Numerical investigation of the effects of soil-structure and granular material-structure interaction on the seismic response of a flat-bottom reinforced concrete silo

In this work,a numerical study of the effects of soil-structure interaction(SSI)and granular material-structure interaction(GSI)on the nonlinear response and seismic capacity of flat-bottomed storage silos is conducted.A series of incremental dynamic analyses(IDA)are performed on a case of large reinforced concrete silo using 10 seismic recordings.The IDA results are given by two average IDA capacity curves,which are represented,as well as the seismic capacity of the studied structure,with and without a consideration of the SSI while accounting for the effect of GSI.These curves are used to quantify and evaluate the damage of the studied silo by utilizing two damage indices,one based on dissipated energy and the other on displacement and dissipated energy.The cumulative energy dissipation curves obtained by the average IDA capacity curves with and without SSI are presented as a function of the base shear,and these curves allow one to obtain the two critical points and the different limit states of the structure.It is observed that the SSI and GSI significantly influence the seismic response and capacity of the studied structure,particularly at higher levels of PGA.Moreover,the effect of the SSI reduces the damage index of the studied structure by 4%.

A hybrid contact approach for modeling soil-structure interaction using the material point method

The grid-based multi-velocity field technique has become increasingly popular for simulating the Material Point Method(MPM)in contact problems.However,this traditional technique has some shortcomings,such as(1)early contact and contact penetration can occur when the contact conditions are unsuitable,and(2)the method is not available for contact problems involving rigid-nonrigid materials,which can cause numerical instability.This study presents a new hybrid contact approach for the MPM to address these limitations to simulate the soil and structure interactions.The approach combines the advantages of point-point and point-segment contacts to implement contact detection,satisfying the impenetrability condition and smoothing the corner contact problem.The proposed approach is first validated through a disk test on an inclined slope.Then,several typical cases,such as granular collapse,bearing capacity,and deformation of a flexible retaining wall,are simulated to demonstrate the robustness of the proposed approach compared with FEM or analytical solutions.Finally,the proposed method is used to simulate the impact of sand flow on a deformable structure.The results show that the proposed contact approach can well describe the phenomenon of soil-structure interaction problems.

Comparison between seismic analysis of twisting and regular 52-story towers considering soil-structure interaction

A dynamic analysis of both twisting and regular towers is carried out to determine the results of considering soil-structure interaction(SSI)on high-rise buildings.In addition,the difference between the seismic performance of using twisting towers over regular ones is investigated.The twisting tower is a simulation of the Evolution Tower(Moscow).The towers’skeletons consist of RC elements and rest on a reinforced concrete piled-raft foundation.The soil model is considered as multi-layered with the same soil properties as the zone chosen for the analysis(New Mansoura City,Egypt).The only difference between both towers is their shape in elevation.The whole system is modelled and analyzed in a single step as one full 3D model,which is known as the direct approach in SSI.All analyses are carried out using finite-element software(Midas GTS NX).Dynamic output responses due to three records of seismic loads are proposed and presented in some graphs.Based on the results,it is concluded that SSI has a considerable effect on the dynamic response of tall buildings mainly because of the foundation flexibility,as it leads to lengthening the vibration period,increasing the story drift and the base shear for both cases.

Soil-structure interaction of unsymmetrical trench installation culvert

The computation of the design load on culverts in the current Chinese General Code for Design of Highway Bridges and Culverts （CGCDHBC）is primarily based on the linear earth pressure theory, which cannot accurately reflect the changes in vertical loads on trench installation culverts. So the changes in vertical earth pressure and soil arching effect in the backfill for an unsymmetrical trench installation culvert are studied based on a full scale experiment and finite element （FE） simulation. The variation laws of foundation pressure and settlement are also analyzed. Meanwhile, the influence of eccentric load induced by an unsymmetrical trench installation on the interaction of a soil- structure system is discussed. Results show that soil arch is formed when the backfill on the culvert reaches a certain height. It can relieve the earth pressure concentration on the crest of the culvert, but it is instable. The earth pressures obtained by full scale experiment and numerical simulation are greater than those calculated by the current CGCDHBC method. The eccentric load effect on the culvert has a significant influence on the stress states and deformation of the soil-structure system.

