Numerical modeling of rocking of shallow foundations subjected to slow cyclic loading with consideration of soil-structure interaction

Abstract: Strong Vibration of buildings during seismic or wind loading may result in an uplift or partial separation of the foundation from the underneath soil. To date, various researches have indicated that Soil-Structure Interaction (SSI) has many favorable features including a probable increase in natural period of the soil-structure system and also a decrease in shear base demand in structures. Furthermore, Rocking is one of the most important factors in describing the rotational behavior of a structure built on a shallow foundation especially on a soft soil which can affect the dynamic behavior of the structure noticeably. To study the effects of rocking of shallow foundations subjected to slow cyclic loading with consideration of soil-structure interaction, a Finite Element Method (FEM) using ABAQUS software has been deployed to simulate the rocking motion of shallow foundations. For a more efficient simulation of the soil, both linear and non-linear elasto-plastic behavior of the soil has been taken into account in the analysis using the sub-routine coded in FORTRAN. The results notably show that allowing the foundation to rock may result in stiffness degradation of the soil-structure system and an increase in energy dissipation of soil-structure, especially in high rise structures. Additionally, results describe that deploying the linear elastic-perfect plastic approach may result in higher uplift of the foundation in comparison to that using a non-linear elasto-plastic approach, particularly in structures with lower heights.