Multi-platform soil-structure interaction simulation of Daikai subway tunnel during the 1995 Kobe earthquake

Abstract

The multi-platform simulation technique is employed in this study to analyze the Daikai subway tunnel that collapsed during the 1995 Kobe earthquake. The generalized distributed simulation framework (UT-SIM framework), developed at the University of Toronto, is used to perform the analysis. The soil-tunnel system is subdivided into two substructures: the soil domain and the tunnel domain. The open-source finite element analysis program OpenSees is used to model the soil domain subjected to the ground motion excitation, while the state-of-the-art reinforced concrete analysis software package, VecTor2, is used to model the nonlinear behavior of the tunnel. The two modules are integrated with the UT-SIM framework. The integrated soil tunnel models, through the multi-platform simulation technique, replicated the damage of the center column and the actual failure mode of the tunnel. The results of the soil and tunnel models are post-processed and visualized. It is confirmed that the multi-platform simulation method can replicate the crack pattern, as well as the deformation and failure mechanism of the center column.