Influence of three-dimensional soil-structure interaction on structural

responses induced by near-source earthquakes

K. Hashimoto & N. Chouw
Department of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Okayama University, Okayama, J apan.
ABSTRACT: The study addresses the relationship between the characteristics of near-
source earthquakes and the system frame structure with multiple foundations and subsoil.
The influence of the three-dimensional ground excitation and the effect of the soil-
structure interaction on the structural response are considered. The ground excitations are
the acceleration at the Port Island of the 1995 Kobe earthquake, and at Duzce of the 1999
Turkey earthquake. The investigation shows that a simultaneous horizontal and vertical
ground excitation can amplify the response of the structure, not only in case of structure
with fixed base but also in case of structure with subsoil. Soil can reduce the activated
forces in the structure. However, it can strongly amplify the induced vibrations in the
structure, especially in the vertical direction.
1 INTRODUCTION
During near-source earthquakes the ground can experience strong movement not only in the horizontal
directions, but also in the vertical direction. The vertical ground motions can have larger amplitude
than the horizontal one. Far from the source, the vertical ground motions are in general smaller than
the horizontal ground motions. Up to now, many studies are focus on the effect of the far-source
earthquake. Many design regulation is still based on the knowledge of far-source earthquakes, so that
the effect of the vertical ground motion may be neglected. Investigations on the simultaneous ground
excitations on the structural responses are often limited to the two-dimensional problems (e.g. Hachem
& Mahin, 2000). Chouw (1999) showed that even though in general the largest peaks of the ground
motions in the horizontal and vertical directions do not occur at the same time, the time coincidence of
the subsequent peaks of the ground motions could strongly amplify the structural responses.
Three-dimensional investigations are still very limited. Takabatake & Nonaka (2001) confirmed the
significance of the strong vertical ground excitation. Their investigation, however, did not include the
influence of the ground. Three-dimensional study with soil-structure interaction is often limited to the
foundation-soil systems (e.g. Karabalis & Mohammadi, 1998). Gazetas & Mylonakis (2001) indicated
that the soil-structure interaction might not always have benefit to the structures.
In this study the influence of a simultaneous ground excitation and soil-structure interaction on the
response of frame structures is considered. The ground excitations are the 1995 Kobe earthquake and
the 1999 Turkey earthquake.
2 SOIL-STRUCTURE SYSTEM
2.1 Numerical model
In the numerical analysis the calculation is performed in the Laplace domain. The structures are
described by finite element method, and the subsoil by boundary element method. We obtain the
dynamic stiffness of the system structure, foundations and subsoil by coupling the two subsystems
soil and structure with foundations. We assume that each structural member has a continuous
Paper Number 104
distribution of mass and stiffness along the member. The dynamic stiffness of the structural members
can be determined by solving the equation of motions in the Laplace domain analytically. Compared
to the lumped-mass and consistent-mass formulation in the time domain the considered continuous
mass and stiffness model can produce more precise structural responses. The dynamic stiffness of the
structure with foundations
~
K
b
itself can be obtained by adding the dynamic stiffness of each member
by using the direct stiffness method. (
~
) indicates a vector or matrix in the Laplace domain. The
derivation of the dynamic stiffness of the structural members is given by Kodama and Chouw (2002).
The dynamic stiffness of the soil
~
K
s
can be obtained by transforming the wave equation into the
Laplace domain, by using the full-space fundamental solution, and by assuming the distribution of the
displacement and traction along the boundaries. The discretization of the subsystem soil leads to a
number of algebraic equations
| |
{ }
| |{ }
~
~
~ ~
T u U t = (1)
An assumption that the soil surface is traction free leads then to the relationship between traction and
displacement at the contact area between foundations and soil. An introduction of the area of the
boundary elements leads to the dynamic stiffness
~
K
s
of the subsoil.
| |{ } { }
~
~
~
K u P
s s s
= (2)
After transforming the degree-of-freedom (DOF) of the soil elements into the contact DOFs we then
obtain the transformed soil stiffness
~
K . The coupling the two subsystems is achieved by equating
the displacements and by equilibrating the forces at the interface between the foundations and the soil.
cc
s
~ ~
~ ~ ~
~
~
~
~
K K
K K K
u
u
P
P
bb
b
bc
b
cb
b
cc
b
cc
s
b
b
c
b
b
b
c
b
+

(
(

(3)
In the analysis we assume that all structural foundations experience the same ground motions. After
transforming the ground excitation into the Laplace domain
{ }
{ }
~
( ) ( ) , P s P t e dt
st
=

