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International Conferences on Recent Advances 2001 - Fourth International Conference on
in Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering and Recent Advances in Geotechnical Earthquake
Soil Dynamics Engineering and Soil Dynamics

30 Mar 2001, 4:30 pm - 6:30 pm

Back-Calculated p-y Relation of Liquefied Soils from Large

Shaking Table Tests
Kohji Tokimatsu
Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan

Hiroko Suzuki
Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan

Yasutusu Suzuki
Kajima Technical Research Institute, Japan

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Recommended Citation
Tokimatsu, Kohji; Suzuki, Hiroko; and Suzuki, Yasutusu, "Back-Calculated p-y Relation of Liquefied Soils
from Large Shaking Table Tests" (2001). International Conferences on Recent Advances in Geotechnical
Earthquake Engineering and Soil Dynamics. 7.
https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/icrageesd/04icrageesd/session06/7

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 BACK-CALCULATED p-y RELATION OF LIQUEFIED SOILS
FROM LARGE SHAKING TABLE TESTS
Kohji TOKIMATSU Hiroko SUZUKI Yasutsugu SUZUKI
Tokyo Institute of Technology Tokyo Institute of Technology Kajima Technical Research Institute
Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan Chofu-city, Tokyo, Japan

ABSTRUCT

Time histories of the p-y behavior during soil liquefaction, defined as the relation between subgrade reaction and relative displacement
between pile and soil, are back-calculated based on shaking table tests using a large-scale laminar box. The results show that, if the
pile pushes the soil, the subgrade reaction is correlated with the relative displacement between pile and soil. In contrast, if the soil
liquefies and pushes the pile, the subgrade reaction becomes correlated with the relative velocity between pile and soil. The p-y curve
of loose sand shows stress-softening behavior after liquefaction, while the p-y curve of medium dense to dense sand shows stress-
hardening behavior. The stress-hardening behavior tends to diminish with cyclic loading after liquefaction if the sand is not
sufficiently dense or the input acceleration is high. The coefficient of subgrade reaction is affected by such factors as the pore
pressure ratio, relative displacement, and soil density.

INTRODUCTION insufficient to determine reliable soil resistance by double

differentiation. Further studies are therefore required to obtain
The p-y behavior, defined as the relation between the subgrade fundamental mechanism of soil-pile-structure interaction
reaction and relative displacement of soil and pile, is an including p-y behavior in liquefiable soils. Along these lines,
important factor affecting the performance of soil-pile- a soil-pile-structure interaction study is conducted using a
structure interaction during soil liquefaction. Although many large shaking table with dense instrumentation (Tamura et al.,
studies have been made on p-y behavior, most of them are 2000). The object of this paper is to describe the p-y behavior
concerned with soils under non-liquefied conditions. The p-y of sand during soil liquefaction in large shaking table tests and
relation of sand during soil liquefaction has not been well to examine factors affecting the p-y behavior.
understood, partly because of lack of the standard test
procedure to determine it. Recently, Wilson (I 998) back-
calculated the p-y behavior by double differentiation of pile SHAKING TABLE TEST
bending strain observed in centrifuge liquefaction tests. The
number of strain measured in this study, however, appears Liquefaction tests were conducted on soil-pile-structure
systems using the shaking table facility of National Research
Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention, STA.
Figure 1 shows a soil-pile-structure system constructed in a

Table J. Soil-pile-structure systems

Series Foundation Super Structure Soil
ID. Embedment & Natural Period Density
Al No No Loose
AL No Yes (0.8s) Loose
AS No Yes (0.2s) Loose
I BS YES Yes (0.2s) Loose
4.9m 1.8m 4.9m
BL Yes Yes (0.8s) Medi urn Dense
Fig. 1. Model layout Bl Yes No Dense

