Shake table test of soil-pile groups-bridge structure interaction in liquefiable ground

<正>This paper describes a shake table test study on the seismic response of low-cap pile groups and a bridge structure in liquefiable ground.The soil profile,contained in a large-scale laminar shear box,consisted of a horizontally saturated sand layer overlaid with a silty clay layer,with the simulated low-cap pile groups embedded.The container was excited in three E1 Centra earthquake events of different levels.Test results indicate that excessive pore pressure(EPP) during slight shaking only slightly accumulated,and the accumulation mainly occurred during strong shaking.The EPP was gradually enhanced as the amplitude and duration of the input acceleration increased.The acceleration response of the sand was remarkably influenced by soil liquefaction.As soil liquefaction occurred,the peak sand displacement gradually lagged behind the input acceleration;meanwhile,the sand displacement exhibited an increasing effect on the bending moment of the pile,and acceleration responses of the pile and the sand layer gradually changed from decreasing to increasing in the vertical direction from the bottom to the top.A jump variation of the bending moment on the pile was observed near the soil interface in all three input earthquake events.It is thought that the shake table tests could provide the groundwork for further seismic performance studies of low-cap pile groups used in bridges located on liquefiable groun.     

可液化倾斜场地中桩基动力响应振动台试验研究

为研究倾斜场地中桩基的动力响应,以2011年新西兰地震中受损的Dallington桥为原型,设计并完成可液化倾斜场地桥梁桩-土相互作用的振动台模型试验。试验再现了喷砂、冒水、地裂缝、场地流滑等宏观现象。试验结果表明,土层足够的液化势及惯性是造成倾斜场地侧向流滑的必要条件;浅层土相比深层土更易液化,液化层中的加速度由下至上呈现逐渐衰减的趋势,而未液化砂土层却表现为逐渐增大的特征;深部测点的桩侧土压力明显大于浅部测点,且土体的液化会弱化土对结构的压力;结构应变最大值位于上部桥台,而结构弯矩在桩身中部及土层分界面附近出现两个较大值,桩端嵌固及倾斜场地流滑是造成出现两个弯矩较大值的主要原因。     

A shake table investigation of dynamic behavior of pile supported bridges in liquefiable soil deposits

Bridges are a part of vital infrastructure,which should operate even after a disaster to keep emergency services running.There have been numerous bridge failures during major past earthquakes due to liquefaction.Among other categories of failures,mid span collapse(without the failure of abutments)of pile supported bridges founded in liquefiable deposits are still observed even in most recent earthquakes.This mechanism of collapse is attributed to the effects related to the differential elongation of natural period of the individual piers during liquefaction.A shake table investigation has been carried out in this study to verify mechanisms behind midspan collapse of pile supported bridges in liquefiable deposits.In this investigation,a typical pile supported bridge is scaled down,and its foundations pass through the liquefiable loose sandy soil and rest in a dense gravel layer.White noise motions of increasing acceleration magnitude have been applied to initiate progressive liquefaction and to characterize the dynamic features of the bridge.It has been found that as the liquefaction of the soil sets in,the natural frequency of individual bridge support is reduced,with the highest reduction occurring near the central spans.As a result,there is differential lateral displacement and bending moment demand on the piles.It has also been observed that for the central pile,the maximum bending moment in the pile will occur at a higher elevation,as compared to that of the interface of soils of varied stiffness,unlike the abutment piles.The practical implications of this research are also highlighted.     

Large-scale seismic isolation through regulated liquefaction: a feasibility study

Using controlled liquefaction, a seismic isolation technique is introduced by which a large area with dozens of structures can be seismically isolated. The proposed Large Scale Seismic Isolation (LSSI) is in many ways similar to conventional base isolations. The required bearing is provided by a fully undrained pre-saturated liquefiable layer which has substantial vertical stiffness/capacity and minimal lateral stiffness. Moreover, required energy dissipation would be provided through material damping and Biot flow-induced damping within the liquefied layer. LSSI consists of a thick nonliquefiable crust layer and an underlying engineered pre-saturated liquefiable layer bounded by two impermeable thin clay layers. The liquefiable layer should be designed to trigger liquefaction as soon as possible within the early seconds of a design level seismic event. Adopting the energy-based GMP liquefaction theory, optimum gradation of the liquefiable layer is also investigated. It turned out that LSSI would effectively reduce acceleration response spectrum within short to medium periods. Contribution of the proposed LSSI is more pronounced in the case of stronger ground motions such as near field events as well as ground motions with longer return periods.     

