Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Catania, Viale Andrea Doria 6, 95125, Catania, Italy
2023, 15(4): 937-953. doi:10.1016/j.jrmge.2022.06.010
Received: 2022-02-07 / Revised: 2022-05-03 / Accepted: 2022-06-14 / Available online: 2022-07-16
2023, 15(4): 937-953.
doi:10.1016/j.jrmge.2022.06.010
Received: 2022-02-07
Revised: 2022-05-03
Accepted: 2022-06-14
Available online: 2022-07-16
Local soil conditions can significantly modify the seismic motion expected on the soil surface. In most cases, the indications concerning the influence of the underlying soil provided by the in-force European and Italian Building Codes underestimate the real seismic amplification effects. For this reason, numerical analyses of the local seismic response (LSR) have been encouraged to estimate the soil filtering effects. These analyses are generally performed in free-field conditions, ignoring the presence of superstructures and, therefore, the effects of dynamic soil-structure interaction (DSSI). Moreover, many studies on DSSI are characterised by a sophisticated modelling of the structure and an approximate modelling of the soil (using springs and dashpots at the foundation level); while others are characterised by a sophisticated modelling of the soil and an approximate modelling of the structure (considered as a simple linear elastic structure or a single degree of freedom system). This paper presents a set of finite element method (FEM) analyses on a fully-coupled soil-structure system for a reinforced concrete building located in Fleri (Catania, Italy). The building, designed for gravity loads only, was severely damaged during the 26 December 2018 earthquake. The soil was modelled considering an equivalent visco-elastic behaviour, while the structure was modelled assuming both the visco-elastic and visco-inelastic behaviours. The comparison made between the results of the FEM analyses and the observed damage is valuable.
Keywords: Local site response, Seismic risk, Reinforced concrete frame, Fully-coupled soil-structure system, Nonlinear dynamic analysis
Angela Fiamingo
Angela Fiamingo is a PhD student from the Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Catania, Italy. In 2020, she obtained her MSc degree in Structural and Geotechnical Civil Engineering from the University of Catania, Italy, with full marks and honour. Her current research interests cover the study of the Dynamic Soil-Structure Interaction (DSSI) and the Geotechnical Seismic Isolation (GSI) systems, using soil and rubber grains, manufactured from scrap tyres, disposal of which has become a severe environmental problem worldwide.