Steady state harmonic response of nonlinear soil-structure interaction problems through the Preisach formalism

Steady state harmonic response of nonlinear soil-structure interaction problems is addressed in this paper. Due to well-known stiffness degradation phenomenon, the steady-state study is referred to small-medium strain condition whereas no significant pore water pressure change is observed (e.g. clayey soils and sands in drained conditions). A novel cyclic hysteretic model based on the Preisach formalism is proposed to describe the cyclic behavior of soil-foundation interaction. Through a harmonic balance procedure, furthermore, the steady state response of nonlinear soil-structure interaction problems is determined. Equivalent amplitude-dependent stiffness and damping have been derived in closed form to reliably describe the nonlinear soil-structure interaction phenomenon. Those expressions are function of the elastic foundation soil stiffness, the maximum attainable horizontal force and the moment capacity of the foundation. Furthermore, handy expressions of the equivalent fundamental period and damping, also dependent from the level of the excitation, are also derived. The proposed hysteretic model, moreover, has the advantage to be easily calibrated to match the modulus reduction and damping curves determined either from numerical or experimental tests. Numerical applications and comparisons with more advanced models and experimental data available in literature are also presented.