Soil-Structure Interaction Effects on Dynamic Behaviour of Transmission Line Towers

As inferred from earthquake engineering literature,considering soil structure interaction(SSI)effects is important in evaluating the response of transmission line towers(TLT)to dynamic loads such as impulse loads.The proposed study investigates the dynamic effects of SSI on TLT behavior.Linear and non-linearmodels are studied.In the linearmodel,the soil is represented by complex impedances,dependent of dynamic frequency,determined from numerical simulations.The nonlinearmodel considers the soil non-linear behavior in its material constitutive law and foundation uplift in a non-linear time history analysis.The simplified structure behavior of a typical lattice transmission tower is assessed.The analysis of frequency and time domain are followed through varying soil stiffness and damping values.Three different shock durations are investigated.The soil-structure system with equivalent dynamic properties is determined.The behaviors achieved utilizing a rigid and a flexible base for the structures is compared to estimate the impact of taking SSI into account in the calculation.The current mainstream approach in structural engineering,emphasizing the importance of the SSI effect,is illustrated using an example where the SSI effect could be detrimental to the structure.Furthermore,the non-linear analysis results are analyzed to show the linear approach’s limitations in the event of grand deformations.

Application of engineered compressible inclusions to mitigating soilstructure interaction issues in integral bridge abutments

The thermally induced cyclic loading on integral bridge abutments causes soil deformation and lateral stress ratcheting behind the abutment wall due to the expansion and contraction of the bridge deck.The forward and backward movements of the abutment in response to the expansion/contraction of the bridge deck lead to the formation of settlement trough and surface heaving,frequently creating a bump at the bridge approach and increasing the lateral earth pressure behind the abutment.Measures to reduce the bump at the bridge approach,including several treatment methods,such as compaction of selected backfill materials,grout injection,installation of approach slab,and using a layer of compressible inclusion material behind the abutment were proposed.However,these guidelines still lack sufficient design details and there are limited experimental findings to validate design assumptions.In this paper,the use of engineered compressible materials to alleviate the lateral earth pressure ratcheting and settlement at the bridge approach is investigated.The comparative study is presented for the soil-inclusion,material-structure and soil-structure interactions for an integral bridge under three different backfill conditions,i.e.(a)sand,(b)sand and EPS geofoam,and(c)sand and Infinergy®.The study was conducted in a special large-scale test chamber with a semi-scale abutment to gain better insights into the soil-structure interaction(SSI).The kinematics and rearrangement of the soil during the cyclic loading have been investigated to identify the mitigating effects of compressible inclusions.The comparative study indicates that both compressible inclusions perform comparatively well,however,Infinergy®is a better alternative than the medium-density EPS geofoam,as it works more effectively to reduce the backfill settlement and heaving as well as soil ratcheting effects under cyclic translational movement.

Seismic wave input method for three-dimensional soil-structure dynamic interaction analysis based on the substructure of artificial boundaries

The method of inputting the seismic wave determines the accuracy of the simulation of soil-structure dynamic interaction. The wave method is a commonly used approach for seismic wave input, which converts the incident wave into equivalent loads on the cutoff boundaries. The wave method has high precision, but the implementation is complicated, especially for three-dimensional models. By deducing another form of equivalent input seismic loads in the fi nite element model, a new seismic wave input method is proposed. In the new method, by imposing the displacements of the free wave fi eld on the nodes of the substructure composed of elements that contain artifi cial boundaries, the equivalent input seismic loads are obtained through dynamic analysis of the substructure. Subsequently, the equivalent input seismic loads are imposed on the artifi cial boundary nodes to complete the seismic wave input and perform seismic analysis of the soil-structure dynamic interaction model. Compared with the wave method, the new method is simplifi ed by avoiding the complex processes of calculating the equivalent input seismic loads. The validity of the new method is verifi ed by the dynamic analysis numerical examples of the homogeneous and layered half space under vertical and oblique incident seismic waves.

