Long-period Ground Motions Research Articles

Dynamic Analysis of a 600-m-High Supertall Building Subjected to Long-Period Ground Motions, Ordinary Ground Motions and a Super Typhoon: A Comparative Study

Long-period ground motions pose potential risks to the safety and serviceability of supertall buildings, which was not paid sufficient attention in the past of structural seismic design. To address this issue, the comparative study presented in this paper systematically investigates the dynamic responses of a 600-m-high supertall building subjected to natural hazards including long-period ground motions, ordinary ground motions and a super typhoon with the same return periods of 50 years. The seismic responses and wind-induced responses of the supertall building are obtained based on the building’s finite element model under earthquake excitation records and structural health monitoring system installed in the skyscraper, respectively. The long-period ground motions cause larger dynamic responses of the supertall building than those resulted by the ordinary ground motions or the super typhoon. This combined study of numerical analysis and field measurement provides valuable insights into the dynamic responses of a supertall building under different natural hazards, especially the long-period ground motions. The findings are expected to be of interest and practical use to the design of supertall buildings.

Attention-based hybrid network for structural nonlinear response prediction under long-period earthquake

To develop structures that can respond to severe seismic events, models and tools are essential for quickly and precisely assessing and controlling the structure's performance. Long-period ground motions may pose potentially significant hazards to the safety of high-rise buildings located in basins or alluvial plains. However, traditional regression-based methods and pure data-driven machine learning methods are insufficient to address this problem of response prediction, which is characterized by non-stationarity, nonlinearity, and scarcity of samples. To tackle this issue, we propose a novel semi-explicit physics-informed deep learning method. The method incorporates the physical information into the model, thereby achieving better prediction accuracy. Through numerical and experimental validations, including hysteresis experimental data, the actual seismic response record of a six-story hotel, as well as data from single-degree-of-freedom structures across various periods and multi-story buildings in Los Angeles, Seattle, and Boston, we verified the proposed method significantly outperforms traditional regression-based methods and data-driven machine learning methods in terms of accuracy, efficiency, and robustness.

Long-period ground motion simulation and pulse probability distribution characteristics of the Kumamoto MW 7.1 earthquake in Japan

The 2016 Kumamoto MW 7.1 earthquake in Japan caused severe structural damage. It produced valuable seismic records that offered an opportunity to investigate the characteristics of long-period ground motion and pulse probability distribution. This study works in three main parts. First, we use the finite difference method (FDM) to reproduce the long-period ground motions of the 2016 Kumamoto MW 7.1 earthquake. That provides a crucial foundation for the subsequent phases. We identify velocity pulses within both synthetic and observed waveforms. By rigorously analyzing these pulses, we unveiled a wealth of insights into the characteristics of velocity pulses, strengthening the influence of the rupture directivity effect. In particular, the northeast region of the rupture exhibited a significant concentration of pulsed attributes. Finally, we further focus on establishing statistical relationships between different pulse parameters. The study revealed that the pulse probability distribution model fit well with the observed pulse distribution in the parallel to the fault (FP) and normal to the fault (FN) directions. However, the model also faced challenges in the FN direction due to the mechanism of velocity pulses and altered rupture propagation direction. Crucially, the study established that velocity pulses primarily cluster within a fault distance of less than 30 km, and the relationship between pulse peak value and fault distance followed an exponential trend. The study underscores the imperative of further refining the probability distribution model of velocity pulses, making it more robust and widely applicable. Furthermore, the correlation between velocity pulses and seismic parameters requires further validation through seismic records. This study sets the stage for a deeper understanding of earthquake-induced ground motion and pulse characteristics, contributing to the ongoing efforts in seismic risk assessment.

Hybrid broadband simulation of long-period ground motion in far-field basins based on group delay model

Shallow seismic events often induce long-period ground motions in distant sedimentary basins, which can cause damage to structures. The current design earthquake input is usually based on amplitude, while the equally essential phase characteristics of far-field basin seismic waves are often ignored. To address this issue, this paper proposes a semi-empirical model based on group delay, which integrates the effects of source, path, local site, and basin on group delay, we characterize randomness of group delay through a parametric Gaussian probability framework, and approximates the frequency non-stationarity of positive and negative dispersion by introducing piecewise spline gradient regression. As an improvement of the stochastic finite fault method, the proposed method solves the problem that the original method cannot sufficiently reflect the phase characteristics and frequency non-stationarity of basin-induced seismic waves. Based on this model, the stochastic finite fault method and the spectral element method are combined to perform the hybrid simulation of basin ground motion, and the earthquake of 2003 Tokachi-Oki verifies the reliability of the proposed method.