液化侧扩流场地桥梁群桩效应分析

基于u-p有限元公式模拟饱和砂土中水和土颗粒完全耦合效应,建立液化侧向流场地群桩动力反应分析的三维数值模型。模型中,砂土采用多屈服面弹塑性本构模型模拟、黏土采用多屈服面运动塑性模型模拟,群桩在计算过程中保持线弹性状态;采用20节点的六面体单元和考虑孔压效应的20-8节点分别划分黏土层和饱和砂层;选用剪切梁边界处理计算域的人工边界,模拟地震过程中土层的剪切效应;应用瑞利阻尼考虑体系的阻尼效应。随后对比分析2×2群桩中各单桩的地震反应规律,结果表明,各单桩的弯矩、位移时程规律基本一致,峰值弯矩及峰值位移出现时刻滞后于输入加速度峰值时刻,上坡向桩的弯矩和位移峰值大于下坡向的桩的反应值。接着通过改变桩间距研究群桩效应,随着桩间距增加,群桩中各单桩的弯矩最大值均出现在土层分界处,且各单桩的弯矩、桩顶位移逐渐增大。最后给出液化侧向流场地群桩效应的基本原因,得出该类场地群桩抗震设计的基本认识。     

Response of single piles and pipelines in liquefaction-induced lateral spreads using controlled blasting

Two full-scale experiments using controlled blasting were conducted in the Port of Tokachi on Hokkaido Island, Japan, to assess the behavior of piles and pipelines subjected to lateral spreading. Test specimens were extensively instrumented with strain gauges to measure the distribution of moment during lateral spreading. This allowed us to compute the loading condition, as well as to conduct damage and performance assessments on the piles and pipelines. This paper presents the test results and discussions on the response of single piles and pipelines observed from the full-scale experiments. Based on the test results, it can be concluded that using controlled blasting successfully liquefied the soil, and subsequently induced lateral spreading. The movements of the single pile, as well as the transverse pipelines, were approximately the same as the free field soil movement. Observed moment distribution of the single pile indicated that global translation of the liquefied soil layer provided insignificant force to the pile. In addition, the degree of fixity at the pile tip significantly affected the moment along the pile as well as the pile head displacement. The pile with a higher degree of fixity at the pile tip had smaller pile head displacement but larger maximum moment.     

Numerical simulations of shake-table experiment for dynamic soil-pile-structure interaction in liquefiable soils

A shake-table experiment on pile foundations in liquefi able soils composed of liquefi able sand and overlying soft clay is studied. A three-dimensional(3D) effective stress fi nite element(FE) analysis is employed to simulate the experiment. A recently developed multi-surface elasto-plastic constitutive model and a fully coupled dynamic inelastic FE formulation(u-p) are used to model the liquefaction behavior of the sand. The soil domains are discretized using a solid-fl uid fully coupled(u-p) 20-8 noded brick element. The pile is simulated using beam-column elements. Upon careful calibration, very good agreement is obtained between the computed and the measured dynamic behavior of the ground and the pile. A parametric analysis is also conducted on the model to investigate the effect of pile-pinning, pile diameter, pile stiffness, ground inclination angle, superstructure mass and pile head restraints on the ground improvement. It is found that the pile foundation has a noticeable pinning effect that reduces the lateral soil displacement. It is observed that a larger pile diameter and fi xed pile head restraints contribute to decreasing the lateral pile deformation; however, a higher ground inclination angle tends to increase the lateral pile head displacements and pile stiffness, and superstructure mass seems to effectively infl uence the lateral pile displacements.     

盾构施工对不同刚度桩体影响的数值分析

针对苏州轻轨一号线盾构隧道的施工情况,采用三维有限元数值模型,研究了盾构施工对不同刚度桩体的影响。计算结果表明：当盾构施工时,不同刚度桩体均偏向隧道移动,在隧道轴线处的横向位移均为最大。桩身横向位移最大值、竖向位移随桩体刚度增大而变小,桩身轴力、弯矩则随桩体刚度增大而逐渐增大,桩身最大负弯矩均出现在隧道轴线位置处。在盾构正下方穿越单桩过程中,桩身沿隧道轴向位移近似为一条直线。当桩体弹性模量为0.5 GPa时,柱顶和桩底处竖向位移相差较大;当桩体弹性模量大于0.5 GPa时,桩身竖向位移急剧增大。桩身轴力沿桩身两端大、中间小。桩身弯矩随桩体弹性模量增大而明显增大。     

Soil–pile-bridge structure interaction in liquefying ground using shake table testing

