Effect of geological irregularity on the damage of pile foundations during an earthquake

• Published in: Procedia engineering Vol. 199; pp. 2408 - 2413
• Main Authors: Nakai, Shoichi, Nakagawa, Hiroto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 2017
• Subjects: 2011 Tohoku Earthquake; Alluvial valley; Effect of geological irregularity; Pile damage; Three-dimensional finite element analysis; Three-dimensional finite element analysis; 2011 Tohoku Earthquake; Effect of geological irregularity; Pile damage; Alluvial valley
• ISSN: 1877-7058; 1877-7058
• DOI: 10.1016/j.proeng.2017.09.289

Due to the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake, a number of buildings have suffered from damage to pile foundations. Among those, a characteristic damage pattern was found in that only one of many similar size buildings in the same site has suffered from pile damage, while other buildings have seemingly survived. Since these sites are situated in the middle of narrow river valleys, the effect of so-called alluvial valley was suggested. Based on this hypothesis, a series of three-dimensional finite element analyses have been conducted. It was found from the study that due to this irregular ground effect there is a possibility of a building located at the center of a site experiencing larger pile response compared with surrounding buildings when the site is situated in the middle of a narrow river valley.