Soil-Foundation-Structure Interaction with Mobilization of Bearing Capacity: Experimental Study on Sand
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 138, Issue 11
Abstract
Recent studies have highlighted the beneficial role of foundation uplifting and the potential effectiveness of guiding the plastic hinge into the foundation soil by allowing full mobilization of bearing capacity during strong seismic shaking. With the inertia loading transmitted onto the superstructure being limited by the capacity of the foundation, this concept may provide an alternative method of in-ground seismic isolation: the so-called rocking isolation. Attempting to unravel the effectiveness of this alternative design method, this paper experimentally investigates the nonlinear response of a surface foundation on sand and its effect on the seismic performance of an idealized slender single-degree-of-freedom structure. Using a bridge pier as an illustrative prototype, three foundation design alternatives are considered, representing three levels of design conservatism. Their performance is investigated through static (monotonic and slow-cyclic pushover) loading, and reduced-scale shaking table testing. Rocking isolation may provide a valid alternative for the seismic protection of structures, providing encouraging evidence in favor of the innovative idea of moving foundation design toward a less conservative, even unconventional, treatment.
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Acknowledgments
The research was funded by the European Research Council (ERC) program “IDEAS, Support for Frontier Research – Advanced Grant”, under contract number ERC–2008–AdG 228254–DARE.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 138 • Issue 11 • November 2012
Pages: 1369 - 1386
Copyright
© 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 29, 2010
Accepted: Feb 6, 2012
Published online: Feb 7, 2012
Published in print: Nov 1, 2012
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