Motion of foundation on a layered soil medium - II. Response analysis

The objective of the present approach is to determine the structural response to external force excitations and earthquake excitations with consideration of soil-structure interaction. The physical model concerned is a flexible structure resting on a rigid or flexible foundation embedded in a layered soil medium. The vibration of the structure is first analyzed using the wave propagation approach without reference to the interaction. The interaction effect is recovered by the impedance relationship developed in the companion paper. In an attempt to use the free field ground motion as the input to the system, the Maxwell's reciprocal theorem is applied to remedy the difference between the free field and real ground motion in the presence of the structure. As a result, the structural response at any location is written as a linear function of external excitations and the seismic source. Such a solution form is convenient for statistical analysis.