On the influence of foundation flexibility on the seismic response of structures

Abstract

The main objective of this paper is to contribute to a quantification of the effect of foundation flexibility on the most important design variables in the seismic response of building structures with prismatic rectangular foundations. A soil–structure interaction model was used for this purpose. A general continuum formulation was adopted to represent the physical model of the structure and a lumped parameter model was adopted to represent the soil and the interaction mechanisms. Using the implemented models and in view of the objective of the work, a parametric study was made. For this purpose, a group of three structures, three seismic accelerations and seven sets of soil properties will be considered. The results obtained, in view of the large number of uncertainties involved, are presented in a probabilistic format and suggest that the soil–structure interaction can be neglected in the analysis of this class of structures.