LARGE-SCALE SHAKE TABLE EXPERIMENT AND NUMERICAL SIMULATION ON THE NONLINEAR BEHAVIOR OF PILE-GROUPS SUBJECTED TO LARGE-SCALE EARTHQUAKES

Abstract

This paper describes the results of large-scale shake-table experiments involving a 3×3 pile-group. The pile-group was embedded in dry sand and subjected to sinusoidal waves and an earthquake motion recorded from the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu (Kobe) earthquake. The load transfer between soil and pile was derived and the group effect was captured. Numerical simulations were also performed using a Beam-on-Nonlinear-Winkler-Foundation approach with a new hysteretic p-y curve. A comparison of the experimental and numerical results revealed that the numerical simulation is capable of accounting for the soil-pile interaction observed in the experiment.