A numerical coupling scheme for nonlinear time history analysis of buildings on a regional scale considering site‐city interaction effects

Abstract

Summary Seismic damage simulation of buildings on a regional scale is important for loss estimation and disaster mitigation of cities. However, the interaction among densely distributed buildings in a city and the site, ie, the “site‐city interaction (SCI) effects,” is often neglected in most regional simulations. Yet, many studies have found that the SCI effects are very important in regional simulations containing a large number of tall buildings and underground structures. Therefore, this work proposed a numerical coupling scheme for nonlinear time history analysis of buildings on a regional scale considering the SCI effects. In this study, multiple‐degree‐of‐freedom models are used to represent different buildings above the ground, while an open source spectral element program, SPEED, is used for simulating wave propagation in underlying soil layers. The proposed numerical scheme is firstly validated through a shaking table test. Then, a detailed discussion on the SCI effects in a 3D basin is performed. Finally, a nonlinear time history analysis of buildings on a regional scale is performed using the Tsinghua University campus in Beijing as a case study. The Tsinghua University campus case results show that the SCI effects will reduce the seismic responses of most buildings. However, some buildings will suffer much more severe damage when the SCI effects are considered, which may depend on the input motions, site characteristics, and building configurations.

Study on Dynamic Structure-Soil-Structure Interaction of Three Adjacent Tall Buildings Subjected to Seismic Loading

“…However, the effects of SSSI are not yet quantified well [22] as the research on the effects of SSSI is practically more challenging than that of SSI. However, studies on SSSI during recent years have been extensively conducted with the concerns for the site-city interaction [23][24][25]. In recent years, an essential direction of seismic engineering research was to investigate the seismic damage to buildings on a regional scale or even for a whole city.…”

“…In recent years, an essential direction of seismic engineering research was to investigate the seismic damage to buildings on a regional scale or even for a whole city. An accurate prediction of the seismic damage to buildings on a regional scale is essential for city planning and post-earthquake rescue [25], which is of great significance for the sustainable development of cities. In order to get an accurate simulation of the seismic damage to buildings on a regional scale, the research on the effects of SSSI has been given more attention.…”

Dynamic structure-soil-structure interaction of piled high-rise buildings under earthquake excitations I: Influence on dynamic response

“…The SSSI that occurs in urban areas can be subdivided into the interaction between underground structures (such as tunnels [30] ), between an underground structure and a surface structure (such as between a subway station and highrise building [31][32][33] or between a tunnel and frame [34][35][36] ), between surface structures [37][38][39][40] , and between structures of other types (such as between liquid-storage tanks [41] , or between a duct and bridge pier [42] ). In addition to these interactions among a small number of structures, some researchers have proceeded one step further to analyze the influence of large groups of buildings and site effects due to the subsoil configuration on the seismic response of the overall system by theoretical, numerical and experimental methods [43][44][45][46] . A comprehensive review of the SSSI problem is discussed in the work by Lou et al [2] .…”

Regional seismic responses of shallow basins incorporating site‐city interaction analyses on high‐rise building clusters

“…Moreover, to ensure the resilient seismic design of structures, not only soil‐structure interaction (SSI) but site‐city interaction (SCI) must be considered in dense urban environments. Studies have shown that structures partake in SCI (a) passively and/or (b) actively by contaminating ground motions and altering their surrounding structures’ response 12–19 . Active effects are feedback vibrations from the structures at resonance while passive effects are wave reflections/refractions due to building inertia and the pinning effects of foundations.…”

“…Studies have shown that structures partake in SCI (a) passively and/or (b) actively by contaminating ground motions and altering their surrounding structures' response. [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] Active effects are feedback vibrations from the structures at resonance while passive effects are wave reflections/refractions due to building inertia and the pinning effects of foundations. The nature of SCI is still unclear; however, the consensus is that closely spaced structures and soil form an integrated dynamic system and should be investigated as such.…”