Seismic Earth Pressure Due to Rayleigh Waves in Viscoelastic Media

This paper presents an analytical solution to calculate the seismic earth pressure induced by Rayleigh wave in viscoelastic media using the three-dimensional wave propagation theory. Two soil-structure systems are considered: a substructure inserted into a homogeneous soil layer and a substructure surrounded by a multilayered soil profile. Closed-form solutions are proposed as functions of damping ratio, Poisson’s ratio, and the height of the substructure. Furthermore, two special cases were investigated to examine the influences of a loose and a stiff thin layer in the layered soil profiles. The results obtained for different scenarios were compared systematically in a comprehensive numerical example.