Seismic response of a continuous structural model on unilateral elastic soil

This paper considers a structural continuous model for a qualitative description of the dynamical behaviour of structures subject to foundation uplift. It consists of a shear beam connected to a rigid foundation simply supported on unilateral elastic soil. The soil properties are modelled by a finite number of visco-elastic elements distributed along the length of the foundation. The equations of motion, derived by the application of Hamilton's principle for large foundation rotations have subsequently been linearized. Numerical applications have been conducted under impulsive and seismic excitations showing that the partial uplift of the foundation modifies significantly the dynamical behaviour of the system.