A force-restricted inerter damper for enhancing the resilience of seismically isolated structures

An inerter is a mechanical device that generates a resisting force proportional to the relative acceleration between its two terminals. Several inerter-based dampers have been developed and studied to protect critical structures from the damaging effects of strong earthquake events. However, under high-frequency excitations, conventional inerter-based dampers may generate high resisting forces, which can result in excessive stresses in the supporting members and degrade the performance of the isolation systems. To overcome this issue, a novel force-restricted inerter damper (FRID) is proposed in this study for use in base-isolated structures. A simplified mechanical model of the proposed FRID was developed, which consists of a parallel layout of a viscous damping element and a nonlinear inerter element with a friction force restriction mechanism. The nonlinear hysteretic behavior of the FRID is discussed with an emphasis on the frequency dependence. Time- and frequency-domain methods were developed to evaluate the nonlinear dynamic response of the FRID-controlled structure. The performance of the FRID was investigated and compared with that of commonly used fluid viscous dampers (FVDs) and viscous mass dampers, when incorporated into base-isolated structures under short- and long-period ground motions. Parametric studies were conducted to investigate the influence of the FRID’s characteristic parameters on the seismic performance of controlled structures. The analysis demonstrated that the viscous mass damper and FRID provided superior control than the FVD on the displacement of a base-isolated structure, and the FRID is more effective than the viscous mass damper in reducing the control force and structural acceleration. This confirms that the proposed FRID is a promising, high-performance, and cost-effective device for enhancing the resilience of seismically isolated structures.

Seismic Response of the Continuous Rigid-Framed Bridge with Super-High Piers Based on Shaking Table Tests

Continuous rigid-framed bridges with super-high piers (CRFB-HP) have been widely applied in mountain areas. However, their seismic performance is still urgently to be clarified. In this study, the refined finite element model (FEM) of a CRFB-HP was constructed and verified according to the shaking table test results of its scaled model. On this basis, systematic elastic-plastic time history analysis of the CRFB-HP was conducted to investigate the influence of parameters on their seismic performance, including main bridge span, pier height and number of tie beams. The results show that CRFB-HP have the characteristic of long vibration periods and are more sensitive to long-period ground motions. Along the longitudinal and transverse directions, the peak pier top displacement and pier bottom bending moment of CRFB-HP are both relatively large under NLPL (+20~+70%) and NFPT (TP ≈ T1, +50~+120%) excitations. For the same span, the peak pier top displacement increases with the pier height increasing, while the peak pier bottom bending moment decreases with the pier height increasingFor the same pier height, the peak pier top displacement and peak pier bottom bending moment both increase with the span length increasing. Moreover, the pier height change has a greater effect on the pier top displacement than that of the span change. CRFB-HP show obvious high-order response participation (HRP) under different ground motions. The NFPT (TP ≈ T1), ground motions can significantly increase HRP. Moreover, compared with cast-in-place CRFB-HP, the HRP of a fabricated super-high pier is greater (+20~+30%). The peak pier top displacement and pier bottom bending moment both decrease with the increase in the number of tie beams. The reasonable arrangement of tie beams can improve the lateral seismic performance of CRFB-HP. However, compared to the cast-in-place CRFB-HP, the peak pier top displacement is larger, and the peak pier bottom bending moment is smaller, for the fabricated CRFB-HP.

Structural behaviour of single-deck floating roof tanks subject to seismic loading

During a seismic event, fluid storage tanks are subject to sloshing phenomena; their effect on the structural components of the tanks is one of the main aspects to be considered during the design. The movement in successive modal forms of the roof-fluid system determined by the earthquake can cause severe damage to both the containment shell and the floating roof. The fluid-structure interaction imposes extremely complex out-of-plane deformation fields, mainly in the presence of floating roofs with lower flexible resistance. Such deformations can cause severe structural damage and subsequent catastrophic events such as those experienced in the past in Japan and Turkey. In fact, recently recorded earthquakes in Japan and Turkey, characterized by oscillation periods between 3 and 8 sec (long-period ground motion), compatible with the natural first and second slosh frequencies of the fluid-structure system, led to conspicuous problems of instability failure with the consequent sinking of the floating roof. These events dictated a new starting point for the research into the seismic behaviour of roof-fluid-tank systems.

