Shaking table test and numerical simulation on seismic performance of a bridge column integrated by multiple steel pipes with directly-connected piles

Abstract

A bridge column integrated by multiple steel pipes and connected directly to piles without a footing has been proposed to design a rational foundation of the column. Based on the past achievements, the proposed substructures possess an excellent advantage of reduction of strain at the column through strain decentration at footing point. In addition, reduction in footing weight contributes to decrease pile strain. On the other hand, the proposed substructure has some disadvantages i.e. increase in strain and displacement of piles. But it has been revealed that the strain generated at piles can be minimised by using a beam in the ground. In this paper, the seismic performance of the bridge column structure grounded in liquefiable sand is evaluated based on the large-scale shaking tests using a bridge column model with the scale of 1/20. Subsequently, a soil-water coupled FE analysis is conducted to reproduce the experimental results and confirm the seismic performance and the detail of the mechanism.