Paper No. 6.24 I

stacked shear box 6 m high, 12 m long and 3.5 m wide. The
soil profile in the shear box consisted of two layers: a
liquefiable sand layer 4 m thick and an underlying dense
gravelly layer about 1.5 m thick. A 2x2 pile group that
supported a foundation of a weight of 16.7 kN was used
throughout the study. All the piles had a diameter of 16.52 cm
with a 0.37 cm wall thickness and their tips were connected to
the container base with pin joints.
Table I summaries the six soil-pile-structure systems used.
Series ID starting with A had a foundation without embedment,
and B with embedment. Series ID containing 1 had the
foundation only. Series ID containing S and L had a
superstructure of a weight of 139.3 kN with an additional
weight of 3.9 kN to the foundation. The natural periods of the
structure for series S and L were 0.2 s and 0.8 s, respectively.
The soil-pile-structure system was heavily instrumented with
accelerometers, displacement transducers, and pore pressure
and strain gages, such as shown in Fig. I for series B 1. Series
Al, AL, AS, and BS had a loose top layer, while series BS and
Bl had medium dense and dense top layers, respectively. The
water table was set at the bottom of the foundation for all tests.
An artificial ground motion called Rinkai was scaled and used
as an input base acceleration to the shaking table. The soil-
pile-structure system in each series was subjected to a series of
shaking with a maximum input acceleration ranging from 30
to 600 cm/s’. Accelerations and pore water pressures of the
ground and the piles, and accelerations and displacements of
the foundation and the superstructure as well as those of the
shear box were measured during the tests. Bending strains at
every 25 cm throughout all piles were also measured together
with the rotation angles of their pile tips. The test results used
in this study are those of Al with a base acceleration of 120
cm/s’ (Al-120), BL with 120 and 240 cm/s* (BL-120 and BL-
240), and Bl with 120 cm/s* (Bl-120).
The lateral pile displacement, y, and lateral subgrade reaction,
p, during the test may be calculated, using simple beam theory
given by the following equations:
d2
M-E]2 (1)
dx2
d2M
--_
(2)
dx2 - ’
in which El is the flexural rigidity of the pile, x is the vertical
distance along the pile, and M is the bending moment
computed from the measured strain.
The double integration of bending moment with depth gives
the pile displacement, y, and the double differentiation the
subgrade reaction, p. In addition, the integration of
accelerations of the soil and pile also yields the particle
velocities and displacements as well as the relative values
between the two. Since the pile displacement computed from
the acceleration matches with that from the bending moment,
the pile displacement, and relative displacement between soil
and pile are computed from the acceleration recordings.

I I I qepth 1.&n -2 I I Qepth 2.5m

-5
2’ I I , I

.+.A+--

-2 I I I qepth 2.5m
I 1 I I

a: ‘Y I
I I
Depth l.Om
I I I I I Qepth 25m
1-E
3
EO
C
-10

Depth l.Om
I I /
2 1 . “I

cl 0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
Time (s) Time (s)
Fig.2. Time histories at I. Om depth in BL- 120 Fig.3. Time histories at 2.5m depth in BL-120

Paper No. 6.24 2

 At a depth of 2.5 m where liquefaction develops in about 20 s,
EVALUATION OF LATERAL SUBGRADE REACTION the p-y relation in Fig. 5 shows cyclic degradation until about
20 s and then exhibits stress hardening in which the subgrade
Time histories of displacements of soil and pile, relative reaction increases sharply as the relative displacement exceeds
displacement and velocity between the two, subgrade reaction,
and pore pressure ratio at depths of 1.0, 2.5 and 4.5 m in tests
BL-120 are presented in Figures 2-4. At 1.O and 2.5 m depths,
the pore pressure ratio approaches 1 and liquefaction develops
in about 18 s. At 1.O m depth, the soil tends to displace more
1 Depth 4.5m
than the pile and tends to push the pile after liquefaction. At
2.5 m depth, on the contrary, the pile tends to displace more
than the soil and tends to push the soil after liquefaction. At
4.5 m depth where liquefaction does not develop, the pile
moves with the soil, producing a small amount of relative
displacement. The subgrade reaction appears correlated with
the relative velocity rather than the relative displacement at t
1.O m depth, while it appears correlated with the relative s 0
displacement at 2.5 and 4.5 m depths. I I I Depth 4.5m
-0.3
- It I I I
To examine the abovementioned trends, the relationships of
subgrade reaction with relative displacement and velocity at
2
20
depths of 1.0, 2.5, and 4.5 m in BL-120 are presented in -1
Figures 5 and 6. In each figure, the relationships at the three I

