Effects of Soil Crust on Seismic Failure Behavior of Pile Group–Bridge System during Liquefaction-Induced Lateral Spreading: Large-Scale Shake Table Experiments
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 149, Issue 10
Abstract
Two large-scale shake table experiments were conducted to study the seismic pile group–bridge soil system failure mechanisms and examine the role of soil crust in lateral spreading caused by liquefaction. Pile group–bridge systems were supported by two different ground profiles, inclined liquefiable soils with and without soil crusts. The test results are discussed in terms of soil acceleration, pore pressure ratio, and displacement response. In addition, the pile seismic failure mechanisms are depicted according to the acquired date, and the effects of kinematic and inertial interaction on the curvature of pile and pier are evaluated. It was found that during weak earthquakes, the crust did not have an apparent influence on the system response. However, during strong earthquakes, the soil bed without crust experienced larger lateral permanent displacement because the shallow soil showed dilatant response and triggered spikes in acceleration. Meanwhile, the soil bed with crust restrained the lateral bridge displacement. In addition, the lateral spreading caused by liquefaction transferred the damaged position of the pile group–bridge system from the pier bottom to the pile at the bottom of liquefied soil, while the crust shifted the damaged position from the bottom of the liquefiable soil to the top of pile. The results also revealed that the crust weakened the kinematic interaction on curvature at the pile head but enhanced the inertia effect during the strong earthquake, while the opposite was true for ground without crust; the kinematic interaction was stronger, and the inertia interaction was diminished.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
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
The authors wish to acknowledge the financial support from the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (Grant No. 52225807), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52078016), and the National Outstanding Youth Science Fund Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51722801). The authors are also grateful for the technical support from the State Key Laboratory of Building Safety and Environment, China Academy of Building Research. Special thanks to the peer reviewers who provided valuable suggestions to improve this paper.
References
AASHTO. 2010. AASHTO-LRFD bridge design specifications. Washington, DC: AASHTO.
Abdoun, T., A. Abe, V. Bennett, L. Danisch, M. Sato, K. Tokimatsu, and J. Ubilla. 2007. “Wireless real time monitoring of soil and soil-structure systems.” In GeoDenver 2007, Geotechnical Special Publication 161, edited by F. Silva-Tulla and P. G. Nicholson, 1–10. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Abdoun, T., V. Bennett, R. Dobry, S. Thevanayagam, and L. Danisch. 2008. Full-scale laboratory tests using a shape-acceleration array system. Sacramento, CA: Geotechnical Special Publication.
Brandenberg, S. J., R. W. Boulanger, B. L. Kutter, and D. Chang. 2005. “Behavior of pile foundations in laterally spreading ground during centrifuge tests.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 131 (11): 1378–1391. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2005)131:11(1378).
Chang, B. J., and T. C. Hutchinson. 2013. “Experimental investigation of plastic demands in piles embedded in multi-layered liquefiable soils.” Soil Dyn. Earthquake Eng. 49 (Jun): 146–156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2013.01.012.
Chiou, J.-S., T.-J. Huang, C.-L. Chen, and C.-H. Chen. 2021. “Shaking table testing of two single piles of different stiffnesses subjected to liquefaction-induced lateral spreading.” Eng. Geol. 281 (Jun): 105956. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2020.105956.
Cleveland, W. S., and S. J. Devlin. 1988. “Locally weighted regression: An approach to regression analysis by local fitting.” J. Am. Stat. Assoc. 83 (Aug): 596. https://doi.org/10.1080/01621459.1988.10478639.
Cooley, J. W., P. A. W. Lewis, and P. D. Welch. 1969. “The fast Fourier transform and its applications.” IEEE Trans. Educ. 12 (1): 27–34. https://doi.org/10.1109/TE.1969.4320436.
Cui, C., K. Meng, C. Xu, Z. Liang, H. Li, and H. Pei. 2021. “Analytical solution for longitudinal vibration of a floating pile in saturated porous media based on a fictitious saturated soil pile model.” Comput. Geotech. 131 (Feb): 103942. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2020.103942.
Dou, P., C. Xu, X. Du, M. H. El Naggar, and S. Chen. 2021. “Experimental study on seismic instability of pile-supported structure considering different ground conditions.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 147 (11): 04021127. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0002632.
Ebeido, A., A. Elgamal, K. Tokimatsu, and A. Abe. 2019. “Pile and pile-group response to liquefaction-induced lateral spreading in four large-scale shake-table experiments.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 145 (10): 04019080. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0002142.
