• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.529-545
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• 2023

The coupled soil-pile-structure seismic response is recently in the spotlight of researchers because of its extensive applications in the different fields of engineering such as bridges, offshore platforms, wind turbines, and buildings. In this paper, a simple analytical model is developed to evaluate the dynamic performance of seismically isolated bridges considering triple interactions of soil, piles, and bridges simultaneously. Novel expressions are proposed to present the dynamic behavior of pile groups in inhomogeneous soils with various shear modulus along with depth. Both cohesive and cohesionless soil deposits can be simulated by this analytical model with a generalized function of varied shear modulus along the soil depth belonging to an inhomogeneous stratum. The methodology is discussed in detail and validated by rigorous dynamic solution of 3D continuum modeling, and time history analysis of centrifuge tests. The proposed analytical model accuracy is guaranteed by the acceptable agreement between the experimental/numerical and analytical results. A comparison of the proposed linear model results with nonlinear centrifuge tests showed that during moderate (frequent) earthquakes the relative differences in responses of the superstructure and the pile cap can be ignored. However, during strong excitations, the response calculated in the linear time history analysis is always lower than the real conditions with the nonlinear behavior of the soil-pile-bridge system. The current simple and efficient method provides the accuracy and the least computational costs in comparison to the full three-dimensional analyses.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.299-312
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• 2000

The response of an embedded body to dynamic loads is greatly influenced by the reactions of the soil to the motion of the body. The properties of the soil surrounding embedded bodies (e.g., piles) may be different than those of the far-field for a variety of reasons. It may be weakened or strengthened according to the method of installation of piles, or altered due to applying one of the soil strengthening technique (e.g., electrokinetic treatment of soil, El Naggar et al. 1998). In all these cases, the shear strength of the soils and its shear modulus vary gradually in the radial direction, resulting in a radially inhomogeneous soil layer. This paper describes an analysis to compute vertical and torsional dynamic soil reactions of a radially inhomogeneous soil layer with a circular hole. These soil reactions could then be used to model the soil resistance in the analysis of the pile vibration under dynamic loads. The soil layer is considered to have a piecewise, radial variation for the complex shear modulus. The model is developed for soil layers improved using the electrokinetic technique but can be used for other situations where the soil properties vary gradually in the radial direction (strengthened or weakened). The soil reactions (impedance functions) are evaluated over a wide range of parameters and compared with those obtained from other solutions. A parametric study was performed to examine the effect of different soil improvement parameters on vertical and torsional impedance functions of the soil. The effect of the increase in the shear modulus and the width of the improved zone is investigated.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Illuminating and Electrical Installation Engineers
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.95-101
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• 2015

This paper presents experimental results about characteristics of soil discharge as a function of moisture content when the $1.2/50{\mu}s$ lightning impulse voltage is applied. The laboratory experiments, for this study, were carried out based on factors affecting the transient behavior in soils. The electrical breakdown in soils was measured over a 0-6% range of moisture content for sands and a 0-4% range of moisture content for gravels. Needle-plane electrode systems was used As a result, the conduction current prior to ionization growth in dry soil is a little, but it in wet soil is increased with the applied voltage because the wet soil particles act as conductors. The soil impedance curves show an abrupt reduction just after breakdown. The general tendency measured in different soils is that the higher the water content, the lower the breakdown voltage and the shorter the time-lag to breakdown.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.199-210
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• 2003

The development of strain localization within shear zones is frequently observed during soil deformation. In fact, the phenomenon appears to be more often the norm rather than the exception. Conceptually, any soil condition that renders negative work increment is prone to localization. In this study, a broad range of soil and loading conditions are investigated to test this criterion, including: dilative soil subjected to drained shear (standard case), contractive soil sheared under undrained conditions, cavitation in dilative soil in undrained shear, inhomogeneous soils, particle alignment in contractive soils made of platy particles, soils that experience particle crushing, and the shear of low-moisture and/or lightly cemented loose soils. Unique specimens and test procedures are designed to separately test each of these soil conditions in the laboratory According to experimental test results, soil specimens with post-peak strain softening behavior are prone to progressive failure, localization of deformations, and shear banding. The state of stress, the soil density, inherent mechanical and geometrical properties of soil particles, low water content, and heterogeneity can contribute to triggering strain localization. Considering all possible cases of localization, the best method to obtain the critical state line in the laboratory is to use contractive homogeneous specimens subjected to drained shear.

• Geotechnical Engineering
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.13-24
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• 1997

In Korea, granite is abundant and occupies around two-thirds of the country's ground. Bven though weathered granite residual soils are widely distributed, undisturbed sampling of this soil is extremely difficult because of the particultate structure. This difficulty has kept away the researchers from investigating !he deformational characteristics of weathered granite residual soil. Thus, a special undisturbed sampling device was developed and undisturbed samples were prepared for triaxial compression (TX), resonant column(RC), and torsional shear (75) tests. Local deformation transducer (LDT) was fabricated for internal strain measurements during TX tests. Both undisturbed samples and statically compacted samples of same density were tested by using TX with LDT, RC, and 75 test equipments. The behaviour of statically compacted specimens was almost the same as that of undisturbed samples in the strain ranges below 1 percent. The stiffness and strength decreased with increasing degree of weathering. In case of undisturbed specimens, strains at failure are widely varied from 2 percent to 11 percent, and planes of failure are irrelevant to the angle of internal friction due to the inhomogeneous nature.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.99-104
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• 2009

We propose a waveform inversion method for SH-wave data obtained in a shallow seismic refraction survey, to determine a 2D inhomogeneous S-wave profile of shallow soils. In this method, a 2.5D equation is used to simulate SH-wave propagation in 2D media. The equation is solved with the staggered grid finite-difference approximation to the 4th-order in space and 2nd-order in time, to compute a synthetic wave. The misfit, defined using differences between calculated and observed waveforms, is minimised with a hybrid heuristic search method. We parameterise a 2D subsurface structural model with blocks with different depth boundaries, and S-wave velocities in each block. Numerical experiments were conducted using synthetic SH-wave data with white noise for a model having a blind layer and irregular interfaces. We could reconstruct a structure including a blind layer with reasonable computation time from surface seismic refraction data.