Influence of Material Variability on the Seismic Response of Pile Foundation

Abstract

Pile foundation response during earthquakes is strongly affected by the type of material used in pile construction. In the present study three different types of materials viz. concrete, wood and bamboo are used to construct pile foundation. Specimens of clean sand and clay soil are used to prepare the soil for test and the physical properties of that soil are evaluated. Next, earthquake response analyses are conducted to clarify the effect of the nonlinear soil-pile foundation system on the performance of pile foundation. The input shaking included sinusoidal earthquake accelerations. Pile displacement, acceleration, strain and earth pressure are found out using PULSE and MICRON software. Performance evaluation of the pile foundation is discussed on the basis of pile curvature.

Keywords: Soil-pile interaction, pile material, shake table test, curvature, PULSE, MICRON.