Preliminary considerations on the rocking behavior of foundations in precast industrial buildings

Recent research has shown the importance of considering the soil-structure interaction in evaluating the seismic response of structures. In the specific case of precast buildings, with not-interconnected footing foundations, it is important to evaluate the rocking behavior of the foundations in the case of an earthquake. In fact, after past Italian earthquakes (e.g., Emilia), this type of buildings has presented various damage compatible with the rocking of the foundations. The purpose of this paper is to assess the seismic performance of precast industrial structures considering the soil-structure interaction. Parametric studies of single column footing models were made to establish the influence of the rocking at the soil-foundation interface. A case study building was selected and non-linear static analyses of a 2D model including soil influence was carried out. The main results show that the rocking mechanism at the foundations of precast industrial buildings may influence the seismic performance of the super structure.