Cyclic Soil Data for Design of Gravity Structures

Abstract

The paper begins with a brief overview of some of the