Total Stress Analysis of Soft Clay Ground Response in Centrifuge Models
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 145, Issue 10
Abstract
This paper presents one-dimensional ground response simulations of centrifuge models involving soft clay deposits subjected to ground motions of varying intensity. Total stress ground response simulations were performed using equivalent-linear (EL) and nonlinear (NL) methods. Shear strains higher than 10% were mobilized during large ground motions; therefore, undrained shear strength of the clay is an important parameter for the simulations. Testing shows that the San Francisco Bay Mud materials used in centrifuge modeling have monotonic shear strengths that increase by 13% per log cycle of shear strain rate. A comparison of simulation results to observations reveals the importance of incorporating shear strength into the development of stress-strain backbone curves, with appropriate consideration of rate adjustments to shear strength and stiffness. NL ground response simulations provide a good match to observed pseudospectral accelerations only when rate-adjusted shear strengths are properly accounted for; otherwise, the NL simulations have significant underprediction bias at oscillator periods less than the soil column period. EL modeling, even with the incorporation of shear strength, leads to unrealistic spectral shapes and overprediction at short spectral periods for tests involving large-strain site response.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to thank former UCLA graduate student Alek Harouonian and the NEES@UCDavis personnel, including Dan Wilson, Ross Boulanger, Bruce Kutter, Chad Justice, Ray Gerhard, Peter Rojas, Lars Pederson, Anatoliy Ganchenko, and Jenny Chen, for their assistance during the centrifuge modeling. We would like to thank Youssef Hashash for his input related to DEEPSOIL modeling. Funding for this work was provided by the United States Geological Survey under Contract Nos. 08HQGR0037 and G12AP20098. The contents of this paper reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the United States federal government. This paper does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. This material is based on research performed in a renovated collaboratory by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0963183, which is an award funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 145 • Issue 10 • October 2019
Copyright
©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 16, 2018
Accepted: Mar 27, 2019
Published online: Jul 16, 2019
Published in print: Oct 1, 2019
Discussion open until: Dec 16, 2019
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