Dynamic soil structure interaction of bridge piers supported on well foundation

For both steel and RCC Bridges passing rivers or creeks, common practice in many countries is to provide concrete wells to support the bridge girders. For many bridges that are strategically important in terms of defense or trade, it is essential that they remain functional even after a strong earthquake hits the structure. The present state of the art for design of well foundation is still marred with a number of uncertainties where a simplistic pseudo static analysis of its response only prevails, though it is a well-known fact that loads from super structure, character of soil and its stiffness plays an important role in defining its dynamic characteristics. The present paper is thus an attempt to present a dynamic analysis model trying to cater to a number of such deficiencies as cited above and also provide a practical model (amenable to design office application) that can be used to estimate the pier, well and soil's dynamic interaction