Effect of soil–structure interaction on a masonry structure under train-induced vibrations

This paper presents an experimental investigation to assess the influence of soil–structure interaction (SSI) on an unreinforced masonry structure under train-induced vibrations. For this purpose, a structure near a railway line was instrumented and monitored when subjected to five railway traffic vibrations. The measured vibrations were used to estimate the modal properties using a frequency domain decomposition technique. The variation in estimated modal properties against varying excitations indicated that the dynamic response depends on the source of excitation. Two finite-element (FE) models were also developed and updated through manual tuning, one with a fixed base and the other with a flexible base accounting for SSI. The modal properties and response time histories measured through experimentation were compared to those predicted by detailed three-dimensional FE models. A comparison between the base input force, base moment and peak displacement of both FE models was also performed. The results i...