Discrete-Element Analysis of Influence of Granular Soil Density on Earthquake Surface Fault Rupture Interaction with Rigid Foundations
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 145, Issue 11
Abstract
Parametric analysis of the effects of soil relative density on earthquake surface fault rupture interaction with foundations having different contact pressures and positions was performed with the discrete-element method (DEM). DEM simulations provide insights into particle responses not possible with continuum methods. The relative density of soil has a significant impact on the interaction of surface fault rupture with a building foundation. The number of horizontally oriented contacts achieves a peak value before decreasing during reverse fault rupture through a dense particle assemblage due to its strain-softening response, and the number of horizontally oriented contacts tends to monotonically approach a constant value during reverse fault rupture through a loose particle assemblage. The mobilization of stresses reflects the trends seen with the contact forces and shows quantitatively the more brittle response of denser particle assemblages. Heavy foundations consistently alter the path of reverse fault rupture propagation while undergoing less rotation than light foundations. During normal fault rupture, heavy foundations can undergo more rotation when positioned on the footwall side of the free-field surface outcrop location.
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Acknowledgments
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship under Grant No. DGE 1106400. Any opinion, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF. Additional support was provided by the Faculty Chair in Earthquake Engineering Excellence at UC Berkeley. The Savio computational cluster resource was provided by the Berkeley Research Computing program at UC Berkeley. The Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE), which is supported by NSF Grant No. ACI-1548562, Bridges and Comet XSEDE resources under allocation TG-BCS170013, and SuperMIC and Stampede2 resources under allocation TG-TRA150025, were also used.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 145 • Issue 11 • November 2019
Copyright
©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 15, 2018
Accepted: Jun 26, 2019
Published online: Aug 23, 2019
Published in print: Nov 1, 2019
Discussion open until: Jan 23, 2020
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