Experimental and numerical investigation on the dynamic response of pile group in liquefying ground

The response of pile foundation in liquefiable sand reinforced by densification techniques remains a very complex problem during strong earthquakes. A shake-table experiment was carried out to investigate the behavior of a reinforced concrete low-cap pile group embedded in this type of ground. In this study, a three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) analysis of the experiment was conducted. The computed response of the soil-pile system was in reasonable agreement with the experimental results, highlighting some key characteristics. Then, a parametric study was performed to explore the influence of pile spacing, pile stiffness (EI), superstructure mass, sand permeability, and shaking characteristics of input motion on the behavior of the pile. The investigation demonstrated a stiffening behavior appearing in the liquefied mediumdense sand, and the pile group effect seemed negligible. Furthermore, the kinematic effect was closely connected with both EI and sand permeability. Nevertheless, the inertial effect was strongly influenced by the superstructure mass. Meanwhile, high frequency and large amplitude of the input motion could produced greater the pile’s moments. It is estimated that this case study could further enhance the current understanding of the behavior of low-cap pile foundations in liquefied dense sand.