The common approach of representing soil stiffness with discrete springs in structural analysis is a simplified approximation of the actual soil continuum. Modelling the soil as a continuum directly impacts the overall stiffness of the structure and alters its natural period of the structure. This phenomenon, known as soil-structure interaction (SSI), becomes particularly significant for tall structures or those built on soft soil foundations.

To accurately capture SSI, the Direct Method can be employed. This approach models both the structure and the soil continuum, accounting for kinematic and inertial interactions to provide a more realistic representation of the system's behaviour.

In this 1 hour program, we will demonstrate how to import a structure from Midas Gen to GTS NX and model interaction between soil continuum and the foundation.