for the semi-infinite soil medium and the finite strip method used for the circular cylindrical shell. The two methods are combined through equilibrium and compatibility conditions at the soil-structure interface. The dynamic responses at the interface between the soil medium and the structure for every time step are obtained. Numerical examples are presented in detail to demonstrate the use and versatility of the proposed method. The following parameters are found to affect the response: (1) the slenderness ratio of the length over the diameter of the shell, L/D; (2) the relative wall thickness, h/a; (3) the relative stiffness ratio between the shell and the medium, E_s/E_m; and (4) the incidence angle of the explosion wave, α.     

Dynamic soil–structure interaction of coupled shear walls by boundary element method

For a class of civil engineering structures, that can be accurately represented by ‘coupled shear walls’ (CSWs), a discrete model for the analysis of the dynamic interaction with the underlying soil is proposed. The CSWs, with one or more rows of openings, rest on a rigid foundation embedded in the elastic or viscoelastic half-space. A hierarchical finite element model based on an equivalent continuum approach is adopted for the structure. A frequency-domain boundary element method is used to represent the half-space. Finally, the set of equations governing the response of the coupled soil-structure system to harmonic lateral loads acting on the structure is also given. The frequency deviation effect with respect to the fixed-base structure and the effects of radiation and material damping in the soil are presented for different characteristics of the structure and different soil properties.     

Roles of soil-structure interaction and damping in base-isolated structures built on numerous soil layers overlying a half-space

This study examines the roles of soil-structure interaction (SSI), higher modes, and damping in a base-isolated structure built on multiple layers of soil overlying a half space. Closed-form solutions for the entire system, including a superstructure, seismic isolator, and numerous soil layers overlying a half-space, were obtained. The formulations obtained in this study simply in terms of well-known frequencies and mechanical impedance ratios can explicitly interpret the dynamic behavior of a base-isolated structure interacting with multiple soil layers overlying a half-space. The key factors influencing the performance of the isolation system are the damping ratio of the isolator and the ratio of the natural frequency of the fixed-base structure to that of the isolated structure by assuming that the superstructure moves as a rigid body. This study reveals that higher damping in the base isolator is unfavorable to higher mode responses that usually dominate the responses of the superstructure and that the damping mechanism plays an important role in transmitting energy in addition to absorbing energy. It is also concluded that it is possible to design a soft soil layer as an isolation system for isolating vibration energy.     

Isolation of soil-structure interaction effects by full-scale forced vibration tests

Forced vibration tests designed to isolate the effects of soil-structure interaction are described and the results obtained for the nine-storey reinforced concrete Millikan Library Building are analysed. It is shown that it is possible to determine experimentally the fixed-base natural frequencies and modal damping ratios of the superstructure. These values may be significantly different from the resonant frequencies and damping ratios of the complete structure-foundation-soil system. It is also shown that forced vibration tests can be used to obtain estimates of the foundation impedance functions. In the case of the Millikan Library it is found that during forced vibration tests the rigid-body motion associated with translation and rocking of the base accounts for more than 30 per cent of the total response on the roof and that the deformation of the superstructure at the fundamental frequencies of the system is almost entirely due to the inertial forces generated by translation and rocking of the base.     