depths are shown in three time periods, i.e., O-20 s, 20-50 s, E I3

and 50-80 s. At a depth of l.Om, the p-y relation becomes 90
elliptical with time, and the subgrade reaction appears -15 I 1 1 D,eplh 4.5m
correlated with the relative velocity rather than the relative I I I I
0 ’
displacement after 20 s. This suggests that the soil may ‘Z
behave like a fluid when it liquefies and pushes the pile near K 0
the ground surface. In contrast, at 2.5 and 4.5 m depths, the 0 20 40 60 80 100
subgrade reaction correlates with the relative displacement Time (s)
throughout the shaking. Fig.4. Time histories at 4.5m depth in BL-120

10
r
0

I , 20-50
-0.3 0 0 I.3 0 0.3 -1 0 l-l 0 l-l 0 1
Relative Displaceme !nt ((:m) Relative Velocity (cm/s)
Fig.5. Relationships between subgrade reaction Fig.6 Relationships between subgrade reaction
and relative dkplacement in BL-120 and relative velocity in BL-120

Paper No. 6.24 3

”
a certain limit, i.e., 0.5-1.0 cm. Probably, the dilatancy
Al-120’
characteristics of soil near the pile reduce the excess pore Depth 2.5m
pressure and increase the soil resistance with increasing
relative displacement. At the depth of 4.5 m where
liquefaction does not occur, the p-y curve does not degrade
significantly throughout shaking.
$_J , 0-20s
1
Figure 7 shows the p-y relations at a depth 2.5 m in Al-120, Bl-120’
Bl-120 and BL-240. The density of the first layer is loose in Depth 2.5m
Series Al, medium dense in Series BL, and dense in Series B I.
A comparison of the p-y curves in Al-120 and Bl-120 with I
those in BL-120 shown in Fig. 5 indicates that the p-y relation
is strongly dependent on the soil density. Namely, the slope of , 50-80
the p-y relation gets sharp with increasing soil density. In
BL-240 BL-2401
addition, the p-y relation exhibits stress-hardening behavior as Depth 2.5m Depth 2.5m
the soil density increases. The p-y relation in Bl-120, in
particular, shows no sign of cyclic degradation or softening, in -v
which a very small relative displacement induces a large
subgrade reaction.
-3d , 0-20s , 50-80
A comparison of the p-y relations in BL-240 (Fig. 7) with -5 0 Rel%ze Disp?aaceme%$m) 0 5
those in BL-120 (Fig. 5) indicates that, if the input Fig. 7. Relationships between subgrade reaction
acceleration is doubled in BL-240, the p-y relation does not and relative displacement in Al-120, 81-120 and BL-240
show the stress-hardening behavior. Probably, the high input
motion in BL-240 produces extensive soil liquefaction,
thereby suppressing the occurrence of dilatancy characteristics
of soil near the pile.

The above results suggest that various factors such as soil

density, pore pressure ratio, depth, and the intensity of soil
liquefaction as well as relative displacement and velocity
between soil and pile affect the p-y behavior.

COEFFICIENT OF LATERAL SUBGRADE REACTION ~~~~

Figure 8 compares the time histories of the coefficient of n 0 20 40 60 80 100

subgrade reaction at depths of 2.5 and 4.5 m in BL-I 20 and
a Time (s)
Fig.8. Change in coefficient of subgrade reaction
with time in BL-120 and BL-240
T I I
“;‘ lo6
BL-120 &pth 2.5m
5 lo5

