Behavior of Pile Foundations in Laterally Spreading Ground during Centrifuge Tests
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 131, Issue 11
Abstract
Eight dynamic model tests were performed on a 9 m radius centrifuge to study the behavior of single piles and pile groups in liquefiable and laterally spreading ground. Pile diameters ranged from 0.36 to 1.45 m for single piles, and from 0.73 to 1.17 m for pile groups. The soil profile consisted of a gently sloping nonliquefied crust over liquefiable loose sand over dense sand. Each model was tested with a series of realistic earthquake motions with peak base accelerations ranging from to . Representative data that characterize the important aspects of soil–pile interaction in liquefiable ground are presented. Dynamic soil–pile and soil–pile cap forces are backcalculated. Directions of lateral loading from the different soil layers are shown to depend on the mode of pile deflection relative to the soil, which depends on the deformed shape of the soil profile, the pile foundation stiffness, and the magnitude of loads imposed by the nonliquefied crust. Procedures for estimating the total horizontal loads on embedded piles and pile caps (i.e., passive loads plus friction along the base and sides) are evaluated. Due to liquefaction of the sand layer beneath the crust, the relative displacement between the pile cap and free-field crust required to mobilize the peak horizontal loads is much larger than expected based on static pile cap load tests in nonliquefied soils.
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Acknowledgments
Funding was provided by Caltrans under Contract Nos. UNSPECIFIED59A0162 and UNSPECIFIED59A0392 and by the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research (PEER) Center, through the Earthquake Engineering Research Centers Program of the National Science Foundation, under Contract No. NSF2312001. The contents of this paper do not necessarily represent a policy of either agency or endorsement by the state or federal government. The centrifuge shaker was designed and constructed with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Obayashi Corp., Caltrans, and the University of California. Recent upgrades have been funded by NSF Award No. NSFCMS-0086566 through the George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES). Center for Geotechnical Modeling (CGM) facility manager Dan Wilson, and CGM staff Tom Kohnke, Tom Coker, and Chad Justice provided assistance with centrifuge modeling. Former U.C. Davis graduate student Priyanshu Singh oversaw some of the centrifuge tests, and performed some data processing.NSF
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© 2005 ASCE.
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Received: Mar 1, 2004
Accepted: Mar 18, 2005
Published online: Nov 1, 2005
Published in print: Nov 2005
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