Influence of Substructure Levels on the Computed Seismic Performance of Low-Rise Structures.

Numerical simulations are performed to study the behavior of hypothetical one, two, and three-story structures when different earthquake conditions occur in a selected soil profile in the southern California. Computed performance of the low-rise structures is assessed including substructure modeling of basement levels in numerical simulations. The numerical simulations showed the relationship between number of stories, peak ground acceleration, ground surface settlements, and horizontal peak story accelerations induced by the earthquakes and the computed performance of hypothetical structures built on liquefiable soils. The results suggest that the inclusion of basement levels positively influenced the overall seismic performance of low-rise structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]