Effect of Soil-Structure Interaction on Building Response in Hilly Areas

Housing and other infrastructure in hilly regions have evolved with time in such a manner that it closely follows the topographical characteristics and blends itself into the environment without compromising the landscape of the area. The structural forms most commonly encountered are usually the stepback or stepback-setback configurations, since they can easily comply with the spatial restrictions. Structurally, such a configuration is symmetric about an axis but asymmetric about an orthogonal axis. The asymmetry so introduced is responsible for pronounced torsional effects. Considering the fact that hilly regions in the northern part of India are also the most seismic-prone areas, it becomes imperative to critically assess the behavior of such structural forms as prevalent in the region. Static and dynamic analysis was carried out taking into account the soil-structure interaction effects of both structural forms that highlight the differences in design parameters when compared with conventional forms, and also the role of foundation flexibility in the design parameters.