Group of piles are widely used deep foundation systems to resist lateral and vertical loads. Seismic and static performance of pile groups mostly depend on soil type, pile spacing and pier rigidity. Not many pile lateral load tests have been performed due to high costs. Advanced and complex analytical methods were developed over the years to assess nonlinear lateral pile response. This research is conducted aiming at developing a practical analysis method to verify the lateral performance of pile groups and its effect on overall response of bridge utilizing the available pile lateral load test data. Empirical constants derived from evaluation of lateral load tests are used in a simple formulation to define the nonlinear behavior of the pile-soil system. An analysis guideline is established to model the nonlinear soil-bridge interaction by the help of a general purpose structural analysis program comprising recommendations for various cases. Results of the proposed method is compared to the results of industry accepted advanced methods using response spectrum and nonlinear time history analyses to assess the suitability of this new application. According to the analysis results, proposed simple method can be used as an effective analysis tool for the determination of response of the superstructure.

Although there exist some consensus regarding seismic soil liquefaction assessment of free field soil sites, estimating the liquefaction triggering potential beneath building foundations still stays as a controversial and difficult issue. Assessing liquefaction triggering potential under building foundations requires the estimation of cyclic and static stress state of the soil medium. For the purpose of assessing the effects of the presence of a structure three-dimensional, finite difference-based total stress analyses were performed for generic soil, structure and earthquake combinations. A simplified procedure was proposed which would produce unbiased estimates of the representative and maximum soil-structure-earthquake-induced iv cyclic stress ratio (CSRSSEI) values, eliminating the need to perform 3-D dynamic response assessment of soil and structure systems for conventional projects. Consistent with the available literature, the descriptive (input) parameters of the proposed model were selected as soil-to-structure stiffness ratio, spectral acceleration ratio (SA/PGA) and aspect ratio of the building. The model coefficients were estimated through maximum likelihood methodology which was used to produce an unbiased match with the predictions of 3-D analyses and proposed simplified procedure. Although a satisfactory fit was achieved among the CSR estimations by numerical seismic response analysis results and the proposed simplified procedure, validation of the proposed simplified procedure further with available laboratory shaking table and centrifuge tests and well-documented field case histories was preferred. The proposed simplified procedure was shown to capture almost all of the behavioral trends and most of the amplitudes. As the concluding remark, contrary to general conclusions of Rollins and Seed (1990), and partially consistent with the observations of Finn and Yodengrakumar (1987), Liu and Dobry (1997) and Mylonakis and Gazetas, (2000), it is proven that soil-structure interaction does not always beneficially affect the liquefaction triggering potential of foundation soils and the proposed simplified model conveniently captures when it is critical.

Seismic response of a structure is influenced by the inertial interaction between structure and deformable medium, on which the structure rests, due to flexibility and energy dissipation capability of the surrounding soil. The inertial interaction analyses can be performed by utilizing simplified soil-structure interaction (SSI) analyses methods. In literature, it is noted that varying soil conditions and foundation types can be modeled by using these SSI approaches with springdashpot couples having certain stiffness and damping. In this study, the seismic response of superstructure obtained by using simplified SSI methods is compared with those of the fixed base systems. For this purpose, single and multi degree of freedom structural systems are modeled with both spring&ndash / dashpot couple and fixed base models. Each system is analyzed for varying structural and soil stiffness conditions under the excitation of three different seismic records. Next, the total base shear acting on the structural system and internal forces of load bearing members are investigated to observe the inertial interaction and foundation uplift effects on the superstructure. It is also aimed to examine the compatibility of the simplified SSI approaches utilized in the analyses. It is concluded that the structural and soil stiffness parameters are the most influential parameters that affect seismic structural response. Structures becomemore sensitive to varying soil properties as the structural stiffness increases. On the other hand, decreasing soil stiffness also increases the sensitivity of the structure to the seismic excitation. Calculated values of total base shear and internal member forces revealed that the inertial interaction might be detrimental for the superstructure. Contrary to general belief, the fixed base approach does not always yield to the results, which are on the safe side. Considering the analysis results, it is concluded that SSI analysis is very useful for more precise and economical design for the seismic behavior.

