A Study on Lateral Dynamic Load Behavior of Pile Group Using Block Vibration Apparatus
摘要
Design of pile foundation subjected to dynamic loads due to earthquake, blasting, mining, maneuver of heavyweight machinery, wind turbine, waves etc. involves the evaluation of soil-pile response under lateral dynamic loads for different modes of vibrations. The dynamic behavior of cast in-situ pile group subjected to lateral dynamic load are studied in this work using block vibration apparatus under different eccentricity levels such as 8°, 12°, 16°, 20°, 24° and 28°. The properties of soil at different depths were determined first at the test site. Pile groups were constructed with four number of piles, each of length 1500 mm and diameter 100 mm and at a spacing of 300 mm. The piles in the group were connected with a rigid pile cap of dimensions 600 mm × 600 mm × 300 mm rested 100 mm above the ground surface. The maximum frequency, i.e., resonant frequency corresponding to the maximum displacement were determined from the frequency versus displacement graphs at different eccentricity levels. All tests are performed under dry weather condition. In this study, some important parameters such as soil-pile stiffness, damping characteristics of soil-pile are also determined based on the relations mentioned in IS Code (IS: 9716-1981, Guide for lateral dynamic load test on piles). It was observed that resonant frequency remains practically same irrespective of varying magnitudes of dynamic forces, this indicates that the degree of non-linearity of soil is less, which is due to the presence of relatively medium-stiff soil. The ground displacement at a position 1.5 m away from the pile group was also measured in the study using a three-dimensional geophone under different eccentricity levels, i.e., 8°, 12°, 16°, 20°, 24°, 28°. The effect of vibration on a nearby structure was also measured using geophone at the same eccentricity levels. A Block foundation located at a distance of 6 m from the pile group was considered as nearby structure.