Dynamic response analysis of a building structure subjected to ground shock from a tunnel explosion

Dynamic responses of a multi-storey building without or with a sliding base-isolation device to ground shock induced by an in-tunnel explosion are numerically analyzed in this paper. The effect of an adjacent tunnel in between the building and the explosion tunnel, which affects ground shock propagation, is also considered in the analysis. Different modeling methods, such as the eight-node iso-parametric finite element and mass-lumped system, are used to establish the coupling model consisting of the two adjacent tunnels, the surrounding soil medium with the Lysmer viscous boundary condition and the multi-storey building with or without the sliding base-isolation device. In numerical calculations, a continuous friction model, which is different from the traditional Coulomb friction model, is adopted to improve the computational efficiency and reduce the accumulated errors. Some example analyses are subsequently performed to study the response characteristics of the building and the sliding base-isolation device to ground shock. The effect of the adjacent tunnel in between the building and the explosion tunnel on the ground shock wave propagation is also investigated in the study. The final conclusions based on the numerical results will provide some guidance in engineering practice.