Seismic Behavior of Rectangular Closed Diaphragm Walls in Gently Sloping Liquefiable Deposit: Dynamic Centrifuge Testing
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 145, Issue 12
Abstract
Rectangular closed diaphragm walls (RCDWs) are often used as bridge foundations because of their advantageous properties such as high stiffness and construction efficiency, low cost, and minimal vibration and noise. However, there is currently a poor understanding of the seismic behavior of RCDWs used as bridge foundations in a liquefiable deposit, and this has limited the practical application of the same. This paper presents the results of three dynamic centrifuge tests that were conducted to investigate the seismic behavior and liquefaction mitigation capacities of RCDWs with one and two chambers in a gently sloping liquefiable deposit. Specific consideration was given to the performance effects of two integral parts of the RCDW foundation, namely, the RCDW frame and cap. The test results showed that an RCDW foundation was effective for mitigating liquefaction in the soil core. The RCDW frame mitigated the liquefaction by restraining the development of the shear strain and changing the distribution of the excess pore pressure in the soil core through its very high stiffness. The presence of the cap likewise altered the dissipation mode of the excess pore pressure in the soil core by inhibiting outflow and providing additional vertical stress on the soil core. The displacement mode of the multichamber RCDW foundation was also changed by the chamber effect. The results of the present study contribute to a better understanding of this emerging type of bridge foundation and promise to facilitate its practical application.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code generated or used during the study are available from the corresponding author by request. All data used to generate figures and tables in this paper are available.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41530639, 41761144080, 41877226, and 41877237), and the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Project Nos. 2017YFC1501000). The authors extend their sincere gratitude to Professors Bin Zhu and Yanguo Zhou of Zhejiang University for their valuable advice on optimizing the test program, as well as to the staff of the Ministry of Education (MOE), Key Laboratory of Soft Soils and Geoenvironmental Engineering at Zhejiang University for their assistance in conducting the model tests. The authors would like to thank Editage for English language editing. The authors also thank the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center for providing the utilized Taft motion records.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 145 • Issue 12 • December 2019
Copyright
©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 22, 2019
Accepted: Aug 7, 2019
Published online: Sep 19, 2019
Published in print: Dec 1, 2019
Discussion open until: Feb 19, 2020
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