.E lo4
5
g lo3

I I I

BL-120 DeptQ 4.5m BL-240 Depth 4.5m

o o Ooa~AAAk 0
000 0
4 A AAA

5 103-
.; .-
g lo21 / I I I I g lo* I I I I
$ 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 $ 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
0- Pore Pressure Ratio 0 Pore Pressure Ratio
Fig.9. Relationships between coefficient of subgrade Fig, 10. Relationships between coefficient of subgrade
reaction and pore pressure ratio in BL-120 reaction and pore pressure ratio in BL-240

Paper No. 6.24 4

 s 40 ” I
BL-240
I
Depth 2.5m
I
o
z .z O-20 s BL-120 Depth 2.5m
tu 3 0 a--‘-Q...\. 1 o5
wz,, -----.. 0 a-._~_ 2 1 o4
.o Q) 2 .-..__ A&
53 ElO- 00 +._ 0 l-.. 0 fi AA
1 o3
0 x 00a--.._
0 I I I I
Cz 0 0.2 Porlkessurt .&Qo 0.8 1 : :60 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
I

L-120 Depth 4.5m

Fig.11. Rektionships between coeflcient
&% A
and pore pressure ratio at 2.5m depth in BL-240

BL-240. Because of the larger input acceleration in BL-240, $ ’” 1

the pore water pressure ratios at a depth of 2.5 m reach to E IO2 t- - ’ , I
unity in about 10 s and that at a depth of 4.5 m reaches to 0.8 $ 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0 .25 0.3
0 Relative Displacement (cm)
which are much f&ster and/or higher than those in BL-120.
Fig.12. Relationships between coefficient of subgmde
In each test, the larger the depth, the greater the coefficient of reaction and relative displacement in BL-120
subpade reaction at any time. This could reflect the effects of
confining pressure. Besides, the coefficient of subgrade
reaction at any time and at any depth is smaller in BL-240
than in BL-120, possibly because of the higher input motion in
BL-240. Figure 8 also suggests that: (1) at 2.5 m depth, the
coefficient of subgrade reaction in BL-120 decreases slightly,
while that in BL-240 decreases significantly; and (2) at 4.5 m
depth, the coefficient of subgrade reaction in BL-120 is almost 1.5 2 2.5 3
constant throughout the test, while that in BL-240 decreases
considerably in the middle of shaking and then backs again
towards the end. The trends indicated herein suggest that the
pore pressure ratio and confining pressure as well as relative
displacement affect the coefficient of subgrade reaction.

Pore Prem $ 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3

0 Relative Displacement (cm)
Fig. 13. Relationships between coefficient of subgrade
To examine the effects of pore pressure, the relationships
reaction and relative displacement in BL240
between pore pressure ratio and coefficient of subgrade
reaction at depths of 2.5 and 4.5 m in BL-120 and BL-240 are
shown in Figures 9 and 10 in semi-log charts. At 2.5 m depth stress until soil liquefaction develops, but it decreases even
in both tests, the coefficient of subgrade reaction decreases not after the pore pressure ratio reaches to unity.
only with the development of the pore pressure but also after
the pore pressure ratio reaches to unity. At 4.5 m depth, the
coefficient of subgrade reaction in BL-120 is almost constant
irrespective of change in pore pressure ratio less than 0.6,
while in BL-240 it decreases after the pore pressure ratio The relationships between relative displacement and
approaches 0.8. coeficient of subgrade reactions at depths of 2.5 and 4.5 m in
BL-I 20 and BL-240 are compared in Figures 12 and 13. The
The relation between the pore water pressure ratio and coefficient of subgrade reaction depends strongly on the
coefficient of subgrade reaction at a depth of 2.5 m in BL-240 relative displacement in such a way that it decreases with
before soil liquefaction is presented in linear scale in Figure increasing relative displacement. From the data at 4.5 m depth
11. Although the data are scatter, there is a fairly well in Series BL, the threshold displacement to induce the
defined trend in which the coefficient of subgrade reaction degradation of subgrade reaction is about 0.1 cm.
decreases linearly with increasing pore pressure or decreasing
effective stress. This is consistent with the previous study by At each depth, the maximum relative displacement is larger in
(Liu and Dobry, 1995). BL-240 than in BL-120, which leads to a smaller coefficient
of subgrade reaction in BL-240. The data at the same depth
The above findings indicate that the coefficient of subgrade from the two tests, however, follow the same trend until the
reaction decreases almost linearly with decreasing effective maximum relative displacement occurs. The data then tend to