Modelling of ground motion in the vicinity of massive structures

A two-dimensional elastic Chebyshev spectral element method (SPEM) is used to model the seismic wavefield within a massive structure and in its vicinity. We consider 2-D models where a linear elastic structure, with quadrangular cross-section, resting on an elastic homogeneous half-space, is impinged upon by the waves generated by a surface impulse at some distance. The scattering of Rayleigh waves and the response of the structure are extensively analysed in a parametric way, varying size, mechanical parameters and shape of the load. Some of the models considered are representative of embankments and earth dams. The simulation shows that some models resonate, storing part of the incoming energy. With realistic parameters, the lowest resonance frequency is due to pure shear deformation and is controlled by the shear velocity and height of the load. Flexural modes are excited only at higher frequencies. The acceleration at the top of the structure may be five/seven times higher than at the base, depending on the mass of the structure. The gradual release of trapped energy produces a ground roll lasting several seconds after the wave front has passed. The ground-roll amplitude depends on the sturcture's mass and can be as large as 30% of the peak acceleration. Outside resonance conditions, the ground motion is almost unaffected by the presence of the artefact; the horizontal motion on top of it is nearly twice the motion at ground level. Similar results should be expected when the incident field is an upcoming shear wave. A qualitative discussion shows that the presence of anelastic attenuation in the embankment does not significantly alter the preceding conclusions, unless it is of very low values (e.g. Q < 15).The modelling results that we discuss indicate that the soil-structure interaction may substantially alter the ‘free-field’ ground motion. From a practical point of view, the main conclusions are: (1) careful analysis is necessary when interpreting seismic records collected in the vicinity of large artefacts; (2) seismic hazard at a site may depend on the presence of man-made structures such as embankments, dams, tall and massive buildings.     

An indirect boundary element method applied to simulate the seismic response of alluvial valleys for incident P,S and Rayleigh waves

A boundary integral formulation is presented and applied to model the ground motion on alluvial valleys under incident P, S and Rayleigh waves. It is based on integral representations for the diffracted and the refracted elastic waves using single-layer boundary sources. This approach is called indirect BEM in the literature as the sources' strengths should be obtained as an intermediate step. Boundary conditions lead to a system of integral equations for boundary sources. A discretization scheme based on the numerical and analytical integration of exact Green's functions for displacements and tractions is used. Various examples are given for two-dimensional problems of diffraction of elastic waves by soft elastic inclusion models of alluvial deposits in an elastic half-space. Results are displayed in both frequency and time domains. These results show the significant influence of locally generated surface waves in seismic response and suggest approximations of practical interest. For shallow alluvial valleys the response and its resonant frequencies are controlled by a coupling mechanism that involves both the simple one-dimensional shear beam model and the propagation of surface waves.     

Modeling shear rigidity of stratified bedrock in site response analysis

Where a distinct soil-rock interface exists, the bedrock medium is commonly treated as elastic half-space and the bedrock surface as the lower boundary of the soil-column model for site response analyses (or the lower boundary of the finite element model for soil-structure interaction analyses). While shear wave velocity in bedrock varies with depth, there has been no consensus amongst scientists and practitioners over the value of “effective depth” into bedrock at which the “half-space” shear wave velocity value should be taken for modeling purposes. This paper reports an interesting and important observation that the effective depth into bedrock is sensitive to the shear wave velocity profile of the overlying soil sediments. A simple and heuristic method, namely Resonant Period Equivalence (RPE) Method, is proposed herein for representing a stratified elastic bedrock of inhomogeneous properties by an equivalent homogeneous elastic half-space medium, which is characterized by a single equivalent shear wave velocity (V_R) value. The proposed calculation method has been verified by extensive comparative analyses involving the use of programs SHAKE and NERA and employing the complete shear wave velocity models of both the soil sediments and the underlying stratified bedrock.     

Antiplane response of a dike with flexible soil-structure interface to incident SH waves

Studies of the effects of differential ground motions on structural response generally do not consider the effects of the soil-structure interaction. On the other end, studies of soil-structure interaction commonly assume that the foundation of the structure (surface or embedded) is rigid. The former ignore the scattering of waves from the foundation and radiation of energy from the structure back to the soil, while the latter ignore quasi-static forces in the foundations and lower part of the structure deforming due to the wave passage. This paper studies a simple model of a dike but considers both the soil-structure interaction and the flexibility of the foundation. The structure is represented by a wedge resting on a half-space and excited by incident plane SH-waves. The structural ‘foundation’ is a flexible surface that can deform during the passage of seismic waves. The wave function expansion method is used to solve for the motions in the half-pace and in the structure. The displacements and stresses in the structure are compared with those for a fixed-base model shaken by the free-field motion. The results show large displacements near the base of the structure due to the differential motion of the base caused by the wave passage.     

