Combined Effect of Seismic-Induced Collision and Soil Stress Irregularity on Seismic Response of Adjacent High-Rise Buildings: Evaluation and Mitigation

Abstract

Unequal distribution of stresses in the soil underneath the foundations of adjacent buildings represents a great challenge in structural engineering, especially for buildings prone to earthquakes. Another serious problem facing earthquake-prone adjacent buildings is collision, which severely affects the behavior of the buildings and changes the distribution of the soil stresses under the foundations of the buildings. This research investigates seismic responses of adjacent High-Rise Buildings (HRBs) exposed to seismic-induced pounding and impose irregular soil stress distribution considering the Soil-Structure Interaction (SSI) effect. For this purpose, numerical nonlinear dynamic analysis of three-dimensional models of adjacent four HRBs is conducted. To mitigate the exaggerated effect of seismic-induced collision and soil stress irregularity on the seismic response of the adjacent HRBs, three approaches are proposed; improving soil bearing capacity in the highly stressed zone, joining the adjacent HRBs by means of Fluid Viscous Links (FVLs), and combining the two previous approaches. Three-dimensional models of the adjacent 4HRBs group are studied under different earthquakes to examine the above-mentioned three approaches. The combination approach shows promising results in moderating the collision effects; it considerably mitigates the pounding effects between the adjacent HRBs in terms of reducing straining actions and displacements of buildings as well as controlling stresses irregularity in soil under the foundations of such buildings.

Keywords

• adjacent high-rise buildings
• irregular soil stresses
• seismic pounding mitigation
• seismic response
• soil-structure interaction