Seismic Soil-Pile-Structure Interaction Experiments and Analyses

A dynamic beam on a nonlinear Winkler foundation (or “dynamic p-y”) analysis method for analyzing seismic soil-pile-structure interaction was evaluated against the results of a series of dynamic centrifuge model tests. The centrifuge tests included two different single-pile-supported structures subjected to nine different earthquake events with peak accelerations ranging from 0.02 to 0.7g. The soil profile consisted of soft clay overlying dense sand. Site response and dynamic p-y analyses are described. Input parameters were selected based on existing engineering practices. Reasonably good agreement was obtained between calculated and recorded responses for both structural models in all earthquake events. Sensitivity of the results to dynamic p-y model parameters and site response calculations are evaluated. These results provide experimental support for the use of dynamic p-y analysis methods in seismic soil-pile-structure interaction problems.