Exploring the Interplay of Plastic Hinge Behavior and Soil-Structure Interaction in Frame Structures: Analytical Study

This paper presents a critical synthesis of research on the combined influence of plastic hinge behavior and soil–structure interaction (SSI) on the seismic response of frame structures. Unlike prior reviews that treat these topics separately, the study integrates experimental and numerical evidence to identify how SSI alters hinge formation, drift demand, and energy dissipation, and how hinge modeling assumptions affect soil–foundation response. The reviewed literature (2010–2022) shows a clear growth in publications over time and a dominant reliance on analytical and numerical investigations relative to purely experimental work. A quantitative categorization of the surveyed studies indicates that modeling-focused approaches represent the largest share of the reviewed methods, while the most frequently reported outcomes emphasize changes in structural response and the importance of nonlinear modeling assumptions. The review highlights persistent gaps in fully coupled nonlinear dynamic validation, limited system-level experimental datasets, and the absence of design-oriented guidance for integrated hinge–SSI modeling.