8

Soil-Structure Interaction
Design Examples
Robert Pekelnicky, P.E., S.E.,
Insung Kim, P.E., S.E.

Disclaimer
Instructional Material Complementing FEMA P-1051, Design
Examples
Design Example
Structure
• 4 Stories (53 ft tall)
• Reinforced concrete shear wall system
• One Basement level (15 ft below grade) w/ concrete walls
• RC flat plate slabs with rectangular cast-in-place concrete

Site Conditions
• Within 5 miles of active fault
• Site Class = D
• Vs100 = 800 ft/s
• SDS = 1.0, SD1 = 0.71
• Seismic Design Category = E
Instructional Material Complementing FEMA 1051, Design Examples

Instructional Material Complementing FEMA P-1051, Design Soil-Structure Interaction

Examples
Spectral Acceleration, Sa (g)
Spectral Acceleration
1.800

1.600

1.400

1.200

1.000
Sa_MCER_(MaxDir)
Sa_DE_(MaxDir)
0.800

0.600

0.400

0.200

0.000
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
Period, T (sec)

Instructional Material Complementing FEMA P-1051, Design Soil-Structure Interaction

Examples
 Building Elevation

Instructional Material Complementing FEMA P-1051, Design Soil-Structure Interaction

Examples
Building Plan & Floor
Weights
Story Weight
Fourth 4,000
kips
Third 4,100
kips
Second 4,100
kips
First 4,400
kips
Basement 4,700
kips
Total 21,200
kips
Total w/o 16,500
Basement kips
Instructional Material Complementing FEMA P-1051, Design Soil-Structure Interaction
Examples
 Fixed Base Design -
General
• Foundation pinned against vertical and
lateral translation

• Wall footings fixed for rotation

• Base of building at 1st floor

• Common in practice
• Full building period must be
less than 1.1 x period of upper
portion alone
• Example → Ttotal = 1.3 x Tupper

Instructional Material Complementing FEMA P-1051, Design Soil-Structure Interaction

Examples
 Fixed Base Design
Linear Procedures Modal Analysis
• Ta = 0.39 sec (w/ basement)
• T1 = 0.5 sec
• Ta = 0.27 sec (w/o
basement) • V = 2,700 kips
• Cs = 0.2
• Scale Factor =
• V = CsW = 3,300 kips 1.2

Model 1st floor as stiff or

rigid? Soil-Structure Interaction
Instructional Material Complementing FEMA P-1051, Design
Examples
 Fixed Base Design

Instructional Material Complementing FEMA P-1051, Design Soil-Structure Interaction

Examples
 Flexible Base Design
• Spring Properties
for:
o Footings, passive
soil pressure,
basement walls,
shearing between
soil and building
base 3.4
Vertical Stiffness under
• Spring properties Footings (kip/in)/f
t2
bounded by ± 50% 14
Horizontal Stiffness
(kip/in)/f
• T1 = 0.49 sec under Base
t2
• T1,upper = 0.49 sec Horizontal Stiffness Soil-Structure14 Interaction
Instructional Material Complementing FEMA P-1051, Design
under/against
Examples (kip/in)/f
 Spectral Acceleration
Spectral Acceleration, Sa (g)

1.800

1.600

1.400

1.200

1.000
Sa_MCER_(MaxDir)
Sa_DE_(MaxDir)
0.800

0.600

0.400

0.200

0.000
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
Period, T (sec)

Instructional Material Complementing FEMA P-1051, Design Soil-Structure Interaction

Examples
 Flexible Base Effects
Soil and Foundation
Yielding
• Lack of consideration for foundation actions
• Bending/shear failure in footing
• Bearing failure of underlying soil
• Flexural yielding of wall

• CBC requires foundation design for Em forces

• State owned buildings
• School/Hospitals
• Example → Increased foundation thickness &
reinforcement

• Inclusion of non-linear foundation elements

Instructional Material Complementing FEMA P-1051, Design Soil-Structure Interaction
Examples
 Flexible Base Effects
Foundation Damping
• 
Foundation damping →
Increased overall damping

