A finite element based computational procedure is presented for soil-structure interaction
modelling in building due to seismic damage response. Attention is focused on a combination
of contact surfaces at the soil-foundation interface, nonlinear soil material response, and
infinite elements as transmitting boundary conditions. A rationale for efficient mesh design is
offered for the detailed building/foundation/soil system model based on computational wave
propagation studies using infinite elements.
To evaluate the performance of the proposed procedure for handling SSI, a complete
comparison between four models for a 3-story office building were performed. The models
classified as one fixed base model without any effect of soil, second with the conventional
treatment of the foundation and soil as discrete linear springs, the third incorporating the
proposed procedure with elastic properties of soil, and the fourth proposed procedure with
non-linear properties of soil.
This evaluation was based on the capability of the model to capture the different column
damage indices. These indices are: acceleration time history, the floors drift ratio, and
moment-curvature plot for the column. The strategy adopted for the analysis is performed a
seismic dynamic analysis for the four models by using the general purpose finite element code
ABAQUS. Conclusions that can help in clearing and analyze the system response were
cleared out.