NONLINEAR SOIL-STRUCTURE INTERACTION ANALYSIS USING CO-SIMULATION

Abstract

Nonlinear soil-structure interaction (NLSSI) analysis methods are currently being developed at Idaho National Laboratory. Appendix B in ASCE (2016) includes a framework for performing NLSSI analysis. For NLSSI analysis to be widely implemented in industry, it is important to demonstrate that accurate response in dynamically loaded, nonlinear models can be achieved in an efficient manner. Both explicit and implicit dynamic solvers are applicable to NLSSI. When considering cpu time, an explicit dynamic solver is often desirable for large models with no features (e.g. small elements, stiff elements, or stiffness damping) that can drive the time step unreasonably small. An implicit dynamic solver may be desirable in models not well suited for an explicit solver. A further option is co-simulation where a portion of the model is run with an explicit dynamic solver and the rest of the model is run with an implicit dynamic solver. This study explores NLSSI examples where co-simulation could be the most cpu efficient modelling strategy.