Simplified analysis of frame structures with viscoelastic dampers considering the effect of soil-structure interaction

In this study, simplified numerical models are developed to analyze the soil-structure interaction （SSI） effect on frame structures equipped with viscoelastic dampers （VEDs） based on pile group foundation. First, a single degree-of- freedom （SDOF） oscillator is successfully utilized to replace the SDOF energy dissipated structure considering the SSI effect. The equivalent period and damping ratio of the system are obtained through analogical analysis using the frequency transfer function with adoption of the modal strain energy （MSE） technique. Aparametric analysis is carried out to study the SSI effect on the performance of VEDs. Then the equilibrium equations of the multi degree-of-freedom （MDOF） structure with VEDs considering SSI effect are established in the frequency domain. Based on the assumption that the superstructure of the coupled system possesses the classical normal mode, the MDOF superstructure is decoupled to a set of individual SDOF systems resting on a rigid foundation with adoption of the MSE technique through formula derivation. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed methods have the advantage of reducing computational cost, however, retaining the satisfactory accuracy. The numerical method proposed herein can provide a fast evaluation of the efficiency of VEDs considering the SSI effect.

Simplified approach for design of raft foundations against fault rupture.Part II:soil-structure interaction

This is the second paper of two, which describe the results of an integrated research effort to develop a four-step simplified approach for design of raft foundations against dip-slip （normal and thrust） fault rupture. The first two steps dealing with fault rupture propagation in the free-field were presented in the companion paper. This paper develops an approximate analytical method to analyze soil-foundation-structure interaction （SFSI）, involving two additional phenomena： （i） fault rupture diversion （Step 3）; and （ii） modification of the vertical displacement profile （Step 4）. For the first phenomenon （Step 3）, an approximate energy-based approach is developed to estimate the diversion of a fault rupture due to presence of a raft foundation. The normalized critical load for complete diversion is shown to be a function of soil strength, coefficient of earth pressure at rest, bedrock depth, and the horizontal position of the foundation relative to the outcropping fault rupture. For the second phenomenon （Step 4）, a heuristic approach is proposed, which ＂scans＂ through possible equilibrium positions to detect the one that best satisfies force and moment equilibrium. Thus, we account for the strong geometric nonlinearities that govern this interaction, such as uplifting and second order （P-△） effects. Comparisons with centrifuge-validated finite element analyses demonstrate the efficacy of the method. Its simplicity makes possible its utilization for preliminary design.

On the use of 1g physical models for ground movements and soil-structure interaction problems

The paper focusses on the use of physical modelling in ground movements(induced by underground cavity collapse or mining/tunnelling)and associated soil-structure interaction issues.The paper presents first an overview of using 1 g physical models to solve geotechnical problems and soil-structure interactions related to vertical ground movements.Then the lg physical modelling application is illustrated to study the development of damage in masonry structure due to subsidence and cavity collapse.A largescale 1 g physical model with a 6 m^3 container and 15 electric jacks is presented with the use of a threedimensional(3D)image correlation technique.The influence of structure position on the subsidence trough is analysed in terms of crack density and damage level.The obtained results can improve the methodology and practice for evaluation of damage in masonry structures.Nevertheless,ideal physical model is difficult to achieve.Thus,future improvement of physical models(analogue materials and instrumentation)could provide new opportunities for using 1 g physical models in geotechnical and soilstructure applications and research projects.