CFRD (Concrete Faced Rockfill Dam) construction becomes more frequent recently not only because of its secure nature, but also its economical cost where its built up material is feasible to obtain. Although CFRDs are known to be safe compared to other dam types, it is behavior during an earthquake loading still not a well-known aspect since it is mostly constructed in regions of low seismicity until now. Considering this fact, this study

Woody plant invasion of grasslands is prevalent worldwide, but the biogeochemical consequences of this vegetation shift remain largely unquantified. In the Rio Grande Plains, TX, grasslands and savannas dominated by C4 grasses have undergone succession over the past century to subtropical thorn woodlands dominated by C3 trees/shrubs. To elucidate mechanisms of soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil total N (STN) storage and dynamics in this ecosystem, I measured the mass and isotopic composition (δ13C, δ15N) of C and N in whole-soil and soil size/density fractions in chronosequences consisting of remnant grasslands (Time 0) and woody plant stands ranging in age from 10-130 years. Rates of SOC and STN storage averaged 10-30 g C m-2yr-1 and 1-3 g N m-2yr-1, respectively. These accumulation rates increased soil C and N pools 80-200% following woody encroachment. Soil microbial biomass (SMB-C) also increased after woody invasion. Decreasing Cmic/C org and higher qCO2 in woodlands relative to grasslands suggests that woody litter is of poorer quality than grassland litter. Greater SOC and STN following woody invasion may also be due to increased protection of organic matter by stable soil structure. Soil aggregation increased following woody encroachment; however, most of the C and N accumulated in free particulate organic matter (POM) fractions not protected within aggregates. Mean residence times (MRTs) of soil fractions were calculated based on changes in their δ13C with time after woody encroachment. Free POM had the shortest average MRTs (30 years) and silt+clay the longest (360 years). Fine POM had MRTs of about 60 years, reflecting protection by location within aggregates. δ15N values of soil fractions were positively correlated with their MRTs, suggesting that higher δ15N values reflect an increased degree of humification. Increases in SOC and STN are probably being sustained by greater inputs, slower turnover of POM (some biochemical recalcitrance), and protection of organic matter in aggregates and association with silt and clay. Grassland-to-woodland conversion during the past century has been geographically extensive in grassland ecosystems worldwide, suggesting that changes in soil C and N dynamics and storage documented here could have significance for global C and N cycles.

A macroelement is developed for soil-structure interaction analyses of piles in liquefiable soils, which captures efficiently the fundamental mechanisms of saturated granular soil behavior. The mechanical model comprises a nonlinear Winkler-type model that accounts for soil resistance acting along the circumference of the pile, and a coupled viscous damper that simulates changes in radiation damping with increasing material non-linearity. Three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) simulations are conducted for a pile in radially homogeneous soil to identify the critical parameters governing the response. The identified parameters, i.e., hydraulic conductivity, loading rate of dynamic loading, dilation angle and liquefaction potential are then expressed in dimensionless form. Next, the macroelement parameters are calibrated as a function of the soil properties and the effective stress. A semi-empirical approach that accounts for the effects of soil-structure interaction on pore pressure generation in the vicinity of pile is used to detect the onset of liquefaction. The predictions are compared with field data obtained using blast induced liquefaction and centrifuge tests and found to be in good agreement. Finally, the macroelement formulation is extended to account for coupling in both lateral directions. FEM simulations indicate that response assuming no coupling between the two horizontal directions for biaxial loading tends to overestimate the soil resistance and fails to capture features like 'apparent negative stiffness', 'strain hardening' and 'rounded corners'.

