Centrifuge and numerical modelling of the seismic response of pile groups in soft soils

CENTRIFUGE AND NUMERICAL MODELLING
OF THE SEISMIC RESPONSE OF PILE GROUPS
IN SOFT CLAYS



ZHANG LEI






NATIONAL UNVERSITY OF SINGAPORE
2014






CENTRIFUGE AND NUMERICAL MODELLING
OF THE SEISMIC RESPONSE OF PILE GROUPS
IN SOFT CLAYS


ZHANG LEI
(M. Eng., SDU; B. Eng., CQU)

A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL & ENVIRONMENTAL
ENGINEERING
NATIONAL UNVERSITY OF SINGAPORE
2014



















Declaration

DECLARATION


I hereby declare that this thesis is my original work and it has been written
by me in its entirety.
I have duly acknowledged all the sources of information which have been
used in the thesis.
This thesis has also not been submitted for any degree in any university
previously.




Zhang Lei
25 July 2014

Acknowledgements




ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

It is my great pleasure to express my sincere and profound gratitude to
my supervisors, Asst. Prof. Goh Siang Huat and Prof. Lee Fook Hou, for their
invaluable and thorough guidance and constant support throughout this
research. Their crucial advice, analytical and methodical way of working, and
generous encouragement has made it possible to accomplish this research
work. I have learned a lot from the discussions with Asst. Prof. Goh Siang
Huat and Prof. Lee Fook Hou going over every detail of both the centrifuge
test and numerical simulation. Besides, the assistances provided by Asst. Prof.
Goh Siang Huat and Prof. Lee Fook Hou are also appreciated.
I am extremely grateful to Dr. Banerjee Subhadeep for his generous help
to give me necessary training and suggestion on the seismic centrifuge test. Dr.
Banerjee Subhadeep’s help on the numerical simulation work is also greatly
appreciated. Dr. Zhao Ben’s, Dr. Liu Yong’s and Dr. Yi Jiang Tao’s
suggestions on the numerical simulation work and Dr. Ma Kang’s suggestions
on the seismic centrifuge test are greatly appreciated.
I am also very grateful to the staffs of the Geotechnical Centrifuge
Laboratory at the National University of Singapore for their assistance

throughout the study. Mr. Tan Lay Heng, Mr. Wong Chew Yuen and Dr. Shen
Rui Fu had helped me a lot in the operation of centrifuge machine and for the
improvement of experimental set-up. Mdm. Jamilah Bte Mohd, Mr. Foo Hee