Finn, W. D., and T. Thavaraj. 2001. “Deep foundations in liquefiable soils: Case histories, centrifuge tests and methods of analysis.” In Proc., 4th Int. Conf. on Recent Advances in Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering and Soil Dynamics and Symp., 1–11. Rolla, MO: Univ. of Missouri-Rolla.
González, L., T. Abdoun, and R. Dobry. 2009. “Effect of soil permeability on centrifuge modeling of pile response to lateral spreading.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 135 (1): 62–73. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2009)135:1(62).
Haskell, J., S. Madabhushi, M. Cubrinovski, and A. Winkley. 2013. “Lateral spreading-induced abutment rotation in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake: Observations and analysis.” Géotechnique 63 (15): 1310–1327. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.12.P.174.
Hussein, A. F., and M. H. El Naggar. 2022. “Seismic behaviour of piles in non-liquefiable and liquefiable soil.” Bull. Earthquake Eng. 2022 (1): 77–111. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-021-01244-4.
Hussien, M. N., M. Karray, T. Tobita, and S. Iai. 2015. “Kinematic and inertial forces in pile foundations under seismic loading.” Comput. Geotech. 69 (Sep): 166–181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2015.05.011.
Ishihara, K. 1993. “Liquefaction and flow failure during earthquakes.” Géotechnique 43 (3): 351–451. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.1993.43.3.351.
Jia, K., C. Xu, M. H. El Naggar, X. Zhang, X. Du, P. Dou, and C. Cui. 2022. “Large-scale shake table testing of pile group-bridge model in inclined liquefiable soils with overlying crusts.” Soil Dyn. Earthquake Eng. 163 (10): 107555. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2022.107555.
Knappett, J. A., and S. P. Madabhushi. 2008. “Liquefaction-induced settlement of pile groups in liquefiable and laterally spreading soils.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 134 (11): 1609–1618. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2008)134:11(1609).
Ko, Y., and Y. Li. 2020. “Response of a scale-model pile group for a jacket foundation of an offshore wind turbine in liquefiable ground during shaking table tests.” Earthquake Eng. Struct. Dyn. 49 (2): 1682–1701. https://doi.org/10.1002/eqe.3323.
Li, X., L. Tang, X. Man, M. Qiu, X. Ling, S. Cong, and A. Elgamal. 2021. “Liquefaction-induced lateral load on pile group of wharf system in a sloping stratum: A centrifuge shake-table investigation.” Ocean Eng. 242 (Dec): 110119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceaneng.2021.110119.
Liu, X., R. Wang, and J.-M. Zhang. 2018. “Centrifuge shaking table tests on 4×4 pile groups in liquefiable ground.” Acta Geotech. 13 (6): 1405–1418. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-018-0699-5.
McDowell, G. R., and M. D. Bolton. 2000. “Effect of particle size distribution on pile tip resistance in calcareous sand in the geotechnical centrifuge.” Granular Matter 2 (4): 179–187. https://doi.org/10.1007/PL00010913.
Meng, K., C. Cui, Z. Liang, H. Li, and H. Pei. 2020. “A new approach for longitudinal vibration of a large-diameter floating pipe pile in visco-elastic soil considering the three-dimensional wave effects.” Comput. Geotech. 128 (Dec): 103840. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2020.103840.
Motamed, R., V. Sesov, I. Towhata, and N. T. Anh. 2010. “Experimental modeling of large pile groups in sloping ground subjected to liquefaction-induced lateral flow: 1-G shaking table tests.” Soils Found. 50 (2): 261–279. https://doi.org/10.3208/sandf.50.261.
Motamed, R., and I. Towhata. 2010. “Shaking table model tests on pile groups behind quay walls subjected to lateral spreading.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 136 (3): 477–489. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0000115.
Motamed, R., I. Towhata, T. Honda, K. Tabata, and A. Abe. 2013. “Pile group response to liquefaction-induced lateral spreading: E-defense large shake table test.” Soil Dyn. Earthquake Eng. 51 (Aug): 35–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2013.04.007.
Qiu, Z., A. Ebeido, A. Almutairi, J. Lu, A. Elgamal, P. B. Shing, and G. Martin. 2020. “Aspects of bridge-ground seismic response and liquefaction-induced deformations.” Earthquake Eng. Struct. Dyn. 49 (4): 375–393. https://doi.org/10.1002/eqe.3244.
Sahare, A., K. Ueda, and R. Uzuoka. 2022. “Influence of the sloping ground conditions and the subsequent shaking events on the pile group response subjected to kinematic interactions for a liquefiable sloping ground.” Soil Dyn. Earthquake Eng. 152 (Jan): 107036. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2021.107036.
