Non-linear response of a layered medium

The response of a soil medium with a stiff and elastic layer on the top can be captured in a model introduced by Iwan using a calculation procedure introduced by Joyner and Chen. The problem analyzed here is basically the response of horizontal soil layers bounded below by a semi-infinite elastic medium and above by an elastic layer. The medium is shaken by a ground motion assumed to originate at the top of the semi-infinite elastic medium. The aim of the study is to investigate the nonlinear soil-structure interaction problem by considering true nonlinear behavior of the soil under seismic excitations