Title: A Framework for Development of Soil and Foundation Model for Seismic SSI Analysis of Bridges

Author(s): Mohamed Sayed

Publication: Web Session

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Date: 3/28/2021

Abstract:
This study presents the development of two practical tools for automated numerical model generation of soil-foundation system for the seismic soil-structure interaction (SSI) analysis of bridges. The main purpose of the study is to overcome the challenges associated with the modeling bridges for SSI analysis, which requires expertise in the fields of both geotechnical and structural engineering. The first tool allows the automated generation of a detailed large-scale finite element model of the complex three-dimensional topographic soil domain of the bridge site and the substructure of the bridge, i.e., abutments, pier foundations, caissons, and piles. The tool easily and intuitively enables the integration of the irregular site topography and soil stratigraphy from the available borehole log data at the site, into the model. The second tool provides a more simplified and practical OpenSees-based numerical modeling approach with embedded computations of the bridge foundation-soil system that includes shallow foundations, deep foundations (piles), and abutments. The potential advantages and applications of the proposed framework include: (1) the development of a comprehensive and user-friendly modeling tool that significantly reduces the pre-processing and modeling time; (2) captures the material and geometric nonlinearity of the soil-foundation system; and (3) accounts for modeling bridges supported on liquefaction susceptible soil layers.