Investigating the Cushion Effect of Using Pebble Gravel in Bridge Foundations through Laboratory Cyclic Direct Shear Tests
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 148, Issue 7
Abstract
Recently, isolated foundations with cushions have gained more attention in bridge design, especially for cross-sea bridges in deep water 50 meters or more in depth. This foundation has become a good choice for bridges built in seismic active zones. Along with interactions within the cushion layer, interactions between the caisson foundation and composite cushion are crucial for isolated foundations. Unfortunately, the shear characteristics of the cushion–structure interface under monotonic and cyclic loading have not been well evaluated. In this study, a series of monotonic and cyclic large-scale shear tests were conducted to investigate the behavior of the cushion–structure interface using crushed aggregates and pebble gravel as the cushion, respectively. The tests showed that the particle morphology properties have significant correlations with the cushion–structure interface’s shear behavior. Some shear characteristics of the larger grain size’s cushion–structure interface, such as cushion clogging and the effect of particle breakage were analyzed based on the developed tests. The shear stress, isolation effect, shear modulus, and damping ratio of the composite cushion–structure interface were different from that of the single-layer cushion–structure interface, which was primarily due to the pebble gravel. The relative thickness of the pebble gravel layer also influenced the shear characteristics of the composite cushion–structure interface. As the relative thickness of the pebble gravel layer decreased, the isolation effect, shear stress, shear modulus, and damping ratio of the composite cushion–structure interface increase.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51878487). Financial support from this organization is gratefully acknowledged.
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Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 148 • Issue 7 • July 2022
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© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Aug 9, 2021
Accepted: Mar 14, 2022
Published online: May 3, 2022
Published in print: Jul 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Oct 3, 2022
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