The evaluation of seismic pile response is particularly useful for geotechnical engineers involved in the design of foundations in liquefying site. Shake table testing was performed to study the dynamic interactive behavior of soil–pile foundations in liquefying ground under different shaking frequency and amplitude. The soil profile consisted of a clayey layer over liquefiable sand over clay. The model was tested with a series of El Centro earthquake motions with peak accelerations ranging from 0.15g to 0.50g, and time step from 0.006 to 0.02 s. Representative data, including time histories of accelerations and excess pore pressure ratios that characterize the important aspects of soil–pile interaction in liquefying ground are presented. The shaking frequency has no significant effect on the magnitudes of excess pore pressure ratio, ground and pile accelerations and pile bending moments. Excess pore pressure ratio, ground acceleration and pile acceleration, and pile bending moment largely depend on the shaking amplitude.     

Shake-table investigation of scoured RC pile-group-supported bridges in liquefiable and nonliquefiable soils

This paper presents results of one-g shake-table tests on scoured pile-group-supported bridge models in saturated (liquefiable) and dry (nonliquefiable) sands. The primary objective is to reveal the influence of liquefaction on seismic demands and failure mechanism of scoured bridges. To this end, two identical models, each consisting of a 2 × 2 reinforced concrete pile-group with a center-to-center spacing of 3 times pile diameter, a cap and a single pier with a lumped iron block, were constructed and embedded into saturated and dry sands, respectively, with the same scour depth of 4 times pile diameter. Typical test results, including excess pore pressure, acceleration and displacement demands are interpreted first, followed by the focus on curvature demands and associated seismic failure mechanism identification. Finally, inertial and kinematic effects on pile curvature demands are estimated using cross-correlation analyses. Results show that near-pile liquefied soils exhibit more remarkable dilation tendency as compared to far field. For bridges under the given scour depth, soil liquefaction tends to significantly affect the failure modes via transferring damage positions from pier bottom to pile head and meanwhile from underground pile to pile head. In addition, pile group effects appear to be significant in nonliquefiable soils while to be relatively inessential in liquefied soils. Moreover, the inertial effect is more prominent in nonliquefiable soils, while the kinematic effect itself generally appears to be more significant in liquefiable soils. The test results can be used to validate numerical models for future studies.     

单桩-土-结构振动台试验模型数值计算分析

为研究地震荷载作用下桩基-土-核电结构的抗震性能及土结动力反应规律,对拟开展的地震模拟振动试验模型进行数值计算分析。核电工程结构上部质量大和刚度大,试验模型不同于一般的工程结构,为检验振动台试验模型设计、传感器布设方案,对试验模型进行了数值模拟。数值模拟以单端承桩为研究对象,计算了上部结构质量和刚度变化时,在脉冲荷载及基于RG1.60谱人工合成地震动作用下桩身的地震反应规律。数值模拟表明:在水平地震动作用下,桩身剪力和弯矩包络线呈"X"状分布,桩底和顶处剪力弯矩较大;上部结构质量越大,桩身的剪力与弯矩越大;上部结构的刚度越大,桩身的剪力与弯矩越小;随着上部结构质量的增大和刚度的减小,反弯点逐渐向桩顶移动。桩顶发生最大位移时所对应的桩身挠度随着上部结构质量的增加而增大并且随着上部结构刚度的增大而减小。土层分界面处,桩身内力发生突变。此外,在脉冲荷载输入下,桩身反弯点位置与输入荷载的周期有关。计算结果为振动台试验模型设计提供了理论依据。     

A Study of Piles during Earthquakes: Issues of Design and Analysis

The seismic response of pile foundations is a very complex process involving inertial interaction between structure and pile foundation, kinematic interaction between piles and soils, seismically induced pore-water pressures (PWP) and the non-linear response of soils to strong earthquake motions. In contrast, very simple pseudo-static methods are used in engineering practice to determine response parameters for design. These methods neglect several of the factors cited above that can strongly affect pile response. Also soil–pile interaction is modelled using either linear or non-linear springs in a Winkler computational model for pile response. The reliability of this constitutive model has been questioned. In the case of pile groups, the Winkler model for analysis of a single pile is adjusted in various ways by empirical factors to yield a computational model for group response. Can the results of such a simplified analysis be adequate for design in all situations?The lecture will present a critical evaluation of general engineering practice for estimating the response of pile foundations in liquefiable and non-liquefiable soils during earthquakes. The evaluation is part of a major research study on the seismic design of pile foundations sponsored by a Japanese construction company with interests in performance based design and the seismic response of piles in reclaimed land. The evaluation of practice is based on results from field tests, centrifuge tests on model piles and comprehensive non-linear dynamic analyses of pile foundations consisting of both single piles and pile groups. Studies of particular aspects of pile–soil interaction were made. Piles in layered liquefiable soils were analysed in detail as case histories show that these conditions increase the seismic demand on pile foundations. These studies demonstrate the importance of kinematic interaction, usually neglected in simple pseudo-static methods. Recent developments in designing piles to resist lateral spreading of the ground after liquefaction are presented. A comprehensive study of the evaluation of pile cap stiffness coefficients was undertaken and a reliable method of selecting the single value stiffnesses demanded by mainstream commercial structural software was developed. Some other important findings from the study are: the relative effects of inertial and kinematic interactions between foundation and soil on acceleration and displacement spectra of the super-structure; a method for estimating whether inertial interaction is likely to be important or not in a given situation and so when a structure may be treated as a fixed based structure for estimating inertial loads; the occurrence of large kinematic moments when a liquefied layer or naturally occurring soft layer is sandwiched between two hard layers; and the role of rotational stiffness in controlling pile head displacements, especially in liquefiable soils. The lecture concludes with some recommendations for practice that recognize that design, especially preliminary design, will always be based on simplified procedures.     

