Effect of soil structure interaction on the dynamic response of reinforced concrete structures

Abstract

During severe seismic events, the dynamic response of the structure is affected not only by the behavior of the superstructure but also by the nature and behavior of the soil present in and around the substructure. The conventional structural design process usually assumes the base of the foundation to be completely restrained, i.e., in a fixed condition. However, this assumption is inaccurate as it neglects the effect of flexibility offered by the interaction of the soil with the structure. There is no clear consensus on either the beneficial or detrimental effects of soil-structure interaction (SSI) on the seismic response of structures. The main objective of this paper is to study the effect of SSI on a multi-story (G + 10) building resting on a mat foundation. The building is modeled using Finite Element Method (FEM) software and SSI is incorporated using Winkler's (un-coupled) and pseudo-coupled approaches. A case study is done to understand the non-linear dynamic response of building with different soil bearing capacities. The results are represented in terms of fundamental period, base shear, and story drift.

Keywords

• Soil-structure interaction
• Displacement response
• Finite element method
• Winkler's approach
• Pseudo-coupled approach