Nonlinear interaction behaviour of plane frame-layered soil system subjected to seismic loading

Abstract

The foundation of a tall building frame resting on settable soil mass undergoes differential settlements which alter the forces in the structural members significantly. For tall buildings it is essential to consider seismic forces in analysis. The building frame, foundation and soil mass are considered to act as single integral compatible structural unit. The stress-strain characteristics of the supporting soil play a vital role in the interaction analysis. The resulting differential settlements of the soil mass are responsible for the redistribution of forces in the superstructure. In the present work, the nonlinear interaction analysis of a two-bay ten-storey plane building frame- layered soil system under seismic loading has been carried out using the coupled finite-infinite elements. The frame has been considered to act in linear elastic manner while the soil mass to act as nonlinear elastic manner. The subsoil in reality exists in layered formation and consists of various soil layers having different properties. Each individual soil layer in reality can be considered to behave in nonlinear manner. The nonlinear layered system as a whole will undergo differential settlements. Thus, it becomes essential to study the structural behaviour of a structure resting on such nonlinear composite layered soil system. The nonlinear constitutive hyperbolic soil model available in the literature is adopted to model the nonlinear behaviour of the soil mass. The structural behaviour of the interaction system is investigated as the shear forces and bending moments in superstructure get significantly altered due to differential settlements of the soil mass.