Response of a scale-model pile group for a jacket foundation of an offshore wind turbine in liquefiable ground during shaking table tests

To investigate the seismic response of a pile group during liquefaction, shaking table tests on a 1/25 scale model of a 2 × 2 pile group were conducted, which were pilot tests of a test project of a scale-model offshore wind turbine with jacket foundation. A large laminar shear box was utilized as the soil container to prepare a liquefiable sandy ground specimen. The pile group model comprising four slender aluminum piles with their pile heads connected by a rigid frame was designed with similitude considerations focusing on soil–pile interaction. The input motions were 2-Hz sinusoids with various acceleration amplitudes. The excess pore water pressure generation indicated that the upper half of the ground specimen reached initial liquefaction under the 50-gal-amplitude excitation, whereas in the 75-gal-amplitude test, almost entire ground was liquefied. Accelerations in soil, on the movable frames composing the laminar boundary of the shear box, and along the pile showed limited difference at the same elevation before liquefaction. After liquefaction, the soil and the movable-frame accelerations that represented the ground response considerably reduced, whereas both the movable frames and the piles exhibited high-frequency jitters other than 2-Hz sinusoid, and meantime, remarkable phase difference between the responses of the pile group and the ground was observed, all probably due to the substantial degradation of liquefied soil. Axial strains along the pile implied its double-curvature bending behavior, and the accordingly calculated moment declined significantly after liquefaction. These observations demonstrated the interaction between soil and piles during liquefaction.     

地震作用下预应力混凝土管桩运动响应三维数值分析

基于黏弹性人工边界,建立上部结构-桩-土的共同作用三维有限元模型,分析地震作用下预应力混凝土管桩的运动响应特性。分别针对预应力混凝土管桩的桩径、双层软硬土剪切波速比值、上覆土层厚度、上部结构荷载等影响因素进行数值计算。参数分析表明:在地震作用下,桩径的增大会导致桩身整体弯矩相应增加,特别是桩身土层分界面处增大明显;软硬土层剪切波速比及上覆土层厚度的增加,引起土层分界面处桩身峰值弯矩增加;固定桩头条件下,桩头与桩身软硬土层分界面处均会产生较大的运动弯矩;上部结构的惯性荷载对固定桩头的内力有着较大影响,对桩身深处段弯矩影响较小。本文研究结论可为预应力混凝土管桩抗震设计提供有益的理论参考。     

Prediction of pile response to lateral spreading by 3-D soil–water coupled dynamic analysis: Shaking in the direction perpendicular to ground flow

The 1995 Kobe earthquake seriously damaged numerous buildings with pile foundations adjacent to quay walls. The seismic behavior of a pile group is affected by movement of quay walls, pile foundations, and liquefied backfill soil. For such cases, a three-dimensional (3-D) soil–water coupled dynamic analysis is a promising tool to predict overall behavior. We report predictions of large shake table test results to validate 3-D soil–water coupled dynamic analyses, and we discuss liquefaction-induced earth pressure on a pile group during the shaking in the direction perpendicular to ground flow. Numerical analyses predicted the peak displacement of footing and peak bending moment of the group pile. The earth pressure on the pile in the crustal layer is most important for the evaluation of the peak bending moment along the piles. In addition, the larger curvatures in the bending moment distribution along the piles at the water side in the liquefied ground were measured and predicted.     

