Seismic response of partially saturated soils beneath shallow foundations under sequential ground motions

Abdülhakim Zeybek, Gopal Santana Phani Madabhushi, Loizos Pelecanos

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

Induced partial saturation is an innovative soil improvement technique intended to mitigate earthquake-induced liquefaction. Historical records indicate that successive earthquakes may occur in high seismic areas. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of the response of partially saturated soils to sequential ground motions is of great significance for the rational design and execution of this method in engineering practice. In this study, a series of dynamic centrifuge experiments were conducted to investigate the impacts of sequential ground motions on the behavior of partially saturated soils beneath shallow foundations. Two different shallow foundation models with a bearing pressure of 135 kPa and 50 kPa were examined. Three seismic simulations, in order of increasing amplitudes, were sequentially applied to loosely-packed partially saturated sand models prepared with air injection technique. The assessment of the test results indicated that shallow foundations resting on saturated models of loose sand did suffer excessive settlements with each event, producing a large embedment of the foundation. However, much smaller settlements were recorded for partially saturated ground, and the level of the foundation embedment remained limited in this case. The deformation vector fields also indicated that different displacement mechanisms were observed for each successive event.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1987-2002
Number of pages16
JournalBulletin of Earthquake Engineering
Volume18
Issue number5
Early online date19 Jan 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 31 Mar 2020

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The centrifuge experiments were carried out in Cambridge University with the help of the technicians at the Schofield Centre and with the aid of funds offered by the Ministry of National Education in Turkey. Their support is gratefully acknowledged.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, Springer Nature B.V.

Keywords

  • Air injection technique
  • Centrifuge modeling
  • Partially saturated soils
  • Shallow foundations
  • Soil liquefaction
  • Successive earthquakes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Civil and Structural Engineering
  • Building and Construction
  • Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology
  • Geophysics

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