Shaking table test of a large-size model on failure mechanism of sheet-pile quay wall and pile foundation due to lateral spreading

• Published in: Japanese Geotechnical Journal Vol. 4; no. 4; pp. 259 - 271
• Main Authors: SATO, Masayoshi, TABATA, Kentaro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tokyo The Japanese Geotechnical Society 01.01.2009; Japan Science and Technology Agency
• Subjects: Deformation; Grounds; large-scale container shake table test; lateral spreading; liquefaction; pile foundation; Pile foundations; Piles; Quays; Shake table tests; sheet pile; Spreading; Walls
• ISSN: 1880-6341; 1880-6341
• DOI: 10.3208/jgs.4.259

In order to investigate the phenomenon of the large deformation of sheet-pile quay wall and the failure of pile foundation due to liquefaction-induced lateral spreading in a port area, the shaking table test of a very large-scale model of liquefiable ground was performed at the three-dimensional full-scale earthquake testing facility, "E-Defense." In the test, the ground was liquefied under input motions based on the 1995 Hyogoken-Nambu earthquake to the model and, in turn, horizontal deformation and tilt of the sheet-pile quay wall were caused and the pile foundation behind the wall was collapsed. The testing result suggests that preventing liquefaction of the ground in front of the sheet pile is effective to mitigate lateral-spreading disaster to quay walls and the ground behind them. In terms of the failure mechanism of pile foundation, the test reveals that the deformation of the pile-foundation structure caused by the collapse of its piles appears when the piles both of sheet-pile and back-ground sides are collapsed.