Basin effects from 3D simulated ground motions in the Greater Los Angeles region for use in seismic hazard analyses

We develop basin-depth-scaling models (i.e. “basin terms”) from the long-period ([Formula: see text]) simulated ground motions of the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) CyberShake project for use in seismic hazard analyses at sites within the sedimentary basins of southern California. Basin terms use the Next Generation Attenuation (NGA)-West-2 ground-motion models (GMMs) as reference models and use their functional forms with slight modifications. We investigate the use of two approaches to incorporate the time-averaged shear-wave velocity in the upper 30 m ([Formula: see text]) in these calculations and find that the use of site-specific and uniform [Formula: see text] has minor effects on the resulting basin terms for this data set. By centering the simulated ground motions on the basin terms, we separate the information from the simulations about absolute ground-motion level from information relating to the relative amplifications, such as the differences between shallow- and deep-basin sites. Recent observations from sedimentary basins of southern California indicate that additional amplification effect may persist at relatively shallow basin depths (i.e. the GMM basin terms should have positive values when differential depths, [Formula: see text], are near zero), and we present models for “centered” and “adjusted” basin-depth scaling models that reflect this potential. The simulation-modified GMMs are appropriate for crustal sources and for deep-basin sites ([Formula: see text]) within basins of the Greater Los Angeles region, for the magnitudes and distances defined by each of the reference NGA-West-2 GMMs.

Study on Long-Period Ground Motion Amplification Effect of Buried Paleogene Basin Structures in North China

Study on Long-Period Ground Motion Amplification Effect of Buried Paleogene Basin Structures in North China

The 3D Physics-Based Broadband Ground-Motion Simulation, including Topography Effects Causing Damage to Structures, for the 2022 Mw 6.6 Menyuan, China, Earthquake

ABSTRACT On 8 January 2022, Menyuan County, China, was struck by an Mw 6.6 earthquake that caused surface rupture in the epicentral area and severe damage to an important railway bridge. The earthquake was recorded by only one strong-motion station, which presents a challenge for quantitatively estimating the extent of the ground-motion distribution caused by this event. In this study, the spectral element method (SPECFEM3D code), which solves the elastodynamic equations and can capture the full physics of seismic-wave propagation, is employed for broadband (0–10 Hz) ground-motion simulations of this earthquake. A hybrid kinematic source is developed in which the final slip distribution combines a prescribed asperity model based on Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar data (as a source for low-frequency radiation) and a stochastic part (as a source for high-frequency radiation), which introduces spatial heterogeneities to the prescribed asperity model. The numerical approach is first validated by modeling the well-recorded 1994 Northridge earthquake before modeling the Menyuan earthquake. The simulated ground motion is compared with the only observed strong-motion station record, as well as with empirical Next Generation Attenuation-West2 ground-motion models. Then, topography effect in Menyuan earthquake is studied in detail. The simulated ground motions with and without surface topography indicate that the topography tends to focus and scatter the seismic wavefield, resulting in amplification of the ground shaking. The results show a significant correlation between the peak ground velocity (PGV) and topography. The PGV amplification caused by topography effects is period dependent, and its peak amplification reaches up to 50% within a typical resonance period (1–2 s). It could be inferred that the railway bridge probably vibrated in resonance and suffered severe damage owing to the amplified long-period ground motion caused by the topography.

Failure Probability and Economic Loss Assessment of a High-Rise Frame Structure under Synthetic Multi-Dimensional Long-Period Ground Motions

Multiple research studies and seismic data analyses have shown that multi-directional long-period ground motion affects crucial and intricate large-scale structures like oil storage containers, long-span bridges, and high-rise buildings. Seismic damage data show a 3–55% chance of long-period ground motion. To clarify, the chance of occurrence is 3% in hard soil and 83% in soft soil. Due of the above characteristics, the aseismic engineering field requires a realistic stochastic model that accounts for long-period multi-directional ground motion. A weighted average seismic amplification coefficient selected NGA database multi-directional long-period ground motion recordings for this study. Due to the significant low-frequency component in the long-period ground motion, this research uses empirical mode decomposition (EMD) to efficiently decompose it into a composite structure with high- and low-frequency components. Given the above, further investigation is needed on the evolutionary power spectrum density (EPSD) functions of high- and low-frequency components. Analyzing the recorded data will reveal these functions and their corresponding parameters. Proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) is needed to simulate samples of high- and low-frequency components in different directions. These samples can be combined to illustrate multi-directional long-period ground motion. Representative samples exhibit the seismic characteristics of long-period multi-directional ground motion, as shown by numerical examples. This proves the method’s engineering accuracy and usefulness. Moreover, this study used incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) to apply seismic vulnerability theory. This study investigated whether long-period ground motions in both x and multi-directional directions could enhance the seismic response of a high-rise frame structure. By using this method, a comprehensive seismic economic loss rate curve was created, making economic loss assessment clearer. This study shows that multi-directional impacts should be included when studying seismic events and calculating structure economic damages.

