Dynamic characteristics and viscous dampers design for pile‐soil‐structure system

Abstract

SummaryA series of large‐scale shaking table tests are conducted on tall buildings with and without energy dissipation devices on soft soils in pile group foundations, representing pile‐soil‐structure interaction (PSSI) system and the corresponding fixed‐base situations. The superstructure is a 12‐story reinforced concrete (RC) frame. The dynamic characteristics of the test models show that the frequencies decrease and the damping ratio increase in PSSI system by comparison with the fixed‐base structures. The mode shapes of PSSI system are different from that under fixed‐base condition, and the mode shapes of structure without dampers change greater than that with energy dissipation devices under various white noises. An improved method for structural dynamic characteristics, considering the impedance function of piles, is developed to address the issue of modal parameters with PSSI effect. In addition, the structural dynamic parameters of the large‐scale shaking table tests are identified using the modification method and other regulation methods, demonstrating that the improved approach is highly accurate and effective. Subsequently, a design procedure for viscous dampers of structures with PSSI effect is presented based on the dynamic characteristics of the system. Finally, the dynamic responses of the structure with viscous dampers in the practical engineering are decreased effectively, indicating the good performance of designed viscous dampers. The numerical results also show that the damping efficiency of interstory drift is larger than the acceleration and interstory shear force. Therefore, the improved modal parameters method, validated through a series large‐scale shaking table tests, is applicable for identifying dynamic characteristics of pile‐soil‐structure with energy dissipation devices system. The design procedure of viscous dampers, proved by a reinforced concrete frame structure located on a practical Shanghai soft site, can be employed to design the viscous dampers considering seismic PSSI effect.