Paper No. 6.24 5

deviate from and fall below the previous data, even though the
relative displacement becomes small towards the end of
shaking. Such a trend is particularly noted at 2.5 m depth in
BL-240 where a large maximum relative displacement in
excess of 2 cm occurs. Such a trend is obscure at 4.5 m depth
in BL-120 where the maximum relative displacement is about
0.1 cm.
co 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
The relationship between relative displacement and coefficient
Relative Displacement (cm)
of subgrade reaction after 20 s at the depth 2.5 m in BL-240 is
presented in Figure I4 in a liner scale. The coefficient of Fig. 14. Relationships between coe#icient of subgrade reaction
subgrade reaction decreases in inversely proportional to the and relative dkplacement at depth 2.5 m in BL-240
relative displacement. Thus a large relative displacement
y 10”
induced after soil liquefaction is one of the major causes to
decrease the coefficient of subgrade reaction after the pore 1
s lo5
pressure reaches to unity.
.-5 lo4
Z
3 lo3
a: ln2 @OA”,

The relationships between relative displacements and I I I I I

coefficients subgrade reactions at a depth of 2.5 m in Al-120 z lo5

Bl-120 Depth 2.5m
and Bl-120 are presented in Figure 15. In Al-120 with loose
sand, the reduction in the coefficient of subgrade reaction is ; lo4 9% A
more significant than that in BL-120 with medium dense sand
as shown in Fig. 13. In contrast, in Bl-120 with dense sand, .=.
g 1031 -I
only a slight reduction in the coefficient of subgrade reaction g ,022
$ 0 0.5 2.5 3
can be seen. Relatke Dis~~~erne~~ (cm)
0
Fig.15. Relationships between coefficient of subgrade
reaction and relative displacement in BI-120 and Al-120
CONCLUSIONS

Time histories of the p-y behavior during soil liquefaction, Technology, Kajima Corp., Taisei Corp., Takenaka Corp.,
defined as the relation between subgrade reaction and relative Nippon Steel Corp. and Tokyo Soil Research. Their
displacement between pile and soil, were back-calculated contribution and support for the tests are appreciated.
based on the shaking table tests using a large-scale laminar
box. The results show that, if the pile pushes the soil, the
subgrade reaction is correlated with relative displacement REFERENCES
between pile and soil. In contrast, if the soil liquefies and
pushes the pile, the subgrade reaction becomes correlated with Tamura, S., Tsuchiya, T., Suzuki, Y., Fujii, S., Saeki, E. and
relative velocity between pile and soil. The p-y curve of Tokimatsu, K. [2000]. “Shaking table tests of pile foundation
loose sand shows stress-softening behavior after liquefaction, on liquefied soil using large-scale laminar box (Part I Outline
while the p-y curve of medium dense to dense sand shows of test)“, Thirty-fifth Japan National Conference on
stress-hardening behavior. The stress-hardening behavior of Geotechnical Engineering, Gifu, pp. 1907-1908. (in Japanese)
tends to diminish if the sand is not sufficiently dense or the
input acceleration is high. The coefficient of subgrade Liu, L. and Dobry, R. [ 19951. “Effect of liquefaction on
reaction is affected by such factors as the pore pressure ratio, lateral response of piles by centrifuge model tests”, National
relative displacement, and soil density. Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (NCEER)
Bulletin, Vol. 9, No. 1, January, pp. 7-11.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Wilson, D. W. [1998]. “Soil-pile-superstructure interaction in

liquefying sand and soft clay”, Ph. D. Dissertation, University
The shaking table tests described in this paper were jointly of California, Davis, Report No. UCD/CGM-98104.
conducted by researchers from NIED, STA, Tokyo Institute of

Paper No. 6.24