Structural Models for Centrifuge Testing of Liquefaction-Related Building Damage

Abstract eng:
This paper describes the design of more realistic structural models for centrifuge experiments that are used to characterize the response of damageable structures on liquefiable soils. These experiments are needed because seismic design of structures commonly ignores soil-structure interaction, while techniques for evaluation and mitigation of liquefaction generally fail to consider potential damage to the structure and inertial interaction effects. Here, a three-story steel moment frame was designed based on code requirements and subsequently simplified and scaled for centrifuge experiments. Component tests were performed at 1g and 70g of centrifugal acceleration to characterize the nonlinear properties of beamcolumn subassemblies. The model structure was then placed on a layered soil deposit, including a liquefiable layer, in centrifuge. Results in terms of moment-rotation were obtained experimentally from component tests as well as the centrifuge experiment, which were compared with OpenSees simulations performed during design. As expected, the behavior of the components at 1g and 70g were similar. The structure did not experience any damage and remained essentially elastic when founded on liquefiable ground, because energy was dissipated through settlement and tilt; inelastic structural response, however, is possible when if liquefaction is mitigated. The response was also found to agree well with the OpenSees model.

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