Shallow foundations only

o Spread/strip footings
o Mat foundation

Most pronounced for stiff

structures on flexible soils
o , Period Lengthening

Stiff/rigid floor diaphragm

Instructional Material Complementing FEMA P-1051, Design Soil-Structure Interaction

Examples
Flexible Base Effects
Foundation
Damping
  𝛽
Overall Damping: 𝛽 0= 𝛽 𝑓 + ~ 2 ≤ 0.20
(𝑇 / 𝑇 ) 𝑒𝑓𝑓

Structural β
Damping:
(~
2
 
Foundation
Damping:
𝛽𝑓 =
[
𝑇 /𝑇 ) − 1
~
(𝑇 / 𝑇 )
2
]
𝛽 𝑠 + 𝛽 𝑟𝑑

  1 1
Radiation Damping: 𝛽 𝑟𝑑 = ~
(
(𝑇 /𝑇 𝑦)
2
𝛽 𝑦 +
) (~
( 𝑇 / 𝑇 𝑥𝑥 )
2
𝛽 𝑥𝑥
)
Soil Damping: βs

Instructional Material Complementing FEMA P-1051, Design Soil-Structure Interaction

Examples
Flexible Base Effects
Foundation Damping~ 2
 
𝛽𝑓 = ~
(𝑇 / 𝑇 )[
(𝑇 / 𝑇 ) − 1
2
𝛽 𝑠 + 𝛽 𝑟𝑑
]
B ½ Shorter Foundation 75 ft
Dimension
L ½ Longer Foundation 90 ft
Dimension
T Fixed Base Period 0.39 sec
Flexible Base Period 0.49 sec
vs Effective shear wave velocity 570 ft/s
G Shear modulus over depth 1,200 k/ft2
equal B
ν Poisson’s ratio of soil 0.3
M* Fundamental modal effective 14,500 kips
mass
h* Effective structure height at 41.5 ft
Instructional Material Complementing FEMA P-1051, Design Soil-Structure Interaction
Examples
Flexible Base Effects
  = 1 1
Radiation
Damping
𝛽 𝑟𝑑 ~(
(𝑇 /𝑇 𝑦)
2
𝛽 𝑦 +
) (~
( 𝑇 / 𝑇 𝑥𝑥 )
2
𝛽 𝑥𝑥
)
Energy radiating away from the foundation in the form of stress
waves due to the foundation’s lateral movement and rocking

Translational Rotational
Original Radiation Radiation
Condition Damping, βy Damping, βxx

Instructional Material Complementing FEMA P-1051, Design Soil-Structure Interaction

Examples
 Flexible Base Effects
Radiation Damping

Translational
Contribution   14500
Fictitious Period, 𝑇 𝑦 =2 𝜋
√ 𝑀
𝐾𝑦
∗
=2∗ 3.14 ∗
√
32.2
537,000
=𝟎 . 𝟏𝟖 𝒔

 
Translational
Stiffness,

2 𝜋 𝐵 2∗ 3.14 ∗75
Dimensionless 𝑎 0= ~ = =𝟏. 𝟕
𝑇 𝑣𝑠 0.49 ∗570
Frequency,
  ( 𝐵𝐿 ) ( 90
Translational Damping
Ratio,
𝛽 𝑦=
[( )] [
4

𝐾𝑦
𝐺𝐵
𝑎0
[ ]
2
=
(
4

537,000
75 )

(1,200 ∗ 75 ) ] [ 1.7
2 ]
=𝟎 . 𝟔𝟖

Instructional Material Complementing FEMA P-1051, Design Soil-Structure Interaction

Examples
 Flexible Base Effects
Radiation Damping

Rotational Contribution
  14500

√
2
∗ ∗2 ∗ ( 41.5 )
Fictitious Period,
𝑇 𝑥𝑥 =2 𝜋
√
𝑀 (h )
𝛼 𝑥𝑥 𝐾 𝑥𝑥
=2∗ 3.14 ∗
32.2
0.68 ∗ 3.33× 10 9
=𝟎 . 𝟏𝟐 𝒔

