Myrids of intensive structure clusters have been built in big cities and small towns due to the rapid development of urbanization. The dynamic interaction between soil and structure cluster is different from the dynamic interaction between a single structure and soil. The influence law of the dynamic interaction between soil and structure cluster on the response of superstructure was studied in this paper, and the results can be utilized in the seismic design of superstructure considering cluster effect. In addition, the cluster effect was first presented in this paper. According to an accomplished shaking table test of soil and buildings, a finite element model involving the shaking table test was established to study the influence laws of the cluster effect on the responses of structures. Davidenkov foundation model was used to simulate the nonlinearity of soil in the finite element model. Based on verifying the accurate of the finite element model, cluster effect was studied to extend the research of SSCI, including soil properties, structure spacing and structure number. Last, the mechanism of SSCI was studied based on the laws of the displacement. The laws and the parametric influences on the soil and structure cluster interaction were fully summarized. The results are listed as follows:Under earthquake excitation, the structures in different locations had different responses, which involves the cluster effect of SSCI. Cluster interaction reduced the acceleration responses of structures, while velocity might be larger or less than that of the single building, relating with the earthquake input and the structure location. The displacement of the central building reduced, but these of the surrounding structures along the vibration increased, and the farthest buildings from the center had the largest displacements. The maximum absolute value of the influence factor of the cluster effect for on the displacement reached 770.794%. The building number was the most significant factor that affected the cluster effect in the SSCI system. The cluster interaction constantly reduced when the structure spacing increased and disappeared. When the clear spacing was larger than as 1.32 times as the size of the building foundation size, and the cluster effect becomes weak. It can be seen from the above results that the dynamic interaction between soil and structure cluster has a significant influence on the dynamic response of superstructure. In the seismic design of superstructure, the cluster effect of the dynamic interaction between soil and structure cluster cannot be ignored.