An approximate method for soil-structure interaction for sh-waves—the born approximation

An approximate method is proposed for the scattering of SH-waves by foundations of irregular shape and the resulting soil-structure interaction problems. The scattering of elastic waves by the rigid foundation embedded in half-space is solved approximately by using integral representation of the wave equation. The procedure is the Born approximation which has been widely used in quantum mechanics for collision and scattering theory though not well-known in elastodynamics. This paper extends the previous work of the authors on the scattering of waves to account for soil-structure interaction. The motion of the foundation is evaluated by the balance of momentum under stresses due to the incident waves as well as the waves generated by its own motion and the forces coming from the superstructure. The model investigated consists of an infinitely long elastic shear wall of height H and thickness h erected on a rigid infinitely long foundation. Results are presented for the cases with circular, elliptical and rectangular foundations. For a circular foundation, excellent agreement is found with the exact solutions for the foundation displacement and the relative displacement between the top and bottom of the structure for the entire range of wave numbers. For an elliptical foundation, accuracy decreases with increasing wave numbers. Foundation displacements are compared for foundation shapes that are shallow elliptical, deep elliptical, rectangular and circular. It is observed that foundation displacements are dependent on the angle of incidence except for a semi-circle. The results on the details of the scattered field are, however, not as accurate.     

Dynamic analysis of a beam resting on an elastic half-space with inertial properties

This work gives a semi-analytical approach for the dynamic analysis of beams and plates resting on an elastic half-space with inertial properties. Such calculations have been associated with significant mathematical challenges, often leading to unrealizable computing processes. Therefore, this paper presents a detailed analysis of Green's function defining surface displacements of such a space in the contact zone with structures, which allows determination of reactive forces and other physical magnitudes. The obtained solutions can be applied to (i) study dynamic interaction between soil and structures, (ii) determine transient wave fields caused by a seismic source, and (iii) assess numerical computations with different numerical methods programs. Natural frequencies, natural shapes, and the dynamic response of a beam due to external harmonic excitation are determined. Eigenfrequencies and Eigenshapes are presented. Validation with a Boussinesq problem illustrates the inertia effect on the results of the dynamic analysis.     

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.     

Out-of-plane (SH) soil-structure interaction: Semi-circular rigid foundation revisited

The model studied in this paper presents an extension of previous work for a shear wall on a semi-circular rigid foundation in an isotropic homogeneous and elastic half-space. The objective is to develop a soil-structure interaction model that can later be applied to the case of a flexible foundation. As shown in the Introduction below, Luco considered the case of a rigid foundation subjected to vertical incident plane SH waves, and Trifunac extended the solution for the same rigid foundation subjected to SH waves but for arbitrary angles of the incidence. In this paper, a new approach and model are presented for the same semi-circular rigid foundation with a tapered-shape (instead of rectangular) superstructure. The analytical expression for the deformation of the semi-circular rigid foundation below this tapered shear wall with soil-structure interaction in an isotropic homogeneous and elastic half-space is thus derived. Results are then compared with those of Trifunac discussed in the section below. This problem formulation can and will later be extended in the case of a flexible foundation that is semi-circular or arbitrarily shaped.     

Antiplane dynamic soil-bridge interaction for incident plane SH-waves

The analysis of dynamic soil-bridge interaction has been performed in three steps. These are:

• 1. The analysis of input motions.
• 2. The force-displacement relationships for the foundations.
• 3. The dynamic analysis of the structure itself, i.e. the bridge.

Based on the exact solution of the first two steps, the dynamic interaction of a simple two-dimensional bridge model erected on an elastic half-space has been investigated for a single span case. The two-dimensional model under study consists of an elastic shear girder bridge supported by two rigid abutments and rigid foundations which have a circular cross-section and are welded to the half-space. It has been shown that the dynamic interaction depends on:

• 1. The incidence angle of plane SH-waves.
• 2. The ratio of the rigidity of the girder and the soil.
• 3. The ratio of the girder mass to the mass of the rigid abutment-foundation system.
• 4. The span of the bridge.

The dynamic response of the girder and the effect of the radiative damping in the half-space on the interaction of the girder have been studied.     