Rotational  
Stiffness,
Dimensionless frequency a0   and 0.68

and Dynamic stiffness

modifier αxx,   2 ( 1− 𝑣 )
𝜓=
√
( 1 −2 𝑣 )
 0.34
=𝟏 . 𝟗 ≤2.5

Rotational Damping
Ratio,

  = 1 1
Radiation Damping
Ratio
𝛽 𝑟𝑑 ~(
(𝑇 /𝑇 𝑦)
2
𝛽 𝑦 +
) (
~
( 𝑇 / 𝑇 𝑥𝑥 )
2
)
𝛽 𝑥𝑥 =𝟎 .𝟏𝟏

Instructional Material Complementing FEMA P-1051, Design Soil-Structure Interaction

Examples
Flexible Base Effects
Soil Damping
  Effective Peak Acceleration, SDS /2.51
SDS /2.5 = SDS /2.5 = SDS /2.5 = SDS /2.5 =
Site Class 0 0.1 0.4 0.8
A 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01
B 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.02
C 0.01 0.01 0.03 0.05
D 0.01 0.02 0.07 0.15
E 0.01 0.05 0.20 *
F * * * *

Instructional Material Complementing FEMA P-1051, Design Soil-Structure Interaction

Examples
 Foundation-Structure
Damping
  =
Total Foundation
Damping:
Overall system damping ratio dependent on effective
period ratio
  𝛽
𝛽 0= 𝛽 𝑓 + ~ 2 ≤ 0.20
(𝑇 / 𝑇 ) 𝑒𝑓𝑓
 

0.5
 ~ 2
𝑇
(𝑇 ) 𝑒𝑓𝑓
{ [(
= 1+
1
2
0.49
0.39
−1 ) ]} =1.7

 𝛽 =0.11+ 0.05 =𝟎 . 𝟏𝟔
0 2
1.7
Instructional Material Complementing FEMA P-1051, Design Soil-Structure Interaction
Examples
 Foundation-Structure
Damping
Therefore spectral response parameters based off 16% critical
damping.

 Ideal is for geotechnical engineer to develop site specific

spectra
   Standard provides equation to account for increase in
assumed damping  
 
weight in fundamental mode

 
  R 5
=0.5+ =0.5+ =0.83  V =0.83∗ 3,300=2,700 kips →CONTROLS
15 15

~
 V =2,700 kips

Instructional Material Complementing FEMA P-1051, Design Soil-Structure Interaction

Examples
 Foundation-Structure
Damping
1.20

DESIGN EARTHQUAKE RESPONSE SPECTRUM AND SSI MODIFIED

1.00
SPECTRUM

0.80
Spectral Acceleration, Sa (g)

0.60
Sa_DE_(MaxDir)

Sa_DE_(SSI)
0.40

0.20

0.00
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
Period, T (sec)

Instructional Material Complementing FEMA P-1051, Design Soil-Structure Interaction

Examples
 Foundation-Structure
Damping
For nonlinear procedures the foundation damping in a
nonlinear response history analysis is significantly more
complex than linear procedures as the reductions used
for the response spectrum cannot be used to modify the
target spectra that the ground motions are scaled to.

Nonlinear spring and dashpot elements need to be

modeled to directly capture the force-displacement
relationship and damping at the soil-foundation
interface.
 See NIST GCR 12-917-21 for guidance on
developing dashpots to model foundation damping.

Instructional Material Complementing FEMA P-1051, Design Soil-Structure Interaction

Examples
 Kinematic Interaction
Accounts for differences in
free-field ground motions
and foundation input motion
• Affected by foundation size,
base slab averaging, and
foundation depth,
embedment.

