PLAXIS

CONNECT Edition V21.01

PLAXIS 2D - Tutorial Manual - Free Vibration and earthquake

analysis of a building

Last Updated: March 16, 2021

 16
Free vibration and earthquake analysis of a building
[ULT]
This example demonstrates the natural frequency of a five-storey building when subjected to free vibration and
earthquake loading. The two calculations employ different dynamic boundary conditions:
• In the free vibration, the Viscous boundary conditions are considered. This option is suitable for problems
where the dynamic source is inside the mesh.
• For the earthquake loading, the Free-field and Compliant base boundary conditions are considered. This
option is preferred for earthquake analysis, where the dynamic input is applied at the bottom of the model.
Objectives
• Performing a Dynamic calculation
• Defining dynamic boundary conditions (free-field, compliant base and viscous)
• Defining earthquakes by means of dynamic multipliers
• Modelling free vibration of structures
• Modelling hysteretic behaviour by means of Hardening Soil model with small-strain stiffnessmall
• Evaluating the natural frequency from Fourier spectrum
Geometry
The building consists of 5 floors and a basement. It is 10 m wide and 17 m high including basement. The total
height from the ground level is 5 x 3 m = 15 m and the basement is 2 m deep. A value of 5 kN/m2 is taken as the
weight of the floors and the walls. The building is constructed on a rather loose sand of 15 m depth underlain by
a deep denser sand layer. In the model, 25 m of the deep sand layer will be considered.

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Create new project

15 m y

2m x
15 m

25 m

75 10 75

Figure 189: Geometry of the project

17.1 Create new project

To create the new project, follow these steps:

1. Start the Input program and select Start a new project from the Quick start dialog box.
2. In the Project tabsheet of the Project properties window, enter an appropriate title.
3. In the Model tabsheet keep the default options for Model (Plane strain) and Elements (15-Noded).
4. Keep the default units and constants and set the model Contour to xmin = -80 m, xmax = 80 m, ymin = -40 m
and ymax = 15 m.

17.2 Define the soil stratigraphy

The subsoil is divided into a 15 m thick rather loose sand layer and a 25 m thick medium dense sand layer. The
phreatic level is assumed to be at y = -15 m. Hydrostatic pore pressures are generated in the whole geometry
according to this phreatic line.

1. Click the Create borehole button and create a borehole at x = 0.

The Modify soil layers window pops up.
2. Add two soil layers extending from y = 0 to y = -15 and from y = -15 to y = -40.
3. Set the Head in the borehole at -15 m.

17.3 Create and assign material data sets

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Create and assign material data sets

The upper layer consists of rather loose sand and the lower one is a medium dense sand. Both have Hardening
Soil model with small-strain stiffnessmall properties. The presence of the groundwater is neglected. The soil
layers with Hardening Soil model with small-strain stiffnessmall properties have inherent hysteretic damping.
•
Open the Material sets window.
• Create data sets under Soil and interfaces set type according to the information given in Table 34 (on page
218).
• Assign the material datasets to the corresponding soil layers in the borehole.

Table 35: Material properties

Parameter Name Upper sand layer Lower sand layer Unit

General

Material model - HS small HS small -

Type of material behaviour - Drained Drained -

Soil unit weight above phreatic level γunsat 16 20 kN/m3

Soil unit weight below phreatic level γsat 20 20 kN/m3

Parameters

Secant stiffness in standard drained

E50ref 20·103 30·103 kN/m2
triaxial test

Tangent stiffness for primary

Eoedref 26·103 36·103 kN/m2
oedometer loading

Unloading / reloading stiffness Eurref 95·103 110·103 kN/m2

Power for stress-level dependency of

m 0.5 0.5 -
stiffness

Cohesion c'ref 10 5 kN/m2

Friction angle φ' 31 28 °

Dilatancy angle ψ 0 0 °

Shear strain at which Gs = 0.722 G0 γ0.7 0.15·10-3 0.1·10-3 -

Shear modulus at very small strains G0ref 270·103 100·103 kN/m2

Poisson's ratio ν'ur 0.2 0.2 -

When subjected to cyclic shear loading, the Hardening Soil model with small-strain stiffnesswill show typical
hysteretic behaviour. Starting from the small-strain shear stiffness, G0ref, the actual stiffness will decrease with
increasing shear. The figures below display the Modulus reduction curves, i.e. the decay of the shear modulus

