Reply to the two discussions on my paper "An alternative mechanism of pile failure in liquefiable deposits during earthquakes"
This paper proposes an alternative mechanism of pile failure in liquefiable deposits during earthquakes. This failure mechanism, based on pile buckling, is formulated by back-analysing 14 case histories of pile foundation performance during earthquakes and verified using dynamic centrifuge tests. A new parameter, the slenderness ratio of a pile, is introduced to classify pile performance in liquefiable soils. This parameter fits very well both the reported case histories and the centrifuge test results.
Dynamic instability of pile-supported structures in liquefiable soils during earthquakes
Piles are long slender columns installed deep into the ground to support heavy structures such as oil platforms, bridges, and tall buildings where the ground is not strong enough to support the structure on its own. In seismic prone zones, in the areas of soft soils (loose to medium dense soil which liquefies like a quick sand) piles are routinely used to support structures (buildings/ bridges). The pile and the building vibrate, and often collapse, in liquefiable soils during major earthquakes. In this paper an experimental and analytical approach is taken to characterize this vibration. The emphasis has been given to the dynamic instability of piled foundations in liquefied soil. The first natural frequency of a piled-structure vibrating in liquefiable soil is obtained from centrifuge tests. The experimental system is modelled using a fixed-free Euler-Bernoulli beam resting against an elastic support with axial load and tip mass with rotary inertia. Natural frequencies obtained from the analytical method are compared with experimental results. It was observed that the effective natural frequency of the system can reduce significantly during an earthquake.
Archaeological Survey of Dangoyama Kofun by 3DGPR
We presented a three-dimensional ground penetrating radar (3DGPR) system for the archeological investigation in a harsh site, where we have to deal with many trees and/or great topographic variations. This system consists of a commercial GPR system with a laser positioning system. With this system, we can move the GPR antenna freely, on which a positioning detector can record accurate position for each GPR data trace. We applied our 3DGPR system at Dangoyama Kofun, a burial mound, in Fukushima prefecture, Japan. A lot of trees and bushes covered the survey area and cannot be cut. We acquired six datasets in two days in this area. We successfully imaged the boundary between the original surface of the burial mound and the covering soil clearly at about 0.3 m depth around the mound. Furthermore, we found some strong reflections appeared at 0.8 m depth in the top area of the mound, which can be from the artificial parts of the burial mound. The results would greatly aid the following archaeological excavation. In addition, we compared the non-interpolated depth slice with interpolated depth slice at same position and demonstrated that the interpolation process on threedimensional GPR data may introduce some artifacts which might mislead our interpretation.