Modal analysis of coupled soil-structure systems

This paper presents an efficient approach for the modal analysis of coupled soil-structure systems, for which the dynamic response is strongly influenced by the embedment in the soil. The methodology is based on a finite element-perfectly matched layer model that allows for the derivation of frequency-independent system matrices and the computation of the modal properties of the coupled system. This is achieved by solving a nonlinear eigenproblem using a Compact Rational Krylov (CoRK) eigensolver. A procedure is developed to sort the computed eigenpairs, filter out the spurious modes of the system which are related to the near-field and truncated far-field soil subdomains and select the physical structural modes of system. The proposed method can be used in the dynamic assessment and structural identification of strongly coupled soil-structure systems such as fully or partially buried structures and allows for the interpretation of experimentally identified modal properties of these systems, especially in the presence of highly damped or closely spaced coupled modes. The applicability and the scalability of the proposed approach for 2D and 3D problems is demonstrated in two case studies.