0
(4)
where s i = + is the Laplace parameter and i , we can determine the response of the system = 1
{ }
~
u from equation (3). We obtain the time history of the response by transforming the results into the
time domain.
{ } { } u t
i
u s e ds
i
i
st
( )
~
( ) =

+
1
2


(5)
The material damping is incorporated into the modulus of elasticity in the Laplace domain by using
the correspondence principle.
~ ~
( = E i E
R
)
I
R
(6)
By applying the loss factor (Lazan, 1975) we can define the equivalent damping ratio = E E
I
/

E
E
I
R
2
(7)
The chosen damping model consists of a chain of Kelvin elements with the parameter E
1
and E
n
.
E E
R I
=
+
=
+




0 1
1
2
2
2
0 2
1
2
2
2
, , (8a-b)
2

0
1
2
2
1
2 2
1
2 2 2
1
1
2
2
1
2
=

+
=
+ +
+ +
=

+ + +
E E
E
E
E
arctg
E E
E E
n n n
n
ln
( )
( )
, ln
( )
( )
,
( )
( )( )
(8c-d)
1.1 Considered system
In the analysis one- and three-story, two-bay frame structure are considered. Each structural member
has a length of 3.65m. The soil is assumed to be a half-space. The data of the soil-structure system is
given in Figure 1. In the analysis it is assumed that the material damping of the structures is about
1.3% (E
1
=0.1 and E
n
=10
28
), and the soil is a half-space with no material damping. In order to focus
on the effct of the soil only it is assumed that the foundations have no mass.


3.657m
3.657m
3.657m
Y
Z
X

Structural data:
The mass per unit length is 74.4kg/m
The flexural stiffness EI
y
=4921.214kNm
2
,
EI
z
=34438.95kN m
2
,
The torsional constant I
p
=7.4 10
-7
m
4
,
EA=1991619kN.

Soil data:
The shear wave velocity is 130m/s,
The density is 1800kg/ m
4
,
The Poisson ratio is 0.33.
The foundations are rigid. The size is 2.4m x 2.4m.
Figure 1. Frame structure with foundations and subsoil
The considered ground excitations are the ground accelerations at Kobe Port Island (PIS) during the
1995 Kobe earthquake, and at Duzce (DUZ) during the 1999 Turkey earthquake (Figure 2). The
ground excitation in the x- and y-direction in case of Turkey earthquake corresponds to the north-
south and east-west component of the ground accelerations, respectively. In case of Kobe earthquake,
the x- and y-direction corresponds to the east-west and north-south component of the ground
accelerations, respectively. The epicentral distance of the station PIS and DUZ is about 20km and
50km, respectively. As we can see from Figure 2(a) and 2(b) the Peak ground acceleration in the
vertical direction is larger than the peak horizontal ground motions. In case of Kobe Port Island, the
horizontal ground motion can have large effect at about 1 Hz. In high frequency range, the vertical
ground motions have strong influence. In case of Turkey earthquakes, we can observe the same high
frequency content of the vertical ground motions.
2 NUMERICAL ANALYSIS
2.1 Influence of the direction of the ground excitation
In order to clarify the influence of the direction of the ground excitation only the response of the one-
story structure with an assumed fixed base is considered. Figure 3(a), (b) and (c) show the
development of the axial force N in the left and middle column due to the horizontal ground excitation
in the x- and y-direction as well as due to the vertical ground motions, respectively.
In case of the ground excitation in the x-direction the axial forces are caused by the excited horizontal
mode. While the structure is swinging in the x-direction axial forces develop in the columns. Since the
deformation in the outer columns is larger than the deformation in the inner columns, the forces in the
middle columns are negligible small compared to the ones in the outer columns. In case of the ground
excitation in the y-direction, larger axial forces occur in the middle columns. The axial forces due to
the vertical ground motions have the similar time history as the ground motions. The reason is the
direct excitation of all columns. The result shows that a consideration of the horizontal ground motions
(a)
(b)
-4
-2
0
2
4
0 4 8
-4.8
3.8
3.3
a
g

[m/s
2
]
Load X
Z
Y
Turkey (Duzce)
Kobe (Port Island)
-4
-2
0
2
4
0 4 8
Z
-5.6
-3.4
2.8
Time [s]
X
Y
(c)
0
5
10
15
0 10
Load X
Z
Y
20
(d)
0
10
20
0 10
Y
Z
X
20
Frequency [Hz]

