Apply a ground motion to a slab with area springs.

Question

I have the records of acceleration in some points of a foundation of a building. To design it I need to put a slab (with a rigid diaphragm) with area springs (for the soil-structure interaction). But, when I display the results I get a bigger acceleration in the points that I am applying my input. It looks like the springs are distorting the seismic ground motion, as if it was applied to the bottom of them. How should I apply my acceleration record directly to the slab but maintaining the springs?

Answer 1

The developers of the application offer users the possibility to learn how the application works with examples through video tutorials. There is a page on their website called Watch and Learn where you have the possibility to watch various procedures related to the way the software works. Since there is no data for your request, use the videos to learn how to work with it.

Watch and Learn page: http://www.csiamerica.com/products/etabs/watch-and-learn