Evaluation of FEMA-440 for including soil-structure interaction

Replacing the entire soil-structure system with a fixed base oscillator to consider the effect of soil-structure interaction （SSI） is a common analysis method in seismic design. This technique has been included in design procedures such as NEHRP, ASCE, etc. by defining an equivalent fundamental period and damping ratio that can modify the response of the structure. However, recent studies indicate that the effects of SSI should be reconsidered when a structure undergoes a nonlinear displacement demand. In recent documents on Nonlinear Static Procedures （NSPs）, FEMA-440 （2005）, a modified damping ratio of the replacement oscillator was proposed by introducing the ductility of the soil-structure system obtained from pushover analysis. In this paper, the damping defined in FEMA-440 to include the soil-structure interaction effect is evaluated, and the accuracy of the Coefficient Method given in FEMA-440 and the Equivalent Linearization Method is studied. Although the improvements for Nonlinear Static Procedures （NSPs） in FEMA-440 are achieved for a fixed base SDOF structure, the soil effects are not perfectly obtained. Furthermore, the damping definition of a soil-structure system is extended to structures to consider bilinear behavior.

Soil-Structure Interaction Analysis of Jack-up Platforms Subjected to Monochrome and Irregular Waves

As jack-up platforms have recently been used in deeper and harsher waters, there has been an increasing demand to understand their behaviour more accurately to develop more sophisticated analysis techniques. One of the areas of significant development has been the modelling of spudean performance, where the load-displacement behaviour of the foundation is required to be included in any numerical model of the structure. In this study, beam on nonlinear winkler foundation （BNWF） modeling--which is based on using nonlinear springs and dampers instead of a continuum soil media--is employed for this purpose. A regular monochrome design wave and an irregular wave representing a design sea state are applied to the platform as lateral loading. By using the BNWF model and assuming a granular soil under spudcans, properties such as soil nonlinear behaviour near the structure, contact phenomena at the interface of soil and spudcan （such as uplifting and rocking）, and geometrical nonlinear behaviour of the structure are studied. Results of this study show that inelastic behaviour of the soil causes an increase in the lateral displacement at the hull elevation and permanent unequal settlement in soil below the spudcans, which are increased by decreasing the friction angle of the sandy soil. In fact, spudeans and the underlying soil cause a relative fixity at the platform support, which changes the dynamic response of the structure compared with the case where the structure is assumed to have a fixed support or pinned support. For simulating this behaviour without explicit modelling of soil-structure interaction （SSI）, moment- rotation curves at the end of platform legs, which are dependent on foundation dimensions and soil characteristics, are obtained. These curves can be used in a simplified model of the platform for considering the relative fixity at the soil- foundation interface.

Efficient seismic analysis for nonlinear soil-structure interaction with a thick soil layer

The direct finite element method is a type commonly used for nonlinear seismic soil-structure interaction(SSI)analysis.This method introduces a truncated boundary referred to as an artificial boundary meant to divide the soil-structure system into finite and infinite domains.An artificial boundary condition is used on a truncated boundary to achieve seismic input and simulate the wave radiation effect of infinite domain.When the soil layer is particularly thick,especially for a three-dimensional problem,the computational efficiency of seismic SSI analysis is very low due to the large size of the finite element model,which contains an whole thick soil layer.In this paper,an accurate and efficient scheme is developed to solve the nonlinear seismic SSI problem regarding thick soil layers.The process consists of nonlinear site response and SSI analysis.The nonlinear site response analysis is still performed for the whole thick soil layer.The artificial boundary at the bottom of the SSI analysis model is subsequently relocated upward from the bottom of the soil layer(bedrock surface)to the location nearest to the structure as possible.Finally,three types of typical sites and underground structures are adopted with seismic SSI analysis to evaluate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed efficient analysis scheme.

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 solu- tions available. The soil-structure interaction problem is one of the most classic problems connecting the two dis- ciplines 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 super- structure. This interaction effect is important across many structure, foundation, and subgrade types but is most pro- nounced when a rigid superstructure is founded on a rela- tively 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 super- structure. 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 asuperstructure from its substructure resting on a shaking half-space.

