Experimental Investigations of the Seismic Response of a Large Underground Structure at a Soft Loess Site

Based on an underground structure located at a soft loess site in Xi’an as the engineering background, this paper investigated a seismic response and damage model of subway stations at a soft loess site using a large-scale shaking table test, considering the different characteristics of ground motio...

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Main Authors: Xuan Chen, Zhongming Xiong, Chenhao Ren, Yue Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-07-01
Series:Buildings
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/13/7/1710
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author Xuan Chen
Zhongming Xiong
Chenhao Ren
Yue Liu
author_facet Xuan Chen
Zhongming Xiong
Chenhao Ren
Yue Liu
author_sort Xuan Chen
collection DOAJ
description Based on an underground structure located at a soft loess site in Xi’an as the engineering background, this paper investigated a seismic response and damage model of subway stations at a soft loess site using a large-scale shaking table test, considering the different characteristics of ground motions. The quantitative analysis of the acceleration response and the seismic subsidence of the soft loess site were subjected to different earthquake excitations; based on the experimental results and the corresponding analysis, the development and distribution of seismic structural damage were studied, and the damage mechanism of underground structures in a soft loess area under a strong earthquake was explored. The results indicate that the peak accelerations of the site soil first remained unchanged then increased significantly along the soil height, and the amplification effect of the acceleration response was the most significant at the soil surface. The soft loess soil underwent significant subsidence, and the underground structure was raised compared to both sides of the cover soil; the collapsibility of the soft loess soil was sensitive to strong earthquakes with vertical components. The underground structures in soft loess suffered heavy damage, which rapidly entered the elastic–plastic stage. The composite effect of the collapsibility and vertical seismic excitation impaired the load-carrying capacity of the middle columns, and the strong horizontal seismic excitation enlarged the lateral force and accelerated structural damage development; the underground structure reached failure when plastic damage expended most of the middle columns and structural joints. These results are significant for the seismic design of underground structures in adverse soil conditions.
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spelling doaj.art-97d1683c1df246e3abd15224a4b978c22023-11-18T18:37:45ZengMDPI AGBuildings2075-53092023-07-01137171010.3390/buildings13071710Experimental Investigations of the Seismic Response of a Large Underground Structure at a Soft Loess SiteXuan Chen0Zhongming Xiong1Chenhao Ren2Yue Liu3School of Civil Engineering, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055, ChinaSchool of Civil Engineering, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055, ChinaShaanxi Academy of Building Research Co., Ltd., Xi’an 710082, ChinaUniSA STEM, University of South Australia, Adelaide 5000, AustraliaBased on an underground structure located at a soft loess site in Xi’an as the engineering background, this paper investigated a seismic response and damage model of subway stations at a soft loess site using a large-scale shaking table test, considering the different characteristics of ground motions. The quantitative analysis of the acceleration response and the seismic subsidence of the soft loess site were subjected to different earthquake excitations; based on the experimental results and the corresponding analysis, the development and distribution of seismic structural damage were studied, and the damage mechanism of underground structures in a soft loess area under a strong earthquake was explored. The results indicate that the peak accelerations of the site soil first remained unchanged then increased significantly along the soil height, and the amplification effect of the acceleration response was the most significant at the soil surface. The soft loess soil underwent significant subsidence, and the underground structure was raised compared to both sides of the cover soil; the collapsibility of the soft loess soil was sensitive to strong earthquakes with vertical components. The underground structures in soft loess suffered heavy damage, which rapidly entered the elastic–plastic stage. The composite effect of the collapsibility and vertical seismic excitation impaired the load-carrying capacity of the middle columns, and the strong horizontal seismic excitation enlarged the lateral force and accelerated structural damage development; the underground structure reached failure when plastic damage expended most of the middle columns and structural joints. These results are significant for the seismic design of underground structures in adverse soil conditions.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/13/7/1710underground structuresmodel testsoft loessdynamic responsefailure mechanism
spellingShingle Xuan Chen
Zhongming Xiong
Chenhao Ren
Yue Liu
Experimental Investigations of the Seismic Response of a Large Underground Structure at a Soft Loess Site
Buildings
underground structures
model test
soft loess
dynamic response
failure mechanism
title Experimental Investigations of the Seismic Response of a Large Underground Structure at a Soft Loess Site
title_full Experimental Investigations of the Seismic Response of a Large Underground Structure at a Soft Loess Site
title_fullStr Experimental Investigations of the Seismic Response of a Large Underground Structure at a Soft Loess Site
title_full_unstemmed Experimental Investigations of the Seismic Response of a Large Underground Structure at a Soft Loess Site
title_short Experimental Investigations of the Seismic Response of a Large Underground Structure at a Soft Loess Site
title_sort experimental investigations of the seismic response of a large underground structure at a soft loess site
topic underground structures
model test
soft loess
dynamic response
failure mechanism
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/13/7/1710
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AT chenhaoren experimentalinvestigationsoftheseismicresponseofalargeundergroundstructureatasoftloesssite
AT yueliu experimentalinvestigationsoftheseismicresponseofalargeundergroundstructureatasoftloesssite