Seismic behavior of pile foundations in unsaturated soils

¹ Ph.D. Student, School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science, University of Oklahoma, Norman, USA.
² Former M.S. Student, School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science, University of Oklahoma, Norman, USA
³ Professor, School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science, University of Oklahoma, Norman, USA.

^* Corresponding author: muralee@ou.edu

Abstract

Earthquakes have caused significant damage to civil engineering structures worldwide due to inadequate lateral load capacity and excessive deformation of pile foundations supporting these structures. The seismic performance of pile foundations interacting with unsaturated soils could be affected by changes in matric suction due to the moisture content variation induced by seasonal weather changes or water table fluctuations. Hence, the main objective of this study is to investigate the effects of unsaturated soil conditions on the seismic response of a pile-soil system in silty clay soils. This study utilized a stand-alone finite element computer code called DYPAC (Dynamic Piles Analysis Code) developed using the Beams on Nonlinear Winkler Foundation (BNWF) approach. Free field soil displacements and p-y curve parameters, inputs needed for DYPAC analyses, were updated based on the soil suction variations. This study found that soil suction can significantly influence the seismic performance of piles interacting with unsaturated silty clay soils, especially as the soil becomes drier in the transition zone. The best seismic performance of the pile, which is the minimum lateral pile displacement, happened in the transition zone between fully saturated and nearly dry conditions.