Figure 2(a)-(d). Ground excitations, (a) Turkey earthquake at Duzce (DUZ), (b) Kobe earthquake at Kobe Port
Island (PIS), (c) and (d) corresponding response spectra with a damping ratio of 5%
-2
-1
0
1
2
2 4 6 2 4 6 2 4 6
Time [s]
Z
Y Load X
N

[ kN ]
Middle
Left
Middle
Left
Middle
Left
Middle
Left
(a) (b) (c)

Figure 3(a)-(c). Influence of the excitation direction on the development of the axial force N
will lead to a different result in terms of response amplitude as well as frequency content.
Figure 4(a) and (b) show the axial force in the outer column of the one-story and three-story structure
due to x-, y- and z-load of the Turkey earthquake, respectively. Figure 4(c) and (d) show the axial
force due the Kobe earthquake. The soil-structure interaction is not considered, so that only the effect
of the direction of the ground excitation on the development of the axial forces is considered. In case
of the Turkey earthquake, the response due to the x-ground excitations is larger than the one due to the
y-ground excitation. The reason can be clearly seen from the relationship between the frequency
content of the corresponding ground motions and the natural frequencies of the structures (Figure
4
-1.5
0
1.5
Time [s]
Load X
Y
Load X
Kobe (Port Island)
Y
Z
Z
-4
-2
0
2
4
2 4 6 8
N

[ kN ]
Turkey (Duzce)
Time [s]
Load X
Y
Load X
Y
Z
Z
-1.5
0
1.5
-3
-1.5
0
1.5
3
0 4 8
0
4
8
12
0 10 20
X(PIS)
Y

(PIS)
f
y
1
=18.4Hz f
x
1
=8.3Hz f
y
3
=6.0Hz f
x
3
=3.2Hz
a
g
[m/s
2
]
Y

(DUZ)
X(DUZ)
Frequency [Hz]
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

Figure 4(a)-(e) Influence of the excitation direction and earthquake characteristics on N(t)
5
4(e)). The location of the natural frequency f
x
1

and f
y
1
of the vibration mode of the one-story structure
in the x- and y-direction are indicated by vertical lines in the figure. The corresponding natural
frequencies f
x
3
and f
y
3
of the three-story structure are also given. At the natural frequency f
x
1
the
response spectrum value is larger than the one at f
y
1
, therefore the structure response stronger to the
ground motion in the x-direction. As expected similar results can be observed in case of the three-story
structure. In case of the Turkey earthquake and in case of the three-story structure due to the Kobe
earthquake the vertical ground motions cause smaller axial forces than those produced by the
horizontal ground motions. In these cases we can say that the vertical ground motions can be neglected
as many design codes will also suggest. In case of the one-story structure due to the Kobe earthquake,
however, the vertical ground motions cause much larger forces in the columns. This result shows that
a consideration of the horizontal ground motions can underestimate the activated forces in the
structures.
3.2 Influence of soil-structure interaction
Figure 5 shows the effect of the soil on the structural response due to the Turkey earthquake in the x-
direction. The soil slightly reduces the axial forces in the upper left column of the three-story structure
(Figure 5(a)). Since it is assumed that the soil has no material damping, and the reduction of the
structural natural frequencies due to the soil is in this case not significant, the reduction of the axial
forces is therefore mainly caused by the radiation damping of the soil. The induced vertical vibrations
a
z
at the top end of the column in Figure 5(b) shows, however, an opposite effect of the soil. The soil
causes a significant increase of the induced vibrations. Consequently, secondary structures, which are
attached to the structural members, will experience larger excitations, since the induced vibrations
represent their excitations.
-5
0
5
0 2 4 6 8
-0.1
-0.05
0
0.05
0.1
0 2 4 6 8
Turkey (Duzce)
N [kN]
Time[s]
without
with soil
a
z [m/s
2
]
Time[s]
without
with soil
(a)
(b)

Figure 5(a) and (b). Effect of the soil-structure interaction on the structural response
Figure 6(a) and (b) show the induced horizontal vibrations at the top end of the upper left column due
to the x- and y-load of the Kobe earthquake alone, respectively. In the x-direction the maximum
response of the structure with an assumed fixed base is slightly larger than the one with soil. In the y-
direction the results show that the soil has clearly a reduction effect on the response. The excitation of
6
the secondary structures is often determined not by the maximum induced vibration. If we assume that
the interaction between secondary structures and the structural member of the main structure can be
neglected, and the secondary structure can be represented by a single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF)
system, then the response spectrum of the induced vibrations represents the maximum response of the
secondary structure with a certain natural frequency and damping ratio. As we can see in Figure 6(c)
and (d) the soil can reduce the response significantly. While in case of induced vertical vibrations the
soil has an amplification effect, in case of induced horizontal vibrations both results show the soil has
a reduction effect. This result shows that a general derivation of the effect of soil-structure interaction
on the structural responses cannot be obtained.
(c)
(d)
(b)
(a)
-6
-3
0
3
6
0 2 4 6
0
20
40
0 10 20
0
20
40
0 10 2
without
without
with soil
Time[s]
without
without
with soil
0
-6
-3
0
3
6
0 2 4 6
with soil
with soil
a
x

