• Earthquakes and Structures
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• 제3권3_4호
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• pp.549-561
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• 2012

Many building foundations are embedded, however it is not easy to compact the backfill around the foundation especially for the deeply embedded ones. The soil condition around the embedded foundation may affect the seismic response of a building due to the weak contact between the soil and the foundation. In this paper, the response accelerations in the short-period range and at the period of 1 second (in the long-period range) for a seismic design spectrum specified in the IBC design code were compared considering perfect and poor backfills to investigate the effect of backfill compaction around the embedded foundation. An in-house finite-element software (P3DASS) which has the capability of horizontal pseudo-3D seismic analysis with linear soil layers was used to perform the seismic analyses of the structure-soil system with an embedded foundation. Seismic analyses were carried out with 7 bedrock earthquake records provided by the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER), scaling the peak ground accelerations to 0.1 g. The results indicate that the poor backfill is not detrimental to the seismic response of a building, if the foundation is not embedded deeply in the soft soil. However, it is necessary to perform the seismic analysis for the structure-soil system embedded deeply in the soft soil to check the seismic resonance due to the soft soil layer beneath the foundation, and to compact the backfill as well as possible.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• 제3권3_4호
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• pp.519-532
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• 2012

Using nondestructive testing techniques to evaluate the length or depth of an existing foundation is an important issue with potential high application values. One of these is to evaluate whether the foundation is broken after severe earthquakes. In this aspect, academic research related to nondestructive evaluation for caisson foundations is rarely reported. The objective of this paper is to study the feasibility of using Sonic Echo method to evaluate the depth of caisson foundations. Two types of caissons, simple cylindrical caisson and compound caisson with chambers, were studied for their responses to the Sonic Echo tests. The study was carried out in numerical simulation with finite element method and experimental way with in-situ tests. A bridge system which spans over Sofong Brook in Taiwan was selected for the tests in situ. The bridge system is still under construction and therefore the effect of different construction stages on the testing results may be studied. In this paper, the parameters to be varied for the studies include the testing locations and the existence of chamber plates, the bottom plate and the top plate. Finally some preliminary conclusions can be reached for a successful test.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• 제11권6호
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• pp.805-820
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• 2016

A fully coupled non-linear effective stress response finite difference (FD) model is built to survey the counter-intuitive recent findings on the reliance of pore water pressure ratio on foundation contact pressure. Two alternative design scenarios for a benchmark problem are explored and contrasted in the light of construction emission rates using the EFFC-DFI methodology. A strain-hardening effective stress plasticity model is adopted to simulate the dynamic loading. A combination of input motions, contact pressure, initial vertical total pressure and distance to foundation centreline are employed, as model variables, to further investigate the control of permanent and variable actions on the residual pore pressure ratio. The model is verified against the Ghosh and Madabhushi high acceleration field test database. The outputs of this work are aimed to improve the current computer-aided seismic foundation design that relies on ground's packing state and consistency. The results confirm that on seismic excitation of shallow foundations, the likelihood of effective stress loss is greater in deeper depths and across free field. For the benchmark problem, adopting a shallow foundation system instead of piled foundation benefitted in a 75% less emission rate, a marked proportion of which is owed to reduced materials and haulage carbon cost.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• 제16권5호
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• pp.463-469
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• 2018

In offshore engineering, lateral cyclic loading may induce excessive lateral movement and bending strain in pile foundations. Previous studies mainly focused on deformation mechanisms of single piles due to lateral cyclic loading. In this paper, centrifuge model tests were conducted to investigate the response of a $2{\times}2$ pile group due to lateral cyclic loading in clay. After applying each loading-unloading cycle, the pile group cannot move back to its original location. It implies that residual movement and bending strain are induced in the pile group. This is because cyclic loading induces plastic deformation in the soil surrounding the piles. As the cyclic load increases from 62.5 to 375 kN, the ratio of the residual to the maximum pile head movements varies from 0.30 to 0.84. Moreover, the ratio of the residual to the maximum bending strains induced in the piles is in a range of 0.23 to 0.82. The bending strain induced in the front pile is up to 3.2 times as large as that in the rear pile. Thus, much more protection measures should be applied to the front piles to ensure the serviceability and safety of pile foundations.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제71권4호
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• pp.363-375
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• 2019

A renewable energy storage pile foundation system is being developed through a multi-disciplinary research project. This system intends to use reinforced concrete pile foundations configured with hollowed sections to store renewable energy generated from solar panels attached to building structures in the form of compressed air. However previous research indicates that the compressed air will generate considerable high circumferential tensile stresses in the concrete pile, which requires unrealistic high hoop reinforcement ratio to avoid leakage of the compressed air. One possible solution is to utilize fiber reinforced concrete instead of placing the hoop reinforcement to resist the tensile stress. This paper investigates nonlinear structural responses and post-cracking behavior of the fiber reinforced concrete pile subjected to high air pressure through nonlinear finite element simulations. Concrete damage plasticity models were used in the simulation. Several parameters were considered in the study including concrete grade, fiber content, and thickness of the pile section. The air pressures which the pile can resist at different crack depths along the pile section were identified. Design recommendations were provided for the energy storage pile foundation using the fiber reinforced concrete.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제69권5호
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• pp.511-525
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• 2019

