Large-scale shake table experiment and numerical simulation on the nonlinear behavior of pile-groups subjected to large-scale earthquakes

This paper describes the results of large-scale shake-table experiments involving a 3 x 3 pile-group. The pile-group was embedded in dry sand and subjected to sinusoidal waves and an earthquake motion recorded from the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu (Kobe) earthquake. The load transfer between soil and pile was derived and the group effect was captured. Numerical simulations were also performed using a Beam-on-Nonlinear-Winkler-Foundation approach with a new, hysteretic p-y curve. A comparison of the experimental and numerical results revealed that the numerical simulation is capable of accounting for the soil-pile interaction observed in the experiment.