Seismic performance of bar-mat reinforced-soil retaining wall: Shaking table testing versus numerical analysis with modified kinematic hardening constitutive model

This research incorporates shaking table testing of scale wrap faced soil wall models to evaluate the seismic response of embankment. Currently the seismic designs of highway or railway embankment rely on little or no empirical data for calibrating numerical simulations. This research is working towards filling that empirical data gap. The specific purpose of the study was to evaluate the seismic response of constructed embankment model regarding the different input base accelerations with fixed frequency. A series of one-dimensional (1D) shaking table tests (0.05g, 0.1g, 0.15g and 0.2g), were performed on a 0.4 meters high wrap faced reinforced-soil wall model. Additionally, it was placed over 0.3 meters high soft clayey foundation. Predominantly, the influence of the base acceleration on the seismic response was studied in this paper. The physical models were subjected to harmonic sinusoidal input motions at a fixed frequency of 1 Hz, in order to assess the seismic behavior. The effects of parameters such as acceleration amplitudes and surcharge pressures on the seismic response of the model walls were considered. The relative density of the backfill material was kept fixed at 60%. The results of this study reveal that input accelerations and surcharge load had significant influence on the model wall, pore water pressure, and changes along the elevation. Acceleration response advances with the increase in base acceleration, so the difference being more perceptible at higher elevations. The pore water pressures were found to be high for high base shaking and low surcharge pressures at higher elevations. The results obtained from this study are helpful in understanding the relative performance of reinforced soil retaining wall under different test conditions resting on soft clay.

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Experimental investigation on the seismic performance of masonry buildings using shaking table testing

Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering ◽

10.1007/s10518-012-9410-7 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 1157-1190 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Paulo B. Lourenço ◽

Leonardo Avila ◽

Graça Vasconcelos ◽

J.Pedro Pedro Alves ◽

Nuno Mendes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Experimental Investigation ◽

Seismic Performance ◽

Shaking Table ◽

Masonry Buildings ◽

Shaking Table Testing

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Shaking Table Study on the Seismic Performance of Geogrid Reinforced Soil Retaining Walls

Advances in Civil Engineering ◽

10.1155/2021/6668713 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2021 ◽

pp. 1-16

Author(s):

Xiaoguang Cai ◽

Sihan Li ◽

Honglu Xu ◽

Liping Jing ◽

Xin Huang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Friction Coefficient ◽

Fundamental Frequency ◽

Retaining Wall ◽

Failure Surface ◽

Reinforced Soil ◽

Shaking Table ◽

Seismic Load ◽

Peak Displacement ◽

Acceleration Amplification ◽

Reinforcement Strain

This study presents experimental results from shaking table tests on a reduced-scale geogrid reinforced soil retaining wall (RSRW) to investigate the seismic response of the fundamental frequency, acceleration amplification, face displacement, backfill surface settlement, and reinforcement strain under different peak accelerations and durations. The fundamental frequency is in good agreement with the predicted values. The root mean square (RMS) acceleration amplification factors increase nonlinearly with the wall height and decrease with increasing seismic load, which is not regarded as a constant value. The distributions of the peak displacement are consistent with those of the residual displacement. The combination of the sliding and rotation is observed as the predominant mode of displacement, and the rotation mode is dominant. The positions near the face (35 cm) and the ends of the reinforcement (140 cm) demonstrated larger settlement than that of the central position (70 cm and 105 cm). The reinforcement strain increased with increasing peak acceleration and maximum values measured at the central layers. The trends of the potential failure surface are similar to those of the 0.3H bilinear failure surface. The friction coefficient is nonlinearly distributed along with the reinforcements, and the maximum friction coefficient appears at the top layer (F11).

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