[m/s
2
]
a
y [m/s
2
]
Frequency [Hz]
a
x
a
y
Kobe (PIS)

Figure 6(a)-(d). Influence of the soil-structure interaction on the induced vibrations
Figure 7(a) displays the induced vertical vibrations a
z
at the top end of the left column due to the Kobe
earthquake. The effect of the simultaneous horizontal and vertical ground excitation can be clearly
seen. While the induced vibrations due to the x-load are determined by the fundamental horizontal
mode in the x-direction, the vibrations due to the x- and y-load are defined by the interaction between
the two excited horizontal modes in the x- and y-direction. The contribution of the vertical ground
motions can be clearly seen from the high frequency response of the structure to the three-dimensional
ground excitations. The soil-structure interaction is taken into account. The response spectra in Figure
7(b) show the significance of a consideration of the three-dimensional ground excitation. It is assumed
that the structure is fixed at the base. In the higher frequency range the vertical ground motions have
clearly strong influence on the response of the secondary structures, which in general have higher
frequencies than the main structure. This result shows that a consideration of horizontal ground
motions alone can significantly underestimate the structural response. If we consider the response in
the middle column (Figure 7(c)), even stronger effect of the simultaneous ground excitation can be
observed. In this case we also assumed that the structure is fixed at the base. If we consider the effect
of soil-structure interaction (Figure 7(d)), much stronger amplification of the response can be
obtained. This result shows that a neglect of the effect of soil-structure interaction as well as the effect
a simultaneous ground excitation can have a severe consequence on secondary structures.
7
(c) (d)
(b)
(a)
0
0.6
1.2
0 20 40
0
0.6
0 20 40
0
0.6
1.2
1.8
0 20
Time[s]
X
Load X+Y+Z
X+Y
40
Load X+Y+Z
X+Y
Load X+Y+Z
X+Y
X
X
Load X+Y+Z
X+Y
X
Frequency [Hz]
a
z [m/s
2
]
-0.2
-0.1
0
0.1
0.2
0 1 2 3 4
a
z [m/s
2
]
Figure 7(a)-(d). Influence of subsoil and excitation direction on the induced vibrations
4 CONCLUSIONS
The investigation reveals that strong vertical ground motions can amplify the induced vertical
vibrations as well as forces, especially, in the inner columns of the structure. Not only a simultaneous
horizontal and vertical ground excitation, but also a simultaneous two horizontal ground excitations
can amplify the response of the structure. Soil can reduce the activated forces and also the induced
horizontal vibration in the structure. Soil can, however, significantly amplify the induced vertical
vibrations. For a realistic design of secondary structures strong vertical ground motions should be
considered.
5 REFERENCES
Chouw, N. 1999. Das Verhalten von Tragwerken bei einem Nahbeben, In S. A. Savidis (ed.): Entwicklungsstand
in Forschung und Praxis auf den Gebieten des Erdbebeningenieurwesens, der Boden- und Baudynamik, D-A-
CH Beitraege, DGEB-Publikation Nr. 10, 203-212 Berlin
Gazetas, G. & Mylonakis, G. 2001. Soil-structure interaction effects on elastic and inelastic structures. Proc. of
the 4
th
int. conf. On recent advances in geotechnical earthquake engineering, San Diego, paper No. SOAP-2
Hachem M. M. & Hahin, S. 2000. Dynamic response of reinforced concrete columns to multidirectional
excitations. Proc. of the 12
th
world conf. On earthquake engineering, Auckland, New Zealand, paper 2446.
Kodama, T. & Chouw, N. 2002. Soil-structure interaction with uplift due to near-source earthquakes, Proc. Of
the 5
th
European conf. On structural dynamics, 1375-1380, Munich, 2-5 September 2002. Rotterdam:
Balkema.
Lazan, B. J . 1975. Damping of materials and members in structural mechanics, Pergamon Press.
Takabatake, H. & Nonaka, T. 2001. Numerical study of Ashiyahama residential building damage in the Kobe
earthquake. Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics Vol 30 879-897.
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