Resonance can significantly amplify a structure's response to seismic loads, leading to extended damage, especially in critical infrastructure like nuclear power plants. Thus, this study focuses on the resonance effects of the dynamic interaction between layered soil, pile foundations, and nuclear island structures, which is particularly important given the limited availability of bedrock sites for such facilities. Specifically, this study explores the resonance behavior of nuclear islands under various seismic conditions through large-scale shaking table tests by developing a dynamic interaction model for layered soil-pile-nuclear island systems. The proposed model comprises a 3 x 3 pile group supporting the upper structure of a nuclear island embedded within a three-layer soil profile. Sinusoidal waves of varying frequencies identify the factors influencing the system's resonance response. Besides, the resonance effects are validated by inputting seismic motions based on compressed acceleration time histories. Furthermore, the impact of non-primary frequency components on structural resonance is assessed by comparing sinusoidal wave components. The findings reveal that resonance effects increase as the amplitude of the input seismic motion increases to a certain threshold, after which the effect stabilizes. This trend is particularly pronounced in the bending moment response at the pile head. Additionally, an independent resonance phenomenon is observed in the superstructure, suggesting that its resonance effects should be considered separately in nuclear island design. Similar resonance effects are observed when the predominant frequency of sinusoidal waves closely matches the compressed seismic motions, suggesting that sinusoidal inputs effectively simulate structural resonance during seismic design testing.

This study investigates the influence of the soil-structure interaction (SSI) on the seismic performance of structures, focusing on the effects of foundation size, soil type, and superstructure height. While the importance of SSI is well recognized, its impact on structural behavior under seismic loads remains uncertain, particularly in terms of whether it reduces or amplifies structural demands. A simplified dynamic model, incorporating both the mechanical behavior of the soil and structural responses, is developed and validated to analyze these effects. Using a discrete element approach and the 1940 El Centro earthquake for validation, the study quantitatively compares the response of soil-interacting structures to those with fixed bases. The numerical results show that larger foundation blocks (20 m x 20 m and 30 m x 30 m) increase the seismic response values across all soil types, causing the structure to behave more like a fixed-base system. In contrast, reducing the foundation size to 10 m x 10 m increases the flexibility of structures, particularly buildings built on soft soils, which affects the displacement and acceleration response spectra. Softer soils also increase natural vibration periods and extend the plateau region in regard to spectral acceleration. This study further finds that foundation thickness has a minimal impact on spectral displacement, but structures on soft soils show more than a 15% reduction in spectral displacement (SD) compared to those on hard soils, indicating a dampening effect. Additionally, increasing the building height from 7 to 21 m results in a more than 20% decrease in SD for superstructures with natural vibration periods exceeding 2.4 s, while taller buildings with longer natural vibration periods exhibit opposite trends. Structures built on soft soils experience larger foundation-level displacements, absorbing more seismic energy and reducing earthquake accelerations, which mitigates structural damage. These results highlight the importance of considering SSI effects in seismic design scenarios to achieve more accurate performance predictions.

Geotechnical seismic isolation (GSI) is a new category of low-damage resilient design methods that are in direct contact with geomaterials and of which the isolation mechanism primarily involves geotechnics. Various materials have been explored for placing around the foundation system in layer form to facilitate the beneficial effects of dynamic soil-foundation-structure interaction, as one of the GSI mechanisms. To reduce the thickness of the GSI foundation layer and to ensure uniformity of its material properties, the use of a thin and homogeneous layer of high-damping polyurethane (HDPU) was investigated in this study via centrifuge modelling. HDPU sheets were installed in three different configurations at the interface between the structural foundation and surrounding soils for realising GSI. It was found that using HDPU for GSI can provide excellent seismic isolation effects in all three configurations. The average rates of structural demand reduction amongst the eight earthquake events ranged from 35 to 80%. A clear correlation between the period-lengthening ratio and the demand reduction percentage can be observed amongst the three GSI configurations. One of the configurations with HDPU around the periphery of the foundation only is particularly suitable for retrofitting existing structures and does not require making changes to the structural systems or architectural features.

A significant amount of damage and casualties induced by several strong-motion earthquakes which recently stroke South-East Mediterranean area is due to the major seismic vulnerability of residential buildings. In small villages and mid-size towns, those buildings very often consist of two- to four-story, unreinforced masonry (URM) structures not designed for earthquake resistance, with direct foundations usually corresponding to an in-depth extension of load-bearing walls. For such structures, especially when founded on soft soils, site amplification and soil-foundation-structure interaction (SFSI) can significantly affect the seismic performance; conversely, such phenomena should be investigated through methods that allow a trade-off between accuracy and computational effort, hence encouraging their implementation in engineering practice. This paper provides a comprehensive updated description of the studies carried out in the last years by the authors, which are based on both linear and nonlinear, parametric, dynamic analyses of complete soil-foundation-structure (SFS) models representative of existing residential building configurations on different soils. Specifically, the parametric study investigated SFS models with different masonry types, aspect ratios, and code-conforming homogeneous and heterogeneous soil profiles. The methodology and analysis results allowed for reaching the following objectives: (i) predicting the elongation of the fundamental period and the variation of equivalent damping of the SFS system with respect to fixed-base conditions, through a simplified approach based on an equivalent simple oscillator; and (ii) estimating the probability of exceeding increasing damage levels associated with out-of-plane overturning of URM walls, through fragility functions that take into account SFS interaction. The effectiveness of these simplified tools was successfully validated against well-documented case studies, at the scales of both single instrumented buildings and urban area.

The primary objective of current seismic design codes is to ensure the life safety of building occupants under extreme seismic events. These codes normally permit structural and nonstructural damage during a design-level earthquake, leading to the possibility of significant economic losses and recovery time for the building. Recovery time is a significant factor in the seismic performance of buildings because it affects not only the owner and users of a building, but also the overall recovery of the community. In designing low-rise buildings, current design requirements in different jurisdictions can produce footings with vastly different sizes, which can significantly affect building performance. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the effects of footing size on the expected recovery time of low-rise buildings. In this study, 2-storey concentrically braced frame buildings at a site class D are selected to evaluate the impact of the size of the footings on the repair time of low-rise buildings. These buildings are in Vancouver, Canada, and have X-bracing systems. The buildings are modelled in OpenSees using an advanced numerical model. Nonlinear response history analysis is performed employing a set of ground motions that match the soil condition of the site. The recovery time is estimated, including the delay time to start repairs and the time required to repair the damaged members. The findings of this study suggest that not capacity-protected (NCP) footings (i.e., rocking foundations) could be the preferred choice for short-period CBF buildings on soft soil.