Analysis of shock absorption performance of a new staggered story isolation structure under far-field long-period ground motions

The new staggered story isolation (NSSI) is a new type of isolation method developed based on base isolation (BI) and mid-story isolation (MSI). Different from ordinary ground motions, far-field long-period ground motions have the characteristics of long period, long duration, and rich low-frequency components, which will have adverse effects on structures with relatively large periods of isolation, which need to be discussed in depth. Based on this, this paper establishes a 16-story frame core tube structure, under rare earthquakes, adopts NSSI, and inputs 7 ordinary ground motions (OGM), 7 far-field anharmonic-like ground motions (FAGM), and 7 far-field harmonic-like ground motions (FHGM), the latter two are collectively referred to as far-field long-period ground motions (FLGM). The seismic response results are obtained through simulation, and the shock absorption performance is compared with non-isolated, BI, and MSI. Combined isolation is proposed, and its displacement-limiting effect under FLGM is discussed. The results show that the seismic responses of various structures under FLGM are much larger than those of OGM; the NSSI structure has better overall shock absorption performance and better safety performance under FLGM; The Combined isolation has a good displacement limiting effect under various ground motions, especially for FHGM, the displacement limiting effect is the best.

Shaking table test of prestressed high-strength concrete pipe piles reinforced with non-prestressed steel reinforcement

Prestressed high-strength concrete piles reinforced with non-prestressed steel reinforcement (PRHC piles) have been developed to improve their seismic performance. In this study, the seismic response and failure mechanism of PRHC piles was investigated using a shaking table test. The dynamic characteristics, dynamic soil pressure, superstructure response, acceleration magnification factors, maximum curvature ductility demand, bending moment response, and failure mode identification of the PRHC piles were determined. The performance of PRHC piles was compared with that of prestressed high-strength concrete pipe (PHC) piles, which showed that the PRHC piles experienced higher energy dissipation and lower maximum curvature ductility demands than PHC piles. In addition, the PRHC piles suffered bending failure at the upper-middle positions, and the plastic zones were higher than those of the PHC piles. The adverse effects of long-period and pulse-type ground motions on pipe piles should be considered in designing for strong seismic events. The addition of non-prestressed reinforcement to a pipe pile allows longer segments of the pipe pile to be involved in providing resistance.

Sediment thickness map of United States Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain Strata, and their influence on earthquake ground motions

With the recent successful accounting of basin depth ground-motion adjustments in seismic hazard analyses for select areas of the western United States, we move toward implementing similar adjustments in the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains by constructing a sediment thickness model and evaluating multiple relevant site amplification models for central and eastern United States seismic hazard analyses. We digitize and combine existing sediment thickness data sets into a composite surface that delineates the base of Cretaceous sediments under the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the base of Mesozoic sediments under the Gulf Coastal Plain. Amplification models dependent on sediment thickness, site natural period, and source-to-site path length are compared with data sets of observed ground motions to evaluate the ability of the new models to improve ground motion estimates. We find that the amplification models can account for observed trends in sediment-thickness and period-dependent residuals, but some tuning is required. For example, the model of Chapman and Guo requires a reference VS30, the time-averaged shear-wave velocity within 30 m of the Earth’s surface, for non-Coastal Plain sites, which we estimate to be between about 1 and 2 km/s. Along with our sediment thickness model, we estimate a velocity profile for application to the Harmon et al. site-natural-period-based model in order to best match the Chapman and Guo period dependence for a broad range of sediment thicknesses. The Next Generation of Attenuation models for the eastern United States Gulf Coast path-based adjustment models can also account for seismic attenuation in the Coastal Plain sediments and reduce the standard deviation of total residuals. If enacted in the U.S. Geological Survey National Seismic Hazard Model, these amplification models will reduce predicted short-period (<1 s) and increase predicted long-period (>1 s) ground motions in the Coastal Plains appreciably.

