Seismic response of coupled wall-frame structures on pile foundations

A study on the seismic behaviour of coupled wall-frame structures founded on piles is presented. Three different foundation soils are considered and the seismic excitation at the outcropping bedrock is represented using 7 real accelerograms. Local site response analyses are performed to evaluate the incoming free-field motions. A numerical model, accounting for pile-soil-pile interaction and for material and radiation damping, is used to evaluate the impedance matrix and the foundation input motion. Dynamic analyses are then performed in the time domain by considering fixed (FBMs) and compliance-base models (SSIMs). Applications show that the effects associated to the rocking behaviour of the wall sensibly affect the dynamic response of the system increasing the structural displacements and producing a change in the distribution of the seismic demand within the wall and the frame.