Formulation of 3-D dynamic SSI analysis involving contact nonlinearities by time domain BEM-FEM

The formulation of a hybrid time domain BEM-FEM scheme is developed for the solution of three-dimensional dynamic soil-structure interaction problems involving contact nonlinearities at the soil-structure interface. Both uplift and sliding are considered at the interface through special thin-layer interface elements. The linear elastic structure, the geometrically nonlinear interface and the linear elastic soil medium are coupled together through equilibrium and compatibility and the analysis proceeds stepwise in time with iterations at each time step in order to define the contact area. Both external dynamic loads and seismic waves are considered.