Centrifuge modeling of seismically - induced lateral deformation during liquefaction and its effect on a pile foundation

ABSTRACT

A cooperative project is reported between teams at Renssealaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and Cornell University to investigate the effects of lateral spreading on pile foundations. Centrifuge tests of lateral spreading and the corresponding permanent bending moments measured in instrumented model piles conducted at RPI, are used to study the problem and verify and calibrate Cornell University's computer program B-STRUCT. Individual piles and pile groups are investigated in a variety of pile and soil configurations. The paper reports in detail the results of Model 1, corresponding to the simulation of reinforced concrete piles that were deformed by lateral spread under the NFCH building in Niigata during the 1964 earthquake.(AU)