Dynamic Response of Machine Foundation: A Study of Structural Dynamics on Soil Conditions

Machine foundations are critical components in industrial infrastructures. It should be designed such that it is capable to withstand the vibrational load induced by the operating machine ensuring safety, stability and minimal vibration transmission to the adjoining structures. Despite Nepal transitions toward industrialization, research on machine foundations—particularly for industrial facilities where large machines operate continuously—has been largely neglected in the country. Numerous research works have been done in the past few decades on the machine foundation globally, however literatures addressing the effect of variation of foundation mass on response of machine foundation is very limited. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of the dynamic response of machine foundation system under different possible scenarios. The analysis begins with a machine-foundation modeling and soil-structure interaction. The key parameter that affects the response on machine foundation such as foundation mass, soil type, loading frequency and natural frequency was observed analytically. The output demonstrates that the soil stiffness and the effect of foundation weight has a significant influence in the amplitude response. Corresponding to the frequency ratio separation criteria, stiff soils demonstrate low amplitude response with increased weight demand and vice versa. With increase in stiffness of soil the demand for disturbing frequency also increases to meet the resonance criteria. The findings of this study might provide a good insight for the design and analysis of machine foundation of industrial infrastructure of Nepal in future days contributing to improved resilience and stability. Machine Foundation Response Dynamics Vibration Harmonic Excitation