Structure-soil-structure interaction effect on footing settlement due to adjacent building

The rapid urbanization and scarcity of land results in the construction of multiple structures which are very close to each other and supported on common soil media. This proximity of structures increases the stress in soil which in turn influences the deformation characteristics of nearby footings of adjacent buildings. Hence, there is a further need to investigate the effect of structure-soil-structure interaction (SSSI) on the settlement of footings. In the present study, the SSSI and soil-structure interaction (SSI) analyses are carried out to investigate the effect of SSSI on the footing settlement of a three-story symmetrical RCC building due to the presence of a similar adjacent building. The vertical and differential settlement of footings is evaluated by using the finite element software ANSYS and compared between SSSI and SSI analyses under gravity and seismic load cases. The results indicate that the SSSI effect causes a significant increase in vertical and differential settlement of the footings located near to the adjacent building under gravity and seismic loading compared to SSI analysis. However, a significant decrease in differential settlement is found between the footings nearest to the adjacent building and next to the nearest footings. This SSSI effect on vertical and differential settlement decreases with an increase in distance between adjacent buildings and almost diminishes when the distance becomes four times the width of footing.