Development of the similitude law considering the intensity-dependent variation of natural frequency of pile foundation system

말뚝 기초 고유진동수의 가속도 크기 의존성을 고려한 상사법칙 개발

1-g shaking table test is conducted to evaluate the dynamic behavior of a soil-structure system under seismic loading condition. A consistent similitude law between the model and prototype is needed to predict the behavior of the prototype structure, quantitatively. The natural frequency of geomaterial decreases with the increase of shaking intensity because of the non-linear property of the geomaterial. This phenomenon affects the applicability of similitude laws in 1-g shaking table tests. In this study, a simple method is suggested to determine the frequency of the input motions in 1-g tests in order to enhance the applicability of similitude laws. Modified input frequency is calculated using the frequency ratio with consideration of the variation of the natural frequency according to the intensity of input ground acceleration. To verify the applicability of the suggested method, a series of 1-g shaking table tests were performed for three different sizes of model piles having an overburden mass on their heads by varying the acceleration and the frequency of input motion. The acceleration amplification ratio on the overburden mass, the lateral displacement at the pile head and the maximum bending moment along the pile depth were measured. The projected behaviors of the virtual prototype based on the measured values of the model tests, where the input frequencies were calculated by the new method, showed good consistency, verifying the applicability of the suggested method.