Dynamic response of a rectangular cantilever aqueduct with a vertical baffle and resting on soil foundation

The investigation of the earthquake response of water conveyance structures is crucial for the seismic design of the infrastructures. This study analytically evaluates the dynamic response of a vertically baffled rectangular cantilever aqueduct exposed to lateral excitation and supported by flexible soil. By employing linear potential theory and subdomain method, the liquid-structure interaction is analyzed. The soil-structure interaction (SSI) effect is characterized by a lumped parameter model (LPM) employing Chebyshev complex polynomials fitted to horizontal impedance functions. The substructure method is employed to construct the soil-aqueduct-liquid-baffle (SALB) coupling system. According to the Newmark-𝛽 method, the dynamic response of the coupling system is acquired. The present analytical results show excellent agreement with those from available literatures. Finally, a parametric study is conducted to examine the influence of baffle parameters, soil properties and liquid height on the dynamic response of the SALB coupling system under harmonic and seismic lateral excitations. The primary innovation of this study lies in the development of an equivalent analytical model of the coupling system undergoing earthquake excitation. This study can offer an effective tool to analyze the sloshing response and optimize seismic design of hydraulic structures.