Mechanical‐probabilistic formulation of the soil–structure interaction, accounting for the average shear wave velocity

Summary This work proposes a mechanical‐probabilistic formulation of the soil–structure interaction, taking into account the variability of the mean velocity of shear wave seismic load. This work aims at studying the sensitivity of the seismic response of a reinforced concrete frame structure by accounting for different seismic scenarios. For this purpose, the simplified model of a two‐story structure system has been developed. This model is based both on a macro‐element approach and on a stochastic collocation method. The sensitivity of the maximum displacement of the structure under different average shear wave velocities is studied. This aim in view, Gaussian or lognormal random variables are arbitrarily chosen to model this velocity. Analysis of the seismic vulnerability of the soil–structure system leads to cumulative distribution functions, which sometimes show significant differences for the same soil class in the sense of the European standard for the design of structures for earthquake resistance.