1st Ishihara Lecture: An overview of the behavior of pile foundations in liquefiable and non-liquefiable soils during earthquake excitation

The seismic response of a pile foundation is usually analyzed by approximate methods in practice. These methods typically neglect one or more of the important factors that affect seismic response such as inertial interaction, kinematic interaction, seismic pore water pressures, soil nonlinearity, cross stiffness coupling and dynamic pile to pile interaction. A nonlinear 3-D analysis is used to show how all these factors affect pile response, to demonstrate some of the consequences of using various approximate methods and to provide a comprehensive overview of how pile foundations behave during earthquakes in liquefiable and non-liquefiable soils.     

Bending–buckling interaction as a failure mechanism of piles in liquefiable soils

This paper investigates the importance of bending–buckling interaction in seismic design of piles in liquefiable soils using numerical techniques. A pseudo-static analysis has been performed using a well documented case history, where the pile–soil interaction is modelled as a beam on nonlinear winkler foundation (BNWF). Six possible analytical methods, three force based and three displacement based, are performed in which the pile is subjected to both lateral and axial load. Three out of six analysis cases did not predict the failure of the piles when analysed only for bending (i.e., lateral loads only). The buckling analysis showed that the pile was also safe against pure buckling during full liquefaction. Further, two out of those three cases which did not predict failure in bending were reanalysed for bending–buckling interaction (i.e., lateral and axial loads acting simultaneously). These combined analyses showed a more realistic behaviour of pile response and did predict the pile failure. Hence, it can be concluded that if a pile is designed for bending and buckling criteria separately and safe for these individual design criteria, it may fail due to their combined effect.     

Remediation of piled foundations against lateral spreading by passive site stabilization technique

Physical modeling tests were conducted on pile foundations to measure the seismic performance of a new ground improvement technology, called passive site stabilization, for use on sites susceptible to liquefaction and liquefaction-induced lateral spreading. The method involves the slow injection of a low-viscosity stabilizer in conjunction with the natural groundwater flow. The effectiveness of the treatment using dilute colloidal silica as the stabilizer was tested by two centrifuge models that simulated soil–pile interaction of a 2×2 end-bearing pile group embedded in a multilayer soil deposit of 10-m thickness. The models utilized a laminar box and involved gently inclined soil profiles with and without the applied soil improvement. Response of the pile groups and the lateral spreading behaviors of the treated and untreated soil under a simulated base shaking were investigated and compared. The results showed that treatment with dilute colloidal silica stabilizer minimized permanent lateral deformations and reduced the liquefaction potential of the soil. Significant reductions occurred in the measured pile bending moments and axial forces because the layer treated with dilute colloidal silica did not liquefy. Thus, the technique can be an alternative to traditional methods of ground improvement.     

Aspects of bridge-ground seismic response and liquefaction-induced deformations

Considerable bridge-ground interaction effects are involved in evaluating the consequences of liquefaction-induced deformations. Due to seismic excitation, liquefied soil layers may result in substantial accumulated permanent deformation of sloping ground near the abutments. Ultimately, global response is dictated by the bridge-ground interaction as an integral system. However, a holistic assessment of such response generally requires a highly demanding full three-dimensional (3D) model of the bridge and surrounding ground. As such, in order to capture a number of the salient involved mechanisms, this study focuses on the longitudinal seismic performance of a simpler idealized configuration, motivated by details of an existing bridge-ground configuration. In this model, a realistic multilayer soil profile is considered with interbedded liquefiable/nonliquefiable strata. The effect of the resulting liquefaction-induced ground deformation is explored. Attention is given to overall deformation of the bridge structure due to lateral spreading in the vicinity of the abutments. The derived insights indicate a need for such global analysis techniques, when addressing the potential hazard of liquefaction and its consequences.     

Behavior of braced excavation in sand under a seismic condition: experimental and numerical studies

The behavior of braced excavation in dry sand under a seismic condition is investigated in this paper. A series of shake table tests on a reduced scale model of a retaining wall with one level of bracing were conducted to study the effect of different design parameters such as excavation depth, acceleration amplitude and wall stiffness. Numerical analyses using FLAC 2D were also performed considering one level of bracing. The strut forces, lateral displacements and bending moments in the wall at the end of earthquake motion were compared with experimental results. The study showed that in a post-seismic condition, when other factors were constant, lateral displacement, bending moment, strut forces and maximum ground surface displacement increased with excavation depth and the amplitude of base acceleration. The study also showed that as wall stiffness decreased, the lateral displacement of the wall and ground surface displacement increased, but the bending moment of the wall and strut forces decreased. The net earth pressure behind the walls was influenced by excavation depth and the peak acceleration amplitude, but did not change significantly with wall stiffness. Strut force was the least affected parameter when compared with others under a seismic condition.