Behavior of Pile Foundations in Laterally Spreading Ground during Centrifuge Tests
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 131, Issue 11
Abstract
Eight dynamic model tests were performed on a 9 m radius centrifuge to study the behavior of single piles and pile groups in liquefiable and laterally spreading ground. Pile diameters ranged from 0.36 to 1.45 m for single piles, and from 0.73 to 1.17 m for pile groups. The soil profile consisted of a gently sloping nonliquefied crust over liquefiable loose sand over dense sand. Each model was tested with a series of realistic earthquake motions with peak base accelerations ranging from to . Representative data that characterize the important aspects of soil–pile interaction in liquefiable ground are presented. Dynamic soil–pile and soil–pile cap forces are backcalculated. Directions of lateral loading from the different soil layers are shown to depend on the mode of pile deflection relative to the soil, which depends on the deformed shape of the soil profile, the pile foundation stiffness, and the magnitude of loads imposed by the nonliquefied crust. Procedures for estimating the total horizontal loads on embedded piles and pile caps (i.e., passive loads plus friction along the base and sides) are evaluated. Due to liquefaction of the sand layer beneath the crust, the relative displacement between the pile cap and free-field crust required to mobilize the peak horizontal loads is much larger than expected based on static pile cap load tests in nonliquefied soils.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
Funding was provided by Caltrans under Contract Nos. UNSPECIFIED59A0162 and UNSPECIFIED59A0392 and by the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research (PEER) Center, through the Earthquake Engineering Research Centers Program of the National Science Foundation, under Contract No. NSF2312001. The contents of this paper do not necessarily represent a policy of either agency or endorsement by the state or federal government. The centrifuge shaker was designed and constructed with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Obayashi Corp., Caltrans, and the University of California. Recent upgrades have been funded by NSF Award No. NSFCMS-0086566 through the George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES). Center for Geotechnical Modeling (CGM) facility manager Dan Wilson, and CGM staff Tom Kohnke, Tom Coker, and Chad Justice provided assistance with centrifuge modeling. Former U.C. Davis graduate student Priyanshu Singh oversaw some of the centrifuge tests, and performed some data processing.NSF
References
Abdoun, T., Dobry, R., O’Rourke, T. D., and Goh, S. H. (2003). “Pile response to lateral spreads: Centrifuge modeling.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 129(10), 869–878.
Ashford, S. A., and Rollins, K. M. (2002). “TILT: The Treasure Island liquefaction test: Final report.” Rep. No. SSRP-2001/17, Dept. of Structural Engineering, Univ. of California, San Diego.
Boulanger, R. W., Kutter, B. L., Brandenberg, S. J., Singh, P., and Chang, D. (2003). “Pile foundations in liquefied and laterally spreading ground during earthquakes: Centrifuge experiments and analyses.” Rep. No. UCD/CGM-03/01, Center for Geotechnical Modeling, Univ. of California, Davis, Calif.
Brandenberg, S. J., Boulanger, R. W., Kutter, B. L., Wilson, D. W., and Chang, D. (2004). “Load transfer between pile groups and laterally spreading ground during earthquakes.” Proc., 13th World Conf. on Earthquake Engineering, Vancouver, Canada, No. 1516.
Brandenberg, S. J., Chang, D., Boulanger, R. W., and Kutter, B. L. (2003). “Behavior of piles in laterally spreading ground during earthquakes—centrifuge data report for SJB03.” Rep. No. UCD/CGMDR-03/03, Center for Geotechnical Modeling, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Univ. of California, Davis, Calif.
Brandenberg, S. J., Singh, P., Boulanger, R. W., and Kutter, B. L. (2001a). “Behavior of piles in laterally spreading ground during earthquakes—centrifuge data report for SJB01.” Rep. No. UCD/CGMDR-01/02, Center for Geotechnical Modeling, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Univ. of California, Davis, Calif. ⟨http://nees.ucdavis.edu⟩
Brandenberg, S. J., Singh, P., Boulanger, R. W., and Kutter, B. L. (2001b). “Behavior of piles in laterally spreading ground during earthquakes—centrifuge data report for SJB02.” Rep. No. UCD/CGMDR-01/06, Center for Geotechnical Modeling, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Univ. of California, Davis, Calif. ⟨http://nees.ucdavis.edu⟩
Chang, S., Boulanger, R. W., Kutter, B. L., and Brandenberg, S. J. (2005). “Experimental observations of inertial and lateral spreading loads on pile groups during earthquakes.” GeoFrontiers Conference, Austin, Tex., Geotechnical Speical Publication 133.