Soil-structure interaction on shallow rigid circular foundation:plane SH waves from far-field earthquakes

A closed-form wave function analytic solution of two-dimensional scattering and diffraction of incident plane SH-waves by a fl exible wall on a rigid shallow circular foundation embedded in an elastic half-space is presented. This research generalizes the previous solution by Trifunac in 1972, which tackled only the semi-circular foundation, to arbitrary shallow circular-arc foundation cases, and is thus comparatively more realistic. Ground surface displacement spectra at higher frequencies are also obtained. As an analytical series solution, the accuracy and error analysis of the numerical results are also discussed. It was observed from the results that the rise-to-span ratio of the foundation profi le, frequency of incident waves, and mass ratios of different media(foundation-structure-soil) are the three primary factors that may affect the surface ground motion amplitudes near the structure.

Effect of nonlinear soil-structure interaction on seismic response of low-rise SMRF buildings

The nonlinear behavior of a soil-foundation system may alter the seismic response of a structure by providing additional flexibility to the system and dissipating hysteretic energy at the soil-foundation interface. However, the current design practice is still reluctant to consider the nonlinearity of the soil-foundation system, primarily due to lack of reliable modeling techniques. This study is motivated towards evaluating the effect of nonlinear soil-structure interaction （SSI） on the seismic responses of low-rise steel moment resisting frame （SMRF） structures. In order to achieve this, a Winkler- based approach is adopted, where the soil beneath the foundation is assumed to be a system of closely-spaced, independent, nonlinear spring elements. Static pushover analysis and nonlinear dynamic analyses are performed on a 3-story SMRF building and the performance of the structure is evaluated through a variety of force and displacement demand parameters. It is observed that incorporation of nonlinear SSI leads to an increase in story displacement demand and a significant reduction in base moment, base shear and inter-story drift demands, indicating the importance of its consideration towards achieving an economic, yet safe seismic design.

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.

Evaluation of Dynamic Soil-Structure Interaction and Dynamic Seismic Soil Pressures Acting on It Subjected to Strong Earthquake Motions

In order to clarify the damage mechanism of the subway structure, the dynamic soil-structure interaction and the dynamic forces acting on the structure, a series of shaking table tests and simulation analyses were performed. The seismic response of the structure and the dynamic forces acting on the structure due to sinusoidal and random waves were investigated with special attention to the dynamic soil-structure interaction. The result shows that the compression seismic soil pressures and extension seismic soil pressures simultaneously act on the sidewalls, and big shear stress also acts on the ceiling slab due to horizontal excitation. The seismic soil pressure could be approximated to hyperbola curve, and reached a peak value with increase of the shear strain of the model ground. In addition, a slide and exfoliation phenomenon between the structure and the surrounding ground was simulated, using the nonlinear analyses. The foundation is provided for amending the calculation method of seismic soil pressure and improving the anti-earthquake designing level of underground structure.

Extended consecutive modal pushover procedure for estimating seismic responses of one-way asymmetric plan tall buildings considering soil-structure interaction

Performance based design becomes an effective method for estimating seismic demands of buildings. In asymmetric plan tall building the effects of higher modes and torsion are crucial. The consecutive modal pushover （CMP） procedure is one of the procedures that consider these effects. Also in previous studies the influence of soil-structure interaction （SSI） in pushover analysis is ignored. In this paper the CMP procedure is modified for one-way asymmetric plan mid and high-rise buildings considering $SI. The extended CMP （ECMP） procedure is proposed in order to overcome some limitations of the CMP procedure. In this regard, 10, 15 and 20 story buildings with asymmetric plan are studied considering SSI assuming three different soil conditions. Using nonlinear response history analysis under a set of bidirectional ground motion; the exact responses of these buildings are calculated. Then the ECMP procedure is evaluated by comparing the results of this procedure with nonlinear time history results as an exact solution as well as the modal pushover analysis procedure and FEMA 356 load patterns. The results demonstrate the accuracy of the ECMP procedure.

An overview of structure-soil-structure dynamic interaction research

The concept of structure-soil-structure dynamic interaction was introduced and the research methods were summarized.Based on lots of documents,a systematic summary of the history and current situation of structure-soil-structure dynamic interaction research considering adjacent structures was proposed as reference for researchers.The existing matter and the prospect of future research trend in this field was also examined.