• 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 Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.133-142
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• 2006

This study performed earthquake response analyses of underground structures using displacement responses of soil. In this study, spring coefficients of surrounding soil proposed by specifications and researchers were adopted and then their corresponding analysis results were compared. The free field analyses using ProShake were carried out in order to predict ground responses of the field without underground structures. Several earthquakes such as El Centro, Ofunato, and Hachinohe earthquakes were considered to calculate maximum displacements. Numerical examples were analyzed, and then the results were compared and commented depending on spring coefficients of soil for the analyses using displacement responses of soil. The soil coefficients ranged from 0.05 to 14.39 times of those calculated by Korean Bridge Design Specification (2005). In conclusion, the coefficients of soil proposed by standard specifications seemed to be overestimated compared with those by the finite element method(FEM).

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.421-434
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• 2005

In this paper, the finite element method is applied to investigate the effect of the lateral boundary in homogenous soil on the seismic response of a superstructure. Some influencing factors are presented and discussed, and several parameters are identified to be important for conducting soil-structure interaction experiments on shaking tables. Numerical results show that the cross-section width L, thickness H, wave propagation velocity and lateral boundaries of soil layer have certain influences on the computational accuracy. The dimensionless parameter L/H is the most significant one among the influencing factors. In other words, a greater depth of soil layer near the foundation should be considered in shaking table tests as the thickness of the soil layer increases, which can be regarded as a linear relationship approximately. It is also found that the wave propagation velocity in soil layer affects the numerical accuracy and it is suggested to consider a greater depth of the soil layer as the wave propagation velocity increases. A numerical study on a soil-structure experimental model with a rubber ring surrounding the soil on a shaking table is also conducted. It is found the rubber ring has great effect on the soil-structure interaction experiments on shaking table. The experimental precision can be improved by reasonably choosing the elastic parameter and width of the rubber ring.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.583-596
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• 2023

The interlayers, either softer or stiffer than the surrounding layers, are usually overlooked during field investigation due to the small thickness. They may be neglected through the analysis process for simplicity. However, they may significantly affect the dynamic behavior of the soil-foundation system. In this study, a series of 3D finite-element Direct-solution steady-state harmonic analyses were carried out using ABAQUS/CAE software to investigate the impacts of interlayers on the dynamic response of a cast in place pile group subjected to horizontal harmonic load. The experimental data of a 3×2 pile group testing was used to verify the numerical modeling. The effects of thickness, depth, and shear modulus of the interlayers on the dynamic response of the pile group are investigated. The simulations were conducted on both stiff and soft soils. It was found that the soft interlayers affect the frequency-amplitude curve of the system only in frequencies higher than 70% of the resonant frequency of the base soil. While, the effect of stiff interlayer in soft base soil started at frequency of 35% of the resonant frequency of the base soil. Also, it was observed that a shallow stiff interlayer increased the resonant amplitude by 11%, while a deep one only increased the resonant frequency by 7%. Moreover, a shallow soft interlayer increased the resonant frequency by 20% in soft base soils, whereas, it had an effect as low as 6% on resonant amplitude. Also, the results showed that deep soft interlayers increased the resonant amplitude by 17 to 20% in both soft and stiff base soils due to a reduction in lateral support of the piles. In the cases of deep thick, soft interlayers, the resonant frequency reduced significantly, i.e., 16 to 20%. It was found that the stiff interlayers were most effective on the amplitude and frequency of the pile group.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.187-200
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• 2021

The main factor for the amplification of ground motions near the crest or the toe of a slope is the reflection of the incident waves. The effects of the slope topography on the surrounding lands over the crest or at the toe can amplify the seismic responses of buildings. This study investigates the seismic performance of the slope topography and three mid-rise buildings (five, ten, and fifteen-storey) located near the crest and toe of the slope by 3D numerical analysis. The nonlinear model was used to represent the real behavior of building and ground elements. The average results of seven records were used in the investigations. Based on the analysis, the amplification factor of acceleration near the crest and toe of the slope was the most effective at distances of 2.5 and 1.3 times the slope height, respectively. Accordingly, the seismic performance of buildings was studied at a distance equal to the height of the slope from the crest and toe. The seismic response results of buildings showed that the slope topography to have little impact on up to five-storey buildings located near the crest. Taking into account a topography-soil-structure interaction system increases the storey displacement and base shear in the building. Accordingly, in topography-soil-structure interaction analyses, the maximum lateral displacement was increased by 71% and 29% in ten and fifteen-storey buildings, respectively, compare to the soil-structure interaction system. Further, the base shear force was increased by 109% and 78% in these buildings relative to soil-structure interaction analyses.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.141-147
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• 2007

Various approaches have been developed for the dynamic response analysis of piles. In one of the approaches, the soil-pile interaction is approximated by using parallel nonlinear springs, namely the p-y curves. Currently available p-y curve recommendations are based on static and cyclic lateral load tests. Other researchers have attempted to extend the p-y curves by incorporating the effects of liquefaction on soil-pile interaction and derived scaling factors of p-y curves to account fur the liquefaction. However, opinions on the scaling factors vary. In this study, the sealing factors, which reflect the variation of the elastic moduli of surrounding soils, were established combining the relationship between excess pore pressures and the natural frequencies of a soil-pile system obtained from Ig shaking table tests and the relationship between the elastic moduli of surrounding soils and the natural frequencies of a soil-pile system obtained from numerical analyses. As a result, the scaling factors were presented in an exponential function.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.1-18
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• 2010