Seismic vulnerability of shallow tunnels subjected to far-field long-period ground motions

Extensive documentation and research have highlighted the destructive impact of near-field earthquakes on underground structures, while the effects of far-field earthquakes remain relatively less explored. In regions such as Bangkok and Singapore, where active seismic faults are located at a significant distance, the influence of far-field motions on tunnels tends to be ignored. However, far-field earthquakes are generally less destructive than near-field motions due to their low peak ground acceleration, peak ground velocity, and Arias intensity, resulting in lower energy. Conversely, far-field earthquakes tend to have a longer duration than near-field and a higher probability of containing long-period waves, which can lead to higher responses in the low-frequency region of the response spectrum. When these far-field ground motions are applied to thick layers of soft natural clays, a common geological feature in Bangkok, they can undergo significant amplification in the long-period range, resulting in large soil displacements and shear strains. Consequently, this induces significant forces in the tunnel lining comparable to those generated by near-field earthquakes. This paper presents a comprehensive study of this rarely investigated topic, using advanced numerical simulations to analyse the seismic behaviour of a shallow circular tunnel in Bangkok soft clays subjected to long-period earthquakes. The results show that far-field earthquakes have the potential to generate forces in the tunnel lining that are equally destructive as those induced by near-field motions. Therefore, these far-field effects should be accounted for in the seismic design of tunnels.

Dynamic model, performance analysis and evaluation of frame-distributed rocking-core tube structure

To obtain adequate lateral stiffness for frame-core tube (FCT) structures, the core tube area proportion is often increased and/or overly reinforced which often limits the layout flexibility and economy of the structure. A new high-rise configuration named frame-distributed-core tube (FDCT) is proposed to reduce the tube area proportion of the FCT structure. Combined with a rocking system, the frame-distributed rocking-core tube (FDRCT) structure is further proposed, which aims to reduce the damage caused by soft-stories due to by the weakening of the stiffness of the FDCT structure. Simplified models are built, and the structural dynamics are derived based on the Lagrangian equation. Through numerical simulation of three structures under ground motions, it is shown that the FDRCT structure has good energy dissipation and damping performance. The inter-story drift ratios of the structure decreases with the increase of the distributed rocking tubes mass. Under different site conditions and long-period ground motions, numerical simulations and shaking table tests show that the distributed rocking tubes can effectively reduce the structural response and improve the seismic performance. The FDRCT configuration gives better damping performance under long-period ground motions. A performance-profit evaluation shows that the proposed high-rise structure system of FDRCT provides a safe and cost-effective design solution.

Implementation of Iwan-Type Nonlinear Rheology in a 3D High-Order Staggered-Grid Finite-Difference Method

ABSTRACT We have implemented and verified a parallel-series Iwan-type nonlinear model in a 3D fourth-order staggered-grid velocity–stress finite-difference method. The Masing unloading and reloading behavior is simulated by tracking an overlay of concentric von Mises yield surfaces. Lamé parameters and failure stresses pertaining to each surface are calibrated to reproduce the stress–strain backbone curve, which is controlled by the reference strain assigned to a given depth level. The implementation is successfully verified against established codes for 1D and 2D SH-wave benchmarks. The capabilities of the method for large-scale nonlinear earthquake modeling are demonstrated for an Mw 7.8 dynamic rupture ShakeOut scenario on the southern San Andreas fault. Although ShakeOut simulations with a single yield surface reduces long-period ground-motion amplitudes by about 25% inside a waveguide in greater Los Angeles, Iwan nonlinearity further reduces the values by a factor of 2. For example, inside the Whittier Narrows corridor spectral accelerations at a period of 3 s are reduced from 1g in the linear case to about 0.8 in the bilinear case and to 0.3–0.4g in the multisurface Iwan nonlinear case, depending on the choice of reference strain. Normalized shear modulus reductions reach values of up to 50% in the waveguide and up to 75% in the San Bernardino basin at the San Andreas fault. We expect the implementation to be a valuable tool for future nonlinear 3D dynamic rupture and ground-motion simulations in models with coupled source, path, and site effects.