Dobry, R., Abdoun, T., O’Rourke, T. D., and Goh, S. H. (2003). “Single piles in lateral spreads: Field bending moment evaluation.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 129(10), 879–889.
Duncan, M. J., and Mokwa, R. L. (2001). “Passive earth pressures: Theories and tests.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 127(3), 248–257.
Japanese Geotechnical Society (JGS), (1996). “Special Issue on Geotechnical Aspects of the January 17, 1995, Hyogoken-Nambu Earthquake.” Soils Found., 1, 359.
Japanese Geotechnical Society (JGS), (1998). “Special Issue No. 2 on Geotechnical Aspects of the January 17, 1995, Hyogoken-Nambu Earthquake.” Soils Found., 2, 216.
Japan Road Association (JRA). (2002). Specifications for highway bridges. Preliminary English Version, prepared by Public Works Research Institute (PWRI) and Civil Engineering Research Laboratory (CRL), Japan.
Kulasingam, R., Malvick, E. J., Boulanger, R. W., and Kutter, B. L. (2004). “Strength loss and localization at silt interlayers in slopes of liquefied sand.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 130(11), 1192–1202.
Ladd, C. C., and Foott, R. (1974). ”New design procedure for stability of soft clays.” J. Geotech. Eng. Div., Am. Soc. Civ. Eng., 100(GT7), 763–786.
Matlock, H. (1970). “Correlations of design of laterally loaded piles in soft clay.” Proc., Offshore Technology Conf., Houston, Vol 1, 577–594.
Mokwa, R. L., and Duncan, M. J. (2001). “Experimental evaluation of lateral-load resistance of pile caps.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 127(2), 185–192.
Mononobe, N., and Matsuo, H. (1929). “On the determination of earth pressures during earthquakes.” Proc., World Engineering Congress., 9, 179–187.
Okabe, S. (1926). “General theory of earth pressures.” J. Japan. Soc. Civ. Eng., 12(1).
Rollins, K. M., and Sparks, A. (2002). “Lateral resistance of full-scale pile cap with gravel backfill.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 128(9), 711–723.
Sheahan, T. C., Ladd, C., and Germaine, J. T. (1996). “Rate-dependent undrained shear behavior of saturated clay.” J. Geotech. Eng., 122(2), 99–108.
Singh, P., Boulanger, R. W., and Kutter, B. L. (2000a). “Piles under earthquake loading–centrifuge data report for PDS02.” Rep. No. UCD/CGMDR-00/06, Center for Geotechnical Modeling, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Univ. of California, Davis, Calif.
Singh, P., Brandenberg, S. J., Boulanger, R. W., and Kutter, B. L. (2001). “Piles under earthquake loading—centrifuge data report for PDS03.” Rep. No. UCD/CGMDR-01/01, Center for Geotechnical Modeling, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Univ. of California, Davis, Calif.
Singh, P., Subramanian, P. K., Boulanger, R. W., and Kutter, B. L. (2000b). “Piles under earthquake loading—centrifuge data report for PDS01.” Rep. No. UCD/CGMDR-00/05, Center for Geotechnical Modeling, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Univ. of California, Davis, Calif.
Stewart, D. P., and Randolph, M. F. (1991). “A new site investigation tool for the centrifuge.” Proc., Centrifuge ’91, H.-Y. Ko and F. G. McLean, eds., Balkema, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 531–538.
Terzaghi, K., Peck, R. B., and Mesri, G. (1996). Soil mechanics in engineering practice, 3rd Ed., Wiley, New York.
Tokimatsu, K., Suzuki, H., and Sato, M. (2004). “Effects of inertial and kinematic forces on pile stresses in large shaking table tests.” Proc., 13th World Conf. on Earthquake Engineering, Vancouver, Canada, No. 1322.
Wilson, D. W., Boulanger, R. W., and Kutter, B. L. (1998). “Signal processing for and analysis of dynamic soil-pile-interaction experiments.” Proc., Centrifuge ’98, Kimura, T., Kusakabe, O., and Tamura, J., eds., Balkema, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Vol 1, 135–140.
Wilson, D. W., Boulanger, R. W., and Kutter, B. L. (2000). “Observed seismic lateral resistance of liquefying sand.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 126(10), 898–906.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 131 • Issue 11 • November 2005
Pages: 1378 - 1391
Copyright
© 2005 ASCE.
History
Received: Mar 1, 2004
Accepted: Mar 18, 2005
Published online: Nov 1, 2005
Published in print: Nov 2005
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.