Large Scale Model Test for Pile-Supported Wharf in Liquefied Sand

Pile-supported wharf is a general option in port design to provide lateral resistance and bearing capacity under both static and dynamic loadings. In situ large-scale physical modeling using surface wave generator was performed to study the dynamic soil-structure interactions in pile-supported wharves and to serve as a prototype for in situ monitoring station. A wharf model consisting of 2 steel pipe piles welded on a steel slab was installed on a reconstituted underwater embankment. Due to screening of stress wave, the two piles are subjected to different loading conditions. Data reduction procedures were developed to analyze coupled shear strain-pore pressure generation behavior, pile responses, and soil-pile interaction characteristics. The results proved that the physical modeling can capture the interactions among the induced shear strain, generated excess pore pressure, and dynamic p-y behavior around piles. Preliminary results also show that evolutions of dynamic p-y curve with excess pore pressure variations should be included in soil-pile interaction modeling