Finite Element Analysis on Mechanical Behavior of Column Underpinning Joints for Building Moving

The building moving has more than 100 years’ history. In the building moving, the design of the underpinning joints is one of the key problems. As to the frame structure, the most widely used method is the double beam underpinning system. Our research group has conduct 16 underpinning joints tests considering the different influential factors to study the mechanical performance of it. This paper first introduces the experiment briefly. And then make finite element analysis on the mechanical behavior of the column underpinning joints using the software ABAQUS as the platform. In the finite element analysis, the solid element is adopted and the master-slave contact surface is used to simulate the interaction between the column and the underpinning beams. The results show that the failure of the moving-beam is ahead of the coupling-beam and the bending-shear failure occurred in the moving-beam. As to the interface between the column and the beam, the lower part of the contact failed and the gaps can be seen. From the analysis results, the contact stress on the column is not uniformly distributed and larger in the upper part of the contact surface which is accord to the test results.