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Create and assign material data sets

with strain. The upper curve shows the secant shear modulus and the lower curve shows the tangent shear
modulus.

250000

0.722 G0
200000
Shear modulus

150000

100000

50000 G used
γ0.7
Gt Gs

0.00001 0.0001 0.001 0.01

Shear strain

Figure 190: Modulus reduction curves for the upper sand layer

100000

80000
0.722 G0
Shear modulus

60000

G used
40000

20000

γ0.7 Gs
Gt

0.00001 0.0001 0.001 0.01

Shear strain

Figure 191: Modulus reduction curve for the lower sand layer

In the Hardening Soil model with small-strain stiffnessmall, the tangent shear modulus is bound by a lower limit,
Gur.
Eur
Gur = 2 (1 + νur )

The values of Gurref for the Upper sand layer and Lower sand layer and the ratio to G0ref are shown in the table
below. This ratio determines the maximum damping ratio that can be obtained.

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Table 36: Gur values and ratio to G0ref

Parameter Upper sand layer Lower sand layer Unit

Gur 39517 41167 kN/m2

G0ref/Gur 6.75 2.5 -

The figures below show the damping ratio as a function of the shear strain for the material used in the model. A
more detailed description about the modulus reduction curve to the damping curve can be found in the
literature.6

0.2

0.15
Damping ratio

0.1

0.05

0.00001 0.0001 0.001 0.01

Cyclic shear strain

Figure 192: Damping curve for the upper sand layer

0.2

0.15
Damping ratio

0.1

0.05

0.00001 0.0001 0.001 0.01

Cyclic shear strain

Figure 193: Damping curve for the lower sand layer

6 Brinkgreve, R.B.J., Kappert, M.H., Bonnier, P.G. (2007). Hysteretic damping in small-strain stiffness model. In
Proc. 10th Int. Conf. on Comp. Methods and Advances in Geomechanics. Rhodes, Greece, 737-742.

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Define the structural elements

17.4 Define the structural elements

The structural elements of the model are defined in the Structures mode.

17.4.1 Define the building

The building consists of 5 floors and a basement. It is 10 m wide and 17 m high including the basement. A value
of 5 kN/m2 is taken as the weight of the floors and the walls. The total height from the ground level is 5 x 3 m =
15 m and the basement is 2 m deep.
The plates, representing the walls and the floors in the building, are considered to be linear elastic. Note that two
different material datasets are used, one for the basement and the other for the rest of the building. The physical
damping in the building is simulated by means of Rayleigh damping. A description of Rayleigh damping
parameters is given in the Reference Manual.

Table 37: Material properties of the building (plate properties)

Parameter Name Building Basement Unit

Material type - Elastic Elastic -

Isotropic - Yes Yes -

Axial stiffness EA1 9·106 12·106 kN/m

Bending stiffness EI 67.5·103 160·103 kNm2/m

Weight w 10 20 kN/m/m

Poisson's ratio ν 0 0 -

Rayleigh α - 0.2320 0.2320 -

Rayleigh β - 8.0·10-3 8.0·10-3 -

Prevent punching - No No -

Table 38: Material properties of the node-to-node anchor

Parameter Name Column Unit

Material type Type Elastic -

Axial stiffness EA 2.5· 106 kN

Out-of-plane spacing Lspacing 3 m

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Define the structural elements

