An efficient approach for assessing the seismic soil structure interaction effect for the asymmetrical pile group

Abstract

All of the civil engineering structures involve some type of structural element which is in direct contact with soil. To estimate the accurate response of the superstructure it is necessary to consider the response of the soil supporting structure, and is well explained in the soil structure interaction analysis. Many attempts have been made to model the SSI problem numerically; however the soil nonlinearity, foundation interfaces and boundary conditions make the problem more complex and computationally costlier. To overcome this problem the attempt has been made to optimize the computational efficiency by applying the equivalent pier method for the deep foundation system. In this research paper the L-shape 11 storey building supported by a pile foundation with homogeneous local soil condition is analyzed for dynamic loading including the SSI effect. The significance of the SSI effect has been studied by comparing the responses of the system for fixed base and flexible base condition. A new approach has been proposed to provide simplicity in SSI modeling and reduce the computational cost (both memory and time wise). The approach includes the applicability of the equivalent pier method for the asymmetrical pile groups system, including SSI effect of the pile foundation system. The approach is validated for group effect and found that equivalent pile method can successfully be adopted and helps to reduce the computational cost of SSI problem. To understand the applicability of EPM approach, the parametric study has been carried out for different input of earthquakes and soil types. In accordance with this the three distinct earthquakes, including 1995 Chamba (M = 4.9), 1999 Uttarkashi (M = 6.9) and 2001 Bhuj (M = 7.7) and soil types including cohesive, cohesionless and C-Phi soils have been considered for SSI analysis. The study observed that, earthquake magnitude and soil type shows the major impact on the response of the SSI system.