Parameters influencing the dynamic response of rigid block assemblies in numerical simulations

Abstract eng:
The investigation of the dynamic behavior of rigid block assemblies that are free to rock and slide under dynamic loading is an extremely complicated phenomenon. The dynamic response of such systems can be characterized as highly non-linear, as it involves complicated rocking and sliding phenomena of the individual blocks. Each body can undergo rocking, either individually, or in groups, resulting in several different and alternating shapes of oscillations of the entire system. Such block assemblies can be found in ancient monumental structures such as multi-drum classical columns. Considering that the analytical study of such multi-block structures under strong earthquake excitations is practically difficult, if not impossible for large numbers of blocks, while laboratory tests are very difficult and costly to perform, numerical methods can be used to simulate their dynamic behavior and seismic response. In this paper the Discrete Element Method (DEM) is utilized in the study of rigid block assemblies under strong ground excitations, by simulating the individual rock blocks as distinct bodies. A specialized software application is developed, using a modern object-oriented programming language, in order to enable the effective simulation of rigid block assemblies under harmonic and earthquake excitations. The results obtained by the developed software are compared with results from analytical equations of motion for 2 rigid blocks, so as to validate the software. A large number of parametric studies is performed in order to investigate the effect of excitation characteristics as well as the influence of geometrical and mechanical characteristics of rigid block assemblies on their behavior and response under harmonic and earthquake excitations. Additionally, the possibility of different friction levels between different bodies of the assembly is examined in order to investigate how friction affects the overall response of the system under harmonic excitations.

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