FOUNDATION DEPTH AFFECT FOUNDATION LENGTH FOUNDATION WIDTH

FOUNDATION INPUT MOTION

FONDATION SIZE (LENGTH X

WIDTH) AFFECT FOUNDATION
INPUT MOTION
Instructional Material Complementing FEMA P-1051, Design Soil-Structure Interaction
Examples
 Kinematic Interaction
Standard account for both types kinematic
interactions using theoretical models that adjust
the response spectrum parameters based off:
• Base size,
• Base embedment depth,
• Site class,
• Fundamental period of soil-structure system

Adjustment factors for both types are cumulative

For a more thorough discussion refer to FEMA

440 and NIST GCR 12-917-21

Instructional Material Complementing FEMA P-1051, Design Soil-Structure Interaction

Examples
 Kinematic Interaction -
Limits
Maximum reduction in Standard
• Modified response spectrum ≥ 80% of site
specific response spectrum or ≥ 70% of the
general response spectrum.
• NEHRP Provisions wave these limits where
this is Peer Review
• Kinematic interaction provisions cannot be
used with a simple elastic linear analysis per
Chapter 12. However, the Section 16.1 of the
Standard requires a verification of forces per
Chapter 12. For these forces, the reductions
due to Kinematic Interaction can be applied.

Instructional Material Complementing FEMA P-1051, Design Soil-Structure Interaction

Examples
 Kinematic Interaction -
Base-Slab Averaging
• Applicable only to Site Classes C, D, and E.
• Applicable only when base slab or mat or 1st
floor is rigid
 

: 
 
 
 

Instructional Material Complementing FEMA P-1051, Design Soil-Structure Interaction

Examples
 Kinematic Interaction -
Embedment depth
• Standard limits embedment depth to 20 feet.
• Standard requires at least 75% of foundation
footprint to be at considered embedment
depth.
• At sloping sites, uses shallowest depth.
 

For the elastic analysis required by Section

16.1 the reduction in force effects can be
determined by combine base-shear
averaging
 
and depth reductions:

Instructional Material Complementing FEMA P-1051, Design Soil-Structure Interaction

Examples
 Kinematic Interaction -
Example RISK TARGEDTED MCE AND KINEMATIC INTERACTION MODIFIED SPECTRUM
1.60

Sa_MCE
1.40
Sa_MCE (SSI 7-16)

1.20
Sa_MCE (2015 NEHRP)

1.00
Sa (g)

0.80

0.60

0.40

0.20

0.00
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
Periods (s)
Instructional Material Complementing FEMA P-1051, Design Soil-Structure Interaction
Examples
Kinematic Interaction -
Example Displacement
80

70

60
Story elevation, ft

50

40

30
Sa_MCER
20
Sa_MCE (SSI 7-16)

10 Sa_MCE (2015 NEHRP)

0
0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50

displacement, in

Instructional Material Complementing FEMA P-1051, Design Soil-Structure Interaction

Examples
 Kinematic Interaction -
Example
Story Drift Ratio
80

70

60
Story elevation, ft

50

40

30

20
Sa_MCER
10 Sa_MCE (SSI 7-
16)

0
0.00% 0.10% 0.20% 0.30% 0.40% 0.50% 0.60% 0.70%

Drift Ratio, %

Instructional Material Complementing FEMA P-1051, Design Soil-Structure Interaction

Examples
 ASCE 7-16 / 2015 NEHRP Provisions
Chapter 19: Soil-Structure Interaction

Robert Pekelnicky, PE, SE

Principal, Degenkolb Engineers
March 16, 2015

Instructional Material Complementing FEMA P-1051, Design Soil-Structure Interaction

Examples
DISCLAIMER
• NOTICE: Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations
expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the
Federal Emergency Management Agency. Additionally, neither FEMA
nor any of its employees make any warranty, expressed or implied, nor
assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy,
completeness, or usefulness of any information, product or process
included in this publication.
• The opinions expressed herein regarding the requirements of the
NEHRP Recommended Seismic Provisions, the referenced standards,
and the building codes are not to be used for design purposes. Rather
the user should consult the jurisdiction’s building official who has the
authority to render interpretation of the code.
• Any modifications made to the file represent the presenters' opinion
only.

Instructional Material Complementing FEMA P-1051, Design

Examples