Shallow foundations are often used to support equipment that is sensitive to ground vibrations. If ground vibrations are severe, problems develop even in the absence of people object to building vibrations. In such cases, efforts are made to isolate the structure from the ground movements, or, at least, to reduce the amplitude of the vibrations. A technique that is often used is to provide an open trench around the structure but such an approach is likely to be expensive, particularly for deep trenches, and may be ineffective unless placed at the right location. A few experimental studies have shown that the problem is a difficult one. Theoretical studies using two- or three-dimensional finite element analyses are very expensive even for research purposes, and are unlikely to find much use for practical engineering work. In their proposal, the PI's on a relatively element method." If successful, the research should lead to an economical theoretical approach to the problem and allow for realistic analyses of this group of problems.
