DefinePK

Abstract

The building frame, foundation and soil mass form a complete structural system to resist the external loads. The mechanics of soil-structure interaction takes place between these components. The superstructure, foundation and soil mass can be considered as a single integral compatible structural unit for carrying out the interaction analysis to predict more realistic behaviour. The stress-strain characteristics of the supporting soil play a vital role in the interaction analysis. The resulting differential settlements of the soil mass are responsible for the redistribution of forces in the superstructure. In the present work, the nonlinear interaction analysis of a two-bay two-storey plane building frame-soil system has been carried out using the coupled finite-infinite elements. The nonlinear constitutive hyperbolic soil model available in the literature is adopted to model the nonlinear behaviour of the soil mass. The structural behaviour of the interaction system is investigated as the shear forces and bending moments in superstructure get significantly altered due to differential settlements of soil mass.