On the design of new and existing structures taking advantage of nonlinear soil-structure interaction

Prof. Ioannis Anastasopoulos (Chair of Geotechnical Engineering – ETH Zürich)

According to current seismic codes, the foundation soil is not allowed to fully mobilize its strength, and plastic deformation is restricted to above-ground structural members. Capacity design is applied to the foundation guiding failure to the superstructure, thus prohibiting mobilization of soil bearing capacity. However, a significant body of evidence suggests that allowing strongly nonlinear foundation response may be advantageous. The lecture will introduce an alternative seismic design philosophy termed rocking isolation, in which soil yielding is used as a “fuse”.

The seminar takes place on the occasion of the Colloquia Doctoralia – XXX Cycle, PhD programme in Structural, Seismic and Geotechnical Engineering – Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.