1. Use plates to create the vertical walls of the building from (-5 0) to (-5 15) and from (5 0) to (5 15).
2. Again with plates, now define the vertical walls of the basement from (-5 -2) to (-5 0) and from (5 -2) to (5 0).
3. Define the basement and ground level of the building as plates from (-5 -2) to (5 -2) and from (-5 0) to (5 0).
4. Define the floors by copying the basement floor 5 times. To do so, select the basement floor and choose the
Array button . Now specify that we want to copy it in y-direction, 6 copies (be aware: number of copies
includes the original) and an intermediate distance of 3 m.
5.
Define the material datasets for the structural elements in the building according to Table 36 (on page
221).
6. Assign the Basement material dataset to the vertical plates (2) and the lowest horizontal plate (all below
ground level) in the model.
7. Assign the Building material dataset to the remaining plates in the model.
8.
Use the Node-to-node anchor feature to define the column at the centre of the building connecting
consecutive floors, hence (0 -2) to (0 0), (0 0) to (0 3), (0 3) to (0 6), (0 6) to (0 9), (0 9) to (0 12) and (0 12)
to (0 15). Of course this can also be done by drawing one column and use the Array function to copy the
others.
9. Define the properties of the anchor according to Table 37 (on page 221) and assign the material dataset to
the anchors in the model.
10.
Define an interface to model the interaction between soil and the building.

17.4.2 Define the loads

1. In order to model the driving force, a point load is created on top of the pile. To create a dynamic load:
a.
Create a point load at the top left corner of the building.
b. Set Fx,ref = 10 kN/m and Fy,ref = 0 kN/m.
2. The earthquake is modelled by imposing a prescribed displacement at the bottom boundary. To define the
prescribed displacement:
a.
Define a line displacement at the bottom of the model, from (-80 -40) to (80 -40).
b. Set the x-component of the line displacement to Prescribed and assign a value of 1.0. The y-component of
the line displacement is Fixed. The default distribution (Uniform) should be kept.
3. To define the dynamic multipliers for the line displacement:
a. Expand the Dynamic line displacement.
b. Click the Multiplier_x drop down menu and click on the appearing plus button . The Multipliers
window pops up and a new displacement multiplier is automatically added.
c. From the Signal drop-down menu select the Table option.
d. The file containing the earthquake data is available in the Bentley Communities: search for the tutorial
Free vibration and earthquake analysis of a building. Download the earthquake signal file 225a.smc.
e. In the Multipliers window click the Open button and select the saved .smc file. In the Import data
window select the Strong motion CD-ROM files option from the Parsing method drop-down menu and
press OK to close the window.
f. Select the Acceleration option in the Data type drop-down menu.

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Define the structural elements

g. Select the Drift correction options and click OK to finalize the definition of the multiplier.
The defined multiplier is displayed:

Figure 194: Dynamic multipliers window

17.4.3 Create interfaces on the boundary

Free-field and Compliant base boundaries require the creation of interface elements along the vertical and
bottom boundaries of the model in the Structures mode. The interface elements must be added inside the model,
else the Free-field and Compliant base boundary conditions are ignored. To define the interfaces:

1.
Click the Create interfaces on the boundary button to automatically generate the interfaces at the
boundary of the model.

The geometry of the model is shown in the following figure:

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Generate the mesh

Figure 195: Geometry of the model

17.5 Generate the mesh

1. Proceed to the Mesh mode.
2. Reset the mesh refinement on the boundaries by changing the Coarseness factor on the boundaries to 1.
3. Select both soil layers and set their Coarseness factor to 0.3.
4. Click the Generate mesh button to generate the mesh. Set the Element distribution to Medium.
5. Click the View mesh button to view the mesh.
The resulting mesh is shown:

Figure 196: The generated mesh

6. Click the Close tab to close the Output program.

17.6 Define and perform the calculation

The calculation process consists of the initial conditions phase, simulation of the construction of the building,
loading, free vibration analysis and earthquake analysis.

