Seismic soil-structure interaction analysis by direct boundary element methods

Upon establishing the mathematical framework necessary for a proper understanding of the analytical theory, a regularized form of the conventional direct boundary integral equation formulation for three-dimensional elastodynamics is presented for a general anisotropic medium. Founded on the basis of a full decomposition of the Green's functions into regular and singular parts, the alternative boundary integral equation format is compact and without demanding mathematical and numerical complexities such as Cauchy principal values. Extended to deal with general seismic soil-structure interaction problems in semiinfinite media, the formulation is implemented computationally together with a rigorous treatment of singular dynamic multi-layered viscoelastic half-space Green's functions and interfacial boundary tractions arising in typical soil-structure-foundation configurations. A set of new benchmark numerical results are included. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.