Αντικείμενο του παρόντος άρθρου αποτελεί η ανάλυση της συμπεριφοράς πασσάλου, υπό αξονική φόρτιση μεγάλου εύρους, η οποία μπορεί να οδηγήσει σε απώλεια φέρουσας ικανότητας. Συγκεκριμένα, εξετάζεται ο συντελεστής στατικής δυσκαμψίας μεμονωμένου κατακόρυφου πασσάλου εμπεδωμένου σε ομοιογενές ή πολυστρωματικό έδαφος τυχαίας γεωμετρίας και μηχανικών ιδιοτήτων. Για την επίλυση του προβλήματος αναπτύσσεται αναλυτική λύση κλειστού τύπου βασισμένη στη θεωρία Winkler. Στο εν λόγω μοντέλο η προσομοίωση της μηχανικής συμπεριφοράς του εδάφους γίνεται μέσω μή-γραμμικών ελατηρίων “t-z” τοποθετημένων κατά μήκος του άξονα και στη βάση του πασσάλου, σε συνδυασμό με συναρτήσεις σχήματος, οι οποίες περιγράφουν αξιόπιστα την μεταβολή της κατακόρυφης μετακίνηση του πασσάλου με το βάθος. Με επιλογή κατάλληλης συνάρτησης σχήματος και καμπυλών “t-z”, και μετά από επαναληπτική διαδικασία εφαρμογής, επιτυγχάνεται ικανοποιητική ακρίβεια στην τιμή της δυσκαμψίας για κατακόρυφη μετακίνηση στην κεφαλή του πασσάλου. Σε αντίθεση με τις κλασικές αριθμητικές λύσεις, η προτεινόμενη μέθοδος δεν απαιτεί διακριτοποίηση του πασσάλου σε πεπερασμένα στοιχεία (και στη συνέχεια επίλυση ενός συστήματος γραμμικών εξισώσεων μεγάλης τάξης), παρά μόνο σε "κελιά" με στόχο την ολοκλήρωση με το βάθος. Έτσι, τα παραγόμενα αποτελέσματα είναι διαχείρισιμα ακόμα και μέσω απλού φύλλου εργασίας σε Excel ή και υπολογιστή τσέπης. Η μέθοδος προγραμματίστηκε σε περιβάλλον Visual Basic 2010, κυρίως λόγω της δυνατότητας γραφικής παρουσίασης των αποτελεσμάτων και τη σύγκρισή τους με αντίστοιχα αποτελέσματα από άλλες μεθόδους. Τα αποτελέσματα κρίνονται ως ιδιαίτερα ενθαρρυντικά, καθώς συγκλίνουν ικανοποιητικά σε αυτά αυστηρότερων μεθόδων, χωρίς ανάγκη περίπλοκης αριθμητικής ανάλυσης η οποία να ξεφεύγει από τις γνώσεις και δυνατότητες του Γεωτεχνικού Μηχανικού. / In the present work the behavior of a pile submitted to large range lateral loading is analyzed, which may lead to failure of both the surrounding soil and the pile itself either at the head or in depth. Namely, we examine the static stiffness coefficients for displacement and rotation of a flexible pile, vertically embedded in a homogeneous or multilayer soil of random geometry and mechanical properties. To solve the problem, a simple analytical method is developed, based on Euler–Bernoulli classic beam model, incremented with non linear Winkler Springs. The non-linear behaviour of the pile is described in a cross-sectional plane through moment-curvature diagram. The model is used in combination with the principle of work and suitable shape functions, which describe reliably the elastic line of the pile when the lateral load is gradually increasing. By iterative implementation of the method, realistic predictions are achieved in the stiffness coefficients in swaying, rocking and cross-swaying-rocking. The number of iterations is relatively small if the stress level of the system is not significantly increased compared with the previous load step. Unlike classic numerical solutions, the proposed method does not require discretization of the pile into finite elements (resulting to solve a system of linear equations), but only in "cells", to integrate with depth. In this way, results can be generated throughout a simple worksheet or even a calculator. The method was implemented in a Visual Basic 2010 environment, mainly for reasons of graphical presentation and comparison of the results to other coming from relevant methods. The results of the aforementioned method are considered satisfactory, as they converge fairly well with those coming from more rigorous methods based on complicated numerical analyses. The results of the herein proposed method are also compared to experimental in situ results relatively successfully.

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Earthquakes cause damages to structures and result in great human casualties and economic loss. A fraction of the kinetic energy released from earthquakes is transferred into buildings through soils. The investigation on the mechanism of the energy transferring from soils to buildings during earthquakes is critical for the design of earthquake resistant structures and for upgrading existing structures. In order to understand this phenomena well, a wave-soil-structure interaction analysis is presented. The earthquake wave-soil-structure interaction analysis of tall buildings is the main focus of this research. There are two methods available for modeling the soil-structure interaction (SSI): the direct method and substructure method. The direct method is used for modeling the soil and a tall building together. However, the substructure method is adopted to treat the unbounded soil and the tall building separately. The unbounded soil is modeled by using the Scaled Boundary Finite-Element Method (SBFEM), an infinitesimal finite-element cell method, which naturally satisfies the radiation condition for the wave propagation problem. The tall building is modeled using the standard Finite Element Method (FEM). The SBFEM results in fewer degrees of freedom of the soil than the direct method by only modeling the interface between the soil and building. The SBFEM is implemented into a 3-Dimensional Dynamic Soil-Structure Interaction Analysis program (DSSIA-3D) in this study and is used for investigating the response of tall buildings in both the time domain and frequency domain. Three different parametric studies are carried out for buildings subjected to external harmonic loadings and earthquake loadings. The peak displacement along the height of the building is obtained in the time domain analysis. The coupling between the building’s height, hysteretic damping ratio, soil dynamics and soil-structure interaction effect is investigated. Further, the coupling between the structure configuration and the asymmetrical loadings are studied. The findings suggest that the symmetrical building has a higher earthquake resistance capacity than the asymmetrical buildings. The results are compared with building codes, field measurements and other numerical methods. These numerical techniques can be applied to study other structures, such as TV towers, nuclear power plants and dams.

In this thesis primarily structural induced liquefaction potential was aimed to be analyzed. Also the effect of base isolation systems both on structural performance and liquefaction potential was studied. FLAC software was chosen for the analyses so that structure and soil could be modeled together. By these means the soil structure interaction effects were also examined. Four different structures and three different sites were analyzed under two different input motions. All the structures were also analyzed as base isolated. It was mainly found that depending on the structural type and for a certain depth the liquefaction potential could be higher under the structure than the one in the free field. Also it was concluded that base isolation systems were very effective for decreasing the story drifts, shear forces in the structure and liquefaction potential in the soil. It was also found that the interaction took place between structure, soil and input motions.