Two-dimensional scattering of SH waves in a soil layer underlain with a sloping bedrock

A two-dimensional analysis is applied to examine the effect that a sloping bedrock half-space has on the amplification of an anti-plane shear wave. The direct boundary integral equation method is used for the two-dimensional analysis. The particular soil–rock configuration investigated includes a homogeneous soil layer underlain by a sloping rock half-space. The rock half-space dips for a horizontal distance L and then becomes horizontal so that the overlying soil layer has a thickness H that remains constant from this point to infinity. The materials in the soil–rock configuration are considered viscoelastic except in the rock half-space below soil layer thickness H, which is considered elastic. This limitation in damping is due to the correction used for the truncation of the half-space boundary. Four cases are used to study the relationship between rock slope and surface displacement, vertical, 1:2, 1:4, 1:8. Surface displacements are determined for each of these cases for half-space incidence angles of 90, 75, and 60°. To allow for applicability to a wide range of problems, results are determined as a function of dimensionless parameters. In addition, solutions from a one-dimensional analysis are compared with the results of the two-dimensional analysis to establish limits outside of which a one-dimensional analysis suffices.     

Lateral response of dams in semi-elliptical rigid canyons

An analytical closed-form solution is developed for the lateral response of earth and rockfill dams built in semi-elliptical canyons. The dam is idealized as a linearly hysteretic elastic body deforming only in shear, whereas the canyon is assumed to be rigid. The solution for the dam response is given in terms of prolate spheroidal radial and angular functions of the first kind and zero order. Results are presented for natural frequencies, modal displacement shapes, participation factors, and response to transient and steady-state harmonic base excitation for various dam length-to-height ratios. Comparisons are made of the effects of the length-to-height ratio and the canyon shape on the response of dams built in semi-elliptical and rectangular canyons. A subsequent study (Dakoulas, P. & Hsu, C.H., Response of earth dams in semi-elliptical flexible canyons to oblique SH waves, Report, Rice University, Houston, Texas, 1993) extends this model to a semi-elliptical canyon consisting of flexible elastic rock, subjected to obliquely incident harmonic SH waves.     

Dynamic response of a group of flexible foundations to incident seismic waves

The dynamic response of a finite number of flexible surface foundations subjected to harmonic incident Rayleigh or SH waves is presented. The foundations are assumed to be resting on an elastic half-space. The results show that the foundation stiffness has a marked effect on the vertical response, while there is only a minor effect on the horizontal displacements. In general, the dynamic response decreases with increasing foundation stiffness. In cases of Rayleigh wave incidence, the existence of an adjacent foundation generates a certain amount of horizontal response in the direction perpendicular to the incident wave and subsequently causes the system to undergo a torsional motion; while in cases of horizontally incident SH waves, a vertical response has been observed and its magnitude is comparable to the response in the direction of the incident wave.     

土-结构动力相互作用问题分析中地震动输入的一种新方法

为实现地震作用下土-结构动力相互作用问题的有限元模拟,需要在人工边界上完成地震动的有效输入,目前工程和科研中常用的地震动输入方法有两种:波动输入方法和振动输入方法。波动输入方法的模拟精度高,但实施上相对复杂且耗时,而振动输入方法处理简单,但模拟精度较低。针对应力型人工边界提出一种在人工边界上实现地震动输入的新方法,该方法通过对土-结构有限元模型中由人工边界节点及相邻节点组成的局部子结构施加自由波场位移时程并进行动力分析,从而直接获得可实现地震波动有效输入的等效地震荷载,然后在土-结构有限元模型的人工边界节点上施加等效输入地震荷载并完成动力计算,由此完成土-结构动力相互作用问题的地震动输入和地震反应计算。与原有波动输入方法相比,新方法避免了原方法需分别计算人工边界上自由场应力和由引入人工边界条件引起的附加力,以及需要根据不同人工边界面的外法线方向确定荷载作用方向等较为复杂的处理过程,具有等效地震荷载计算简便、地震动输入过程更易于实施的特点。采用均匀弹性半空间和成层弹性半空间一维地震反应算例初步验证新方法的正确性和可靠性。