Seismic Vulnerability Analysis of Structure Subjected to Uneven Foundation Settlement

Abstract

Uneven foundation settlement is one of the common engineering problems in a collapsible loess area. In order to study the influence of uneven foundation settlement on the seismic performance of a structure, the incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) method is used to analyze the seismic vulnerability of the steel structure frame. The differences in the seismic response of the structure in relation to uneven foundation settlement are analyzed. The influences of uneven foundation settlement quantities and various areas of uneven settlement on the seismic response of the structure are discussed. On this basis, the relationship between ground motion intensity and structural failure probability is studied, by changing the magnitude of seismic acceleration peaks. Compared with the unsettled structure, the internal force redistribution of the structure caused by uneven foundation settlement is one of the causes of earthquake damage for some components. The uneven foundation settlement located at the corner of the plane of the structure is likely to cause more serious earthquake damage to the structure. Uneven settlement will cause an increase in storey drift. With the increase in settlement, the seismic damage of the superstructure will be aggravated.

Keywords

• uneven settlement
• collapse probability
• seismic fragility analysis
• incremental dynamic analysis
• seismic performance