Mitigation of Building Responses to DDC Impacts by Soft and Stiff Wave Barriers

Abstract

This paper performed a systematic in-depth investigation into the effectiveness of both soft and stiff wave barriers in reducing building responses to deep dynamic compaction (DDC) impacts. The effectiveness of wave barriers was evaluated in terms of two parameters, i.e., the reduction in the vibration acceleration for the floors of the building and the reduction of the settlement of the building. This investigation was achieved by a series of comprehensive parametric studies via a two-dimensional finite element method combined with a dynamic approach for simulating DDC impacts. The dynamic approach is based on the time history of tamper penetration depth. Its accuracy and reliability was validated using the field measurements and experimental data from the literature. During the parametric studies, five wave barriers were examined, which included two soft barriers (an open trench and an in-filled slurry-bentonite trench) and three stiff barriers (an in-filled concrete trench, a wood panel barrier, and a steel sheet pile wall). The geometrical (barrier locations) and dimensional effects (barrier depths and widths) on mitigation of building responses were examined for each barrier, and the efficiencies of these wave barriers were compared.