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Define and perform the calculation

17.6.1 Initial phase

1. Click on the Staged construction tab to proceed with definition of the calculation phases.
2. The initial phase has already been introduced. The default settings of the initial phase will be used in this
tutorial.
3. In the Staged construction mode check that the building and load are inactive.

Figure 197: Initial phase

17.6.2 Phase 1: Building

1. Click the Add phase button to create a new phase. The default settings of the added phase will be used for
this calculation phase.
2. In the Staged construction mode construct the building (activate all the plates, the interfaces and the
anchors) and deactivate the basement volume.

Figure 198: Construction of the building

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17.6.3 Phase 2: Excitation

1. Click the Add phase button to create a new phase (Phase_2).

2. In the Phases window select the Reset displacement to zero in the Deformation control parameters
subtree. The default values of the remaining parameters will be used in this calculation phase.
3. In the Staged construction mode activate the load. The value of the load is already defined in the Structures
mode.

17.6.4 Phase 3: Free vibration

1. Click the Add phase button to create a new phase (Phase_3).

2. In the Phases window select the Dynamic option as Calculation type.
3. Set the Dynamic time interval parameter to 5 sec.
4. In the Staged construction mode release (deactivate) the point load.
5. In the Model explorer expand the Model conditions subtree.
6. Expand the Dynamics subtree. Check the boundary conditions BoundaryXMin, BoundaryXMax and
BoundaryYMin are viscous.

Figure 199: Boundary conditions for dynamics calculations

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Note:
For a better visualisation of the results, animations of the free vibration and earthquake can be created. If
animations are to be created, it is advised to increase the number of the saved steps by assigning a proper value
to the Max steps saved parameter in the Parameters tabsheet of the Phases window.

17.6.5 Phase 4: Earthquake

1. Click the Add phase button to create a new phase (Phase_4).

2. In the Phases window set the Start from phase option to Phase 1 (construction of building).
3. Select the Dynamic option as Calculation type.
4. Set the Dynamic time interval parameter to 20 sec.
5. Select the Reset displacement to zero in the Deformation control parameters subtree.
6. In the Numerical control parameters unselect the option Use default iter parameters and set Max steps
to 1000 in order to get a more detailed time-acceleration curve.
7. In the Model explorer expand the Model conditions subtree.
8. Expand the Dynamics subtree. Set the BoundaryXMin and BoundaryXMax to Free-field. Set the
BoundaryYMin to Compliant base.

Figure 200: Boundary conditions for dynamics calculations (Phase_4)

9. Interface elements do not need to be active to enable the use of Free-field or Compliant base boundaries.
10. In the Model explorer activate the Line displacements and its dynamic component. Make sure that the
value of ux,start,ref is set to 0.5 m. Considering that the boundary condition at the base of the model will be
defined using a Compliant base, the input signal has to be taken as half of the bedrock (within) motion.

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Results

17.6.6 Execute the calculation

1. Click the Select points for curves button in the side toolbar and select a point at the top of the building,
close to or at (0 15).
2. Click the Calculate button to calculate the project.
3.
After the calculation has finished, save the project by clicking the Save button .

17.7 Results
The figure below shows the deformed structure at the end of the Phase 2 (application of horizontal load).

Figure 201: Deformed mesh of the system

The figure below shows the time history of displacements of the selected points A (0 15) for the free vibration
phase. It may be seen from the figure that the vibration slowly decays with time due to damping in the soil and in
the building.

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Results

Figure 202: Time history of displacements at selected points

In the Fourier tabsheet of the Curve generation window select the Power (spectrum) and click OK to create
the plot. The plot is shown below. From this figure it can be evaluated that the dominant building frequency is
around 1 Hz.

Figure 203: Frequency representation (spectrum)

The figure below shows the time history of the lateral acceleration of the selected point at (0 15) for the
earthquake phase (dynamic analysis). For a better visualisation of the results animations of the free vibration
and earthquake can be created.

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Results

Figure 204: Variation of acceleration in dynamic time

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