Feasibility of reducing three-dimensional wave energy by introducing periodic foundations

• A new kind of three-dimensional seismic isolation foundation is proposed.
• The proposed periodic foundation can be designed with rather wider attenuation zones.
• Some factors influencing the first attenuation zone are investigated.
• Seismic waves with frequencies falling in the AZs cannot propagate in the foundation.
• The periodic foundation can block the seismic waves coming from any directions.

A new seismic isolation foundation called the periodic foundation is proposed, which can be described as a three-dimensional typical cell consisting of a high density core, a soft coating and a concrete matrix. Utilizing the attenuation zones (AZs) resulted by the periodicity of the foundation, the mechanism of this new seismic isolation system is different from the traditional ones. The seismic waves with the frequencies in the AZs cannot propagate across the foundation. Thus, the seismic responses on the top surface of the periodic foundation can be reduced significantly. In this paper, the dispersion curves of the three-dimensional three-component (3D–3C) periodic foundations are analyzed by the finite element method (FEM). The influencing factors such as physical and geometrical parameters of the typical cell are investigated. In order to verify its feasibility, a three-dimensional (3D) soil-foundation finite element model is analyzed, and the frequency zones of seismic attenuations are consistent with the AZs. The periodic foundation can greatly reduce the seismic response, which implies that the periodic foundation has a great potential application on seismic isolation.