Dynamic response of cylindrical structures considering coupled soil-structure interaction under seismic loading

This paper attempts to develop a mathematical model for estimating the seismic response of a cylindrical shaped nuclear reactor building resting in an elastic halfspace considering foundation compliance. Most of the research carried out on this topic has either been carried out by resorting to finite element method (FEM) which makes the computational cost expensive or based on the simplifying assumption of assuming the cylindrical structure as a multi degree lumped mass stick model with soil coupled as boundary springs. In the present paper an analytical model has been developed in which the deformation of the cylindrical body (including its shear deformation characteristics) has been taken into cognizance and then coupling with foundation stiffness a comprehensive solution has been sought based on Galerkin’s weighted residual technique. The results are finally compared with FEM to check the reliability of the same. The results are found to be in good agreement with the detailed finite element analysis.