Seismic Performance Assessment of RC MRF Buildings on Shallow Foundations Incorporating Soil-Structure Interaction

For the structure resting on a flexible medium, the dynamic response of the structure will be different from the fixed-base condition owing to the interaction between the soil and the structure. Nevertheless, the common practice in seismic performance assessment assumes that structures are fixed to their base, which maybe a realistic hypothesis only when these are founded on relatively solid rock or very stiff soil. In the case of a flexible-base structure, in addition to the added rocking component to the horizontal motion of the structure, a part of the structure’s vibrating energy will transmit to the soil layer and can be dissipated due to radiation damping resulting from the wave propagation and hysteresis damping of the soil materials (Lou et al., 2011). Soil-structure interaction (SSI) are generally shown to be more pronounced in the case of soft soil formations and high-rise structures modifying considerably the dynamic characteristics of the building and finally its response (Tahghighi and Rabiee, 2017). The objective of the present research is to study whether SSI may affect the seismic performance and vulnerability of reinforced concrete moment resisting frame (MRF) buildings.