Seismic responses of super high-rise buildings under long-period ground motions

Super high-rise buildings usually exhibit low fundamental frequencies and are particularly susceptible to Long Period Ground Motions (LPGMs) characterized by rich components in long-period range. Previous seismic analyses of super high-rise buildings have primarily considered ordinary earthquake actions, overlooking the influence of LPGMs. To address this gap, the seismic responses of super high-rise buildings ranging in height from 400 m to 800 m are investigated when subjected to LPGMs. The effectiveness of earthquake intensity measures, which serve as indices connecting seismic hazards to structural responses, is evaluated in capturing the seismic effects caused by LPGM excitations. Firstly, this study introduces a statistical model for the response spectra of LPGMs. A simulation algorithm utilizing Continuous Wavelet Transformation (CWT) is then employed to generate LPGMs. Subsequently, simplified shear-flexural models are applied to serve as computational models for super high-rise buildings with varying heights. Furthermore, this study calculates, analyzes and compares typical seismic responses, such as lateral displacements and inter-story drifts, of these super high-rise buildings under simulated LPGMs and ordinary earthquake excitations. Additionally, a set of seismological ground motions is utilized to validate the seismic response analysis. The findings of this study reveal that LPGMs lead to significantly larger responses of super high-rise buildings exceeding 400 m in height compared to ordinary earthquakes. Furthermore, this study examines the correlation coefficients between various existing earthquake intensity measures and seismic responses under LPGM excitations. The results indicate a strong relationship between the LPGM induced responses and the spectral acceleration and velocity at the fundamental periods of the structures. The aim of this paper is to explore the seismic response of super high-rise buildings under LPGMs and provide a scientific basis for their seismic analysis and design.

Seismic and collapse behavior of existing high-rise steel buildings under long-period earthquakes

This work presented the experimental and numerical evaluation of the seismic and collapse behavior of Japanese existing high-rise steel buildings subjected to long-period ground motions (LPGMs). Initially, the experiment (E-Defense, 2008) was performed by the full-scale shaking table tests on a typical 21-story steel frame substructure. Accordingly, a nonlinear rotational spring model was used in the numerical modeling. In consideration of the stiffness/strength deterioration and fatigue fracture of beam-column connections, the cyclic pushover analysis was utilized to account for such effect using seismic response data from system-level testing. Subsequently, the numerical model parameters were derived and validated with the initial experiment on the high-rise steel frame substructure. Herein, a well agreement on the seismic failure behavior between simulation and experiment was found in this situation. Furthermore, both field-welded and shop-welded connections on the seismic performance were included for comparison. For the 21-story prototype steel building (built before 1970s), a series of numerical collapse analyses were performed. The above revised model using nonlinear static pushover analysis and time history analysis were conducted to simulate and compare the effects of connection details and composite slabs on the 21-story prototype building. Finally, a cyclic loading protocol for simulating LPGMs was proposed, and the related ultimate failure behavior of the high-rise building was analytically discussed. Critically, this work should provide a viable strategy to numerically simulate the seismic and collapse behavior of high-rise steel buildings in this progressing construction field.

Interlayer Isolation Structures Considering Soil–Structure Interaction under Long-Period Ground Motions: An Experimental Analysis

After coupling long-period seismic motions with the soil–structure interaction (SSI) effect, isolated structures can easily be resonated, and the seismic response of the structure is significantly enhanced. The SSI effect can alter the dynamic characteristics of a structure, resulting in a deviation between the assumed seismic-isolation effect of the rigid foundation and the theoretical results. To investigate the dynamic characteristics and seismic-response laws of interlayer structures considering SSI under long-term seismic motion, four types of ground motions (near-field ordinary, far-field ordinary, near-field pulse, and far-field harmonic ground motions) were selected, and two structural models (rigid-foundation and soft soil foundation interlayer seismic-isolation structure models) were established. Experiments were conducted using a combination of shaking-table tests and finite-element simulations. The results show that the use of the SSI effect caused the decrease in the acceleration response of the upper structure of both models under four types of seismic motions and increased the seismic peak ground acceleration (PGA). In addition, the weakening of the acceleration response of the upper structure under ordinary seismic motion is significant for longer periods of seismic motion. Furthermore, when considering the SSI effect, the displacement response ratio under long periods and ordinary ground motions is greater than that of rigid foundations, and the horizontal deformation of the isolation layer under long-period ground motions is greater than that under ordinary ground motions. This shows that the SSI effect weakens the interlayer shear force under ordinary seismic action more than that under long-period seismic action. When PGA increases, the interlayer shear force response of the interlayer isolation structure model with a soft soil foundation under a long-period seismic action may be smaller than that of the rigid-foundation model.