The analysis of structure response and design of buried structures subjected to dynamic destructive loads have been receiving increasing interest due to recent severe damage caused by strong earthquakes and terrorist attacks. For a comprehensive design of buried structures subjected to blast loads to be conducted, the whole system behaviour including simulation of the explosion, propagation of shock waves through the soil medium, the interaction of the soil with the buried structure and the structure response needs to be simulated in a single model. Such a model will enable more realistic simulation of the fundamental physical behaviour. This paper presents a complete model simulating the whole system using the finite element package ABAQUS/Explicit. The Arbitrary Lagrange Euler Coupling formulation is used to model the explosive charge and the soil region near the explosion to eliminate the distortion of the mesh under high deformation, while the conventional finite element method is used to model the rest of the system. The elasto-plastic Drucker-Prager Cap model is used to model the soil behaviour. The explosion process is simulated using the Jones-Wilkens-Lee equation of state. The Concrete Damage Plasticity model is used to simulate the behaviour of concrete with the reinforcement considered as an elasto-plastic material. The contact interface between soil and structure is simulated using the general Mohr-Coulomb friction concept, which allows for sliding, separation and rebound between the buried structure surface and the surrounding soil. The behaviour of the whole system is evaluated using a numerical example which shows that the proposed model is capable of producing a realistic simulation of the physical system behaviour in a smooth numerical process.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.64 no.6
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• pp.703-721
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• 2017

The experimental study of the behavior of dry medium and loose sandy soil under the action of a single impulsive load is carried out. Different falling masses from different heights were conducted using the falling weight deflectometer (FWD) to provide the single pulse energy. The responses of soils were evaluated at different locations (vertically below the impact plate and horizontally away from it). These responses include; displacements, velocities, and accelerations that are developed due to the impact acting at top and different depth ratios within the soil using the falling weight deflectometer (FWD) and accelerometers (ARH-500A Waterproof, and Low capacity Acceleration Transducer) that are embedded in the soil and then recorded using the multi-recorder TMR-200. The behavior of medium and loose sandy soil was evaluated with different parameters, these are; footing embedment, depth ratios (D/B), diameter of the impact plate (B), and the applied energy. It was found that increasing footing embedment depth results in: amplitude of the force-time history increases by about 10-30%. due to increase in the degree of confinement with the increasing in the embedment, the displacement response of the soil will decrease by about 25-35% for loose sand, 35-40% for medium sand due to increase in the overburden pressure when the embedment depth increased. For surface foundation, the foundation is free to oscillate in vertical, horizontal and rocking modes. But, when embedding a footing, the surrounding soil restricts oscillation due to confinement which leads to increasing the natural frequency, moreover, soil density increases with depth because of compaction, that is, tendency to behave as a solid medium.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.53-63
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• 2022

Simplified analytical solutions are developed for the dynamic analyses of an axially loaded pile foundation embedded in a transverse-isotropic, fluid-filled, poro-visco-elastic soil with rigid substratum. The pile is modeled as a viscoelastic Rayleigh-Love rod, while the surrounding soil is regarded as a transversely isotropic, liquid-saturated, viscoelastic, porous medium of which the mechanical behavior is represented by the Boer's poroelastic media model and the fractional derivative model. Upon the separation of variables, the frequency-domain responses for the impedance function of the pile top, and the vertical displacement and the axial force along the pile shaft are gained. Then by virtue of the convolution theorem and the inverse Fourier transform, the time-domain velocity response of the pile head is derived. The presented solutions are validated, compared to the existing solution, the finite element model (FEM) results, and the field test data. Parametric analyses are made to show the effect of the soil anisotropy and the excitation frequency on the pile-soil dynamic responses.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.225-233
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• 2003

Even though a lot of advanced researches on analysis, design, and performance evaluation of reinforced concrete (RC) under seismic action have been carried out, there has been only a few study on seismic analysis of underground RC structures surrounding soil medium. Since the underground RC structures interact with surrounding soil medium, a path-dependent soil model which can predict the soil response is necessary for analyzing behavior of the structure inside soil medium. The behavior of interfacial zone between the RC structure and the surrounding medium should be also considered for more accurate seismic analysis of the RC structure. In this paper, an averaged constitutive model of concrete and reinforcing bars for RC structure and path-dependent Ohsaki's model for soil are applied, and an elasto-plastic interface model having thickness is proposed for seismic analysis of underground RC structures. A finite element analysis technique is developed by applying aforementioned constitutive equations and is verified by predicting both static and dynamic behaviors of RC structures. Then, failure mechanisms of underground RC structure under seismic action are numerically derived through seismic analysis of underground RC station structure under different seismic forces. Finally, the changes of failure mode and the damage level of the structures are also analytically derived for different design cases of underground RC structures.