Rocking Shallow Foundation for Improving Seismic Performance of Soil-Structure Systems

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

It is generally unknown that Canada experiences a relatively high amount of seismic activity and that more than 40% of Canadians live in areas subjected to moderate to high risk of loss from earthquakes. With the Cascadia subduction zone in western Canada and several active faults in the east, it is inevitable that large and damaging earthquakes will strike Canada again in the future. The design of structural systems that maintain their integrity during and after major earthquakes is a crucial part of earthquake resistant design and research. *The proposed research will investigate the use of innovative rocking foundations as an alternative to conventional fixed-base foundations to improve the seismic performance of building systems. Rocking foundations allow the spread footings to rock and uplift partially from underlying soil, which can effectively reduce the permanent rotation and the collapse potential of structures and are more cost-effective. The main objectives of the research are to characterize the fundamental behaviour of rocking foundations in the field and to develop a seismic design guideline of rocking foundations for modular steel buildings (MSB) - an innovative type of building. *The research will conduct large-scale field tests to characterize the moment-rotation-settlement correlation, load bearing mechanism and energy dissipation capability of rocking foundations. To assist in the seismic design and analyses of buildings, a constitutive model for rocking foundations will be developed based on the test results. To apply the principle of rocking foundations in practice, the research will implement rocking foundations in emerging MSB, investigate the cyclic performance of the buildings using centrifuge model tests and develop a seismic design guideline for MSB designed with rocking foundations. *The outcome of the research is expected to provide the industry with a feasible seismic design method for rocking foundations implemented in MSB, which will introduce the benefits of using rocking foundations to protect buildings from earthquake risks. Ultimately, this research will promote the application of rocking foundations to improve the seismic performance of buildings and contribute to more earthquake-resistant infrastructure in Canada.