Experimental study on load bearing behavior of large-scaled caps with pile groups

The objective of this investigation was to study the behavior of deep pile caps and the ultimate load-carrying capacity. Four 1/10 scaled models of nine-pile caps were cast and tested on vertical loads to failure. The destruction shapes of pile caps,the correlation between load and displacement,and the internal stresses were analyzed systematically. The results demonstrated that the failures of all the four models are resulted from punching shear; the internal flow of the forces in nine-pile caps can be approximated by "strut-and-tie" model. Furthermore,the failure loads of these specimens were predicted by some of the present design methods and the calculated results were compared with the experimental loads. The comparative results also indicated that the "strut-and-tie" model is a more reasonable design method for deep pile caps design.

Effects of riverbed scour on seismic performance of high-rise pile cap foundation

To explore the seismic performance of a high-rise pile cap foundation with riverbed scour, a finite element model for foundations is introduced in the OpenSees finite element framework. In the model, a fiber element is used to simulate the pile shaft, a nonlinear p-y element is used to simulate the soil-pile interaction, and the p-factor method is used to reflect the group effects. A global and local scour model is proposed, in which two parameters, the scour depth of the same row of piles and the difference in the scour depth of the upstream pile and the downstream pile, are included to study the influence of scour on the foundation. Several elasto-plastic static pushover analyses are performed on this finite element model. The analysis results indicate that the seismic capacity （or supply） of the foundation is in the worst condition when the predicted deepest global scout depth is reached, and the capacity becomes larger when the local scour depth is below the predicted deepest global scout depth. Therefore, to evaluate the seismic capacity of a foundation, only the predicted deepest global scout depth should be considered. The method used in this paper can be also applied to foundations with other soil types.

Seismic behavior of batter pile groups embedded in liquefiable soil

A comparative study of the seismic performance of 2×1 pile groups considering different degrees of batter(0°for vertical,10°and 20°)embedded in single homogeneous liquefiable sand through fully coupled three-dimensional dynamic analyses is presented.The effects of inertial interaction are considered with structures having two different periods.The performance of pile groups is investigated for the fixed and pinned pile to cap connections for both floating and end bearing types of pile groups.Slenderness ratios of piles were also varied to enable a comprehensive understanding.Investigations have been carried out for three earthquake motions having varied dominant frequencies.It is observed that batter pile groups in liquefiable soils provide beneficial effects on piles and superstructure responses for both fixed and pinned head pile to cap connections for long period structures.However,for short period structures,a beneficial effect is most evident for fixed head connection.

Key technology for construction of connection between steel pylonand concrete pile cap of middle pylon of Taizhou Bridge

Taizhou Bridge is a suspension bridge with three pylons and two 1 080 m main spans. The middle pylon is a steel frame with longitudinal herringbone shape and lateral gate shape. The connection between steel pylon and concrete pile cap is a key part to transfer the huge inner force from the pylon to the foundation. Its construction quality is a critical factor to the overall structural loading of the whole bridge ; therefore the contact ratio between the bearing steel plate of pylon and concrete pile cap is required to be over 75 %. The inclined joint surface in two directions, longitudinally at 39/1 920 and laterally at 1/4, posted a challenge to the construction work. A procedure test was carried out to find an optimal construction method by comparison, and finally the post-injection method was selected as it can meet the requirement of concrete strength and contact ratio at the connection. The successful application of the post-injection method in Taizhou Bridge can nrovide an examnle and reference for similar nroiects in the future.