Two-dimensional translation, rocking, and waves in a building during soil-structure interaction excited by a plane earthquake P-wave pulse

A two-dimensional model of a building supported by a rectangular, flexible foundation embedded in the soil is analyzed for excitation by an incident plane P-wave. The building, the foundation, and the soil have different material properties. The building is assumed to be anisotropic and linear, while the soil and the foundation are assumed to be isotropic and can experience nonlinear deformations. In general, the work spent for the development of nonlinear strains in the soil can consume a significant part of the input wave energy and thus less energy is available for the excitation of the building. However, in the case of excitation by a plane P-wave pulse, we show that the nonlinear response in the soil and the foundation does not significantly change the nature of excitation in the base of the building. It is noted that the response of a building can be approximated by base translation and rocking for excitation by long, strong motion waves.