Sinha, S. K., K. Ziotopoulou, and B. L. Kutter. 2022. “Centrifuge model tests of liquefaction-induced downdrag on piles in uniform liquefiable deposits.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 148 (7): 04022048. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0002817.
Su, L., L. Tang, X. Ling, C. Liu, and X. Zhang. 2016. “Pile response to liquefaction induced lateral spreading: A shake-table investigation.” Soil Dyn. Earthquake Eng. 82 (Dec): 196–204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2015.12.013.
Taylor, R. N. 1995. Geotechnical centrifuge technology. London: Chapman and Hall.
Tokimatsu, K., H. Suzuki, and M. Sato. 2005. “Effects of inertial and kinematic interaction on seismic behavior of pile with embedded foundation.” Soil Dyn. Earthquake Eng. 25 (7–10): 753–762. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2004.11.018.
Tsai, P., Z. Feng, and S. Lin. 2011. “A wavelet based method for estimating the damping ratio in statnamic pile load tests.” Comput. Geotech. 38 (2): 205–216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2010.11.007.
Wang, R., P. Fu, and J.-M. Zhang. 2016. “Finite element model for piles in liquefiable ground.” Comput. Geotech. 72 (Feb): 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2015.10.009.
Wang, X., B. Ji, and A. Ye. 2020. “Seismic behavior of pile-group-supported bridges in liquefiable soils with crusts subjected to potential scour: Insights from shake-table tests.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. 146 (5): 04020030. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0002250.
Wang, X., A. Ye, Y. Shang, and L. Zhou. 2019. “Shake-table investigation of scoured RC pile-group-supported bridges in liquefiable and nonliquefiable soils.” Earthquake Eng. Struct. Dyn. 48 (11): 1217–1237. https://doi.org/10.1002/eqe.3186.
Xing, S., T. Wu, Y. Li, and Y. Miyamoto. 2022. “Shaking table test and numerical simulation of shallow foundation structures in seasonal frozen soil regions.” Soil Dyn. Earthquake Eng. 159 (Jun): 107339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2022.107339.
Xu, C., P. Dou, X. Du, M. H. El Naggar, M. Miyajima, and S. Chen. 2020a. “Large shaking table tests of pile-supported structures in different ground conditions.” Soil Dyn. Earthquake Eng. 139 (Dec): 106307. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2020.106307.
Xu, C., P. Dou, X. Du, M. H. El Naggar, M. Miyajima, and S. Chen. 2020b. “Seismic performance of pile group-structure system in liquefiable and non-liquefiable soil from large-scale shake table tests.” Soil Dyn. Earthquake Eng. 138 (Nov): 106299. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2020.106299.
Yang, Z. J., X. R. Zhang, R. Yang, X. Zhou, and F. Niu. 2018. “Shake table modeling of pile foundation performance in laterally spreading frozen ground crust overlying liquefiable soils.” J. Cold Reg. Eng. 32 (4): 04018012. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CR.1943-5495.0000171.
Yuan, J., Y. Wang, B. Zhan, X. Yuan, X. Wu, and J. Ma. 2022. “Comprehensive investigation and analysis of liquefaction damage caused by the Ms7. 4 Maduo earthquake in 2021 on the Tibetan Plateau, China.” Soil Dyn. Earthquake Eng. 155 (Apr): 107191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2022.107191.
Zhang, X., Z. J. Yang, X. Chen, J. Guan, W. Pei, and T. Luo. 2021. “Experimental study of frozen soil effect on seismic behavior of bridge pile foundations in cold regions.” Structures 32 (Aug): 1752–1762. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.istruc.2021.03.119.
Zhou, Y. G., P. Xia, D. S. Ling, and Y. M. Chen. 2020. “A liquefaction case study of gently sloping gravelly soil deposits in the near-fault region of the 2008 Mw7.9 Wenchuan earthquake.” Bull. Earthquake Eng. 18 (14): 6181–6201. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-020-00939-4.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 149 • Issue 10 • October 2023
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 28, 2022
Accepted: Apr 25, 2023
Published online: Jul 21, 2023
Published in print: Oct 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Dec 21, 2023
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Analysis (by type)
- Continuum mechanics
- Displacement (mechanics)
- Earthquake engineering
- Engineering fundamentals
- Engineering mechanics
- Failure analysis
- Foundations
- Geomechanics
- Geotechnical engineering
- Laboratory tests
- Pile foundations
- Piles
- Seismic effects
- Seismic tests
- Shake table tests
- Soil liquefaction
- Soil mechanics
- Soil properties
- Solid mechanics
- Structural mechanics
- Tests (by type)
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.