Soil-structure-interaction effects on the seismic performance of a masonry building under geothermal power plants induced earthquakes

Abstract

The earthquakes caused by the geothermal power plant (GPP) operation are a new phenomenon observed in recent decades. Low-to-moderate magnitude events with a high recurrence rate. This research focuses on the evaluation of the impact of modeling soil medium and its interaction with a masonry building on the overall performance of the whole system. In this regard, a typical masonry building in Germany is considered. A set of 11 ground motion records of induced earthquakes by the GPP activity is adopted. Two separate detailed 3D nonlinear structural models of the building are developed. In the first one, the base support condition of the structure is assumed to be fixed, while in the second case, the building, the underlying soil medium, and their interaction are simulated in an integrated model. By obtaining their responses to the earthquakes through the time history analysis approach, the structural damage level, as well as the comfort level of the occupants of the building, are evaluated. The outcomes show that the structural damage remains at a low level in both cases; however, consideration of soil medium slightly intensifies the damage level. Furthermore, in terms of occupant comfort, humans will suffer from significant disruption, especially when the effect of soil-structure interaction (SSI) has been taken into account. Finally, a relationship between the comfort level of the occupants and the intensity measure of the earthquakes is developed for both fixed base and SSI models.