Soil Mixing for Passive Seismic Protection System

The seismic hazard on new and existing structures due to its significant effects on life safety and economy have become a primary issue for civil engineers and technical regulators. Several studies and research programs are still oriented to find solutions that could restrict the effects of the seismic events on heritage buildings. Inspired by the functioning principles of structural seismic isolators, this paper presents a research study on a new earthquake resistant ground improvement technique. The aim of the study is to evaluate the effects of the interposition of a specially treated thin layer of soil at a certain depth in a natural deposit, on the seismic motion at surface. A series of bench scale tests, numerical analyses and shaking table tests were carried out for a general evaluation of the effectiveness of the technique. The analysis of the results leads to promising outcomes, with sensible reduction of surface seismic effects.