This paper presents an analytical study of wave propagation in simply supported graduated functional plates resting on a two-parameter elastic foundation (Pasternak model) using a new theory of high order shear strain. Unlike other higher order theories, the number of unknowns and governing equations of the present theory is only four unknown displacement functions, which is even lower than the theory of first order shear deformation (FSDT). Unlike other elements, the present work includes a new field of motion, which introduces indeterminate integral variables. The properties of the materials are assumed to be ordered in the thickness direction according to the two power law distributions in terms of volume fractions of the constituents. The wave propagation equations in FG plates are derived using the principle of virtual displacements. The analytical dispersion relation of the FG plate is obtained by solving an eigenvalue problem. Numerical examples selected from the literature are illustrated. A good agreement is obtained between the numerical results of the current theory and those of reference. A parametric study is presented to examine the effect of material gradation, thickness ratio and elastic foundation on the free vibration and phase velocity of the FG plate.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제24권4호
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• pp.525-539
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• 2019

In this study, vibration characteristics of a gravity-based caisson-foundation breakwater system are investigated for ambient and geometric parameters such as various waves, sea levels, and foundation conditions. To achieve the objective, following approaches are implemented. Firstly, operational modal analysis methods are selected to identify vibration modes from output-only dynamic responses. Secondly, a finite element model of an existing caisson-foundation breakwater system is established by using a structural analysis program, ANSYS. Thirdly, forced vibration analyses are performed on the caisson-foundation system for two types of external forces such as controlled impacts and wave-induced dynamic pressures. For the ideal impact, the wave force is converted to a triangular impulse function. For the wave flow, the wave pressure acting on the system is obtained from wave field analysis. Fourthly, vibration modes of the caisson-foundation system are identified from the forced vibration responses by combined use of the operational modal analysis methods. Finally, vibration characteristics of the caisson-foundation system are investigated under various waves, sea levels, and foundations. Relative effects of foundation conditions on vibration characteristics are distinguished from that induced by waves and sea levels.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• 제22권6호
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• pp.597-608
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• 2022

One of the most important parameters affecting nonlinearsoil-structure interaction, especially rocking foundation, is the vertical factor of safety (F.S_v). In this research, the effect of F.S_v on the behavior of rocking foundations was experimentally investigated. A set of slow, cyclic, horizontal loading tests was conducted on elastic SDOF structures with different shallow foundations. Vertical bearing capacity tests also were conducted to determine the F.S_v more precisely. Furthermore, 10% silt was mixed with the dry sand at a 5% moisture content to reach the minimum apparent cohesion. The results of the vertical bearing capacity tests showed that the bearing capacity coefficients (N_c and N_γ) were influenced by the scaling effect. The results of horizontal cyclic loading tests showed that the trend of increase in capacity was substantially related to the source of nonlinearity and it varied by changing F.S_v. Stiffness degradation was found to occur in the final cycles of loading. The results indicated that the moment capacity and damping ratio of the system in models with lower F.S_v values depended on soil specifications such cohesiveness or non-cohesiveness and were not just a function of F.S_v.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제81권3호
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• pp.379-394
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• 2022

Shallow footings usually belonged to the category of thick plate structures. For accurate analysis of thick plates, the contribution of out-of-plane components of the stress tensor should be considered in the formulation. Most of the available shallow footing models are based on the classical plate theories, which usually neglect the effects of the out-of-plane stresses. In this study, a mixed-field plate finite element model (FEM) is developed for the analysis of shallow footings rested on soil foundations. In addition to displacement field variables, the out-of-plane components of the stress tensor are also assumed as a priori unknown variables. For modeling the interaction effect of the soil under and outside of the shallow footings, the modified Vlasov theory is used. The tensionless nature of the supporting soil foundation is taken into account by adopting an incremental, iterative procedure. The equality requirement of displacements at the interface between the shallow footing and soil is fulfilled using the penalty approach. For validation of the present mixed FEM, the obtained results are compared with the results of 3D FEM and previous results published in the literature. The comparisons show the present mixed FEM is an efficient and accurate tool for solving the problems of shallow footings rested on subsoil.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• 제27권6호
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• pp.595-604
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• 2021

With the advantages of high permeability and strength, pervious concrete piles can be suitable for ground improvement with high water content and low bearing capacity. By comparing the strength and permeability of pervious concrete with different aggregate sizes (3-5 mm and 4-6 mm) and porosities (20%, 25%, 30% and 35%), the recommended aggregate size (3-5 mm) and porosity (30%) can be achieved. The model tests of the pervious concrete piles in soft soil (silt and clay) foundations were conducted to evaluate the bearing characteristics, results show that, for the higher consolidation efficiency of the silty foundation, the bearing capacity of the silty foundation is 16% higher, and the pile-soil stress ratio is smaller. But when it is the ultimate load for the piles, they will penetrate into the underlying layer, which reduces the pile-soil stress ratios. With higher skin friction of the pile in the silty foundation, the pile penetration is smaller, so the decrease of the pile axial force can be less. For the difference in consolidation efficiency, the skin friction of pile in silt is more affected by the effective stress of soil, while the skin friction of pile in clay is more affected by the lateral stress. When the load reaches 4400 N, the skin friction of the pile in the silty foundation is about 35% higher than that of the clay foundation.