Shake Table Test of Large-Scale Bridge Columns Supported on Rocking Shallow Foundations
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 141, Issue 5
Abstract
This paper presents the results of a series of shake table tests of two 460-mm-diameter columns supported on 1.5-meter-square shallow rocking foundations. The tests were conducted using the Large Outdoor High-Performance Shake Table of the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation at the University of California at San Diego. The first specimen was aligned with the uniaxial direction of shaking, and the second was positioned in a skew configuration. The specimens were placed inside a soil-confining box 10.1 m long and 4.6 m wide with a 3.4-m height of clean sand compacted at 90% relative density. Three series of tests were performed; each had different groundwater and backfill conditions. The test protocols included up to six historical ground motions and resulted in peak drift ratios up to 13.8%. For peak drift ratios up to 6.9%, the rocking foundations performed very well, with residual drift ratios between 0.5 and 0.9% depending on the backfill conditions and with minimal settlements and no structural damage.
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Acknowledgments
This work was funded by the California Department of Transportation under Agreement 65A0487. The authors would like to acknowledge the suggestions and assistance from all of the Caltrans engineers and staff involved in this project, with special thanks to Fadel Alameddine and Tom Shantz. The project would not have been completed in a timely manner without the work and collaboration of the staff at the NEES lab at UCSD: Dan Radulescu, Paul Greco, Alex Sherman, Hector Vicencio, Raymond Hughey, Robert Beckley, Lawton Rodriguez, and Darren McKay. Finally, the authors would like to thank professors Jose Restrepo and Stephen Mahin for their constructive comments.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 141 • Issue 5 • May 2015
Copyright
© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 14, 2014
Accepted: Dec 4, 2014
Published online: Jan 21, 2015
Published in print: May 1, 2015
Discussion open until: Jun 21, 2015
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