Shaking table testing of hard layered soil-pile-structure interaction system

Abstract

Shaking table tests on a dynamic interaction system of hard layered soil, pile foundation and frame structure were carried out. The earthquake damage of the superstructure and foundation was reproduced. Based on these tests, several key issues about the seismic response of the dynamic soil-structure interaction (SSI) system were studied. The natural frequency of the system was less than that of the structure on rigid foundation if the SSI is not taken into account, while its damping ratio was larger than that of the structure. The mode shape of the system was different from that of the structure on the fixed base in that there were rocking and swinging at the foundation. Magnification or reduction of vibration transferred by soil was related to soil characteristic, excitation magnitude, and so on. Generally, sand magnifies vibration, while viscous powder soil dampens vibration. The components of the acceleration response at the top of the superstructure were based on the relative magnitude of the rocking stiffness, the swing stiffness of the foundation and the stiffness of the super-structure. The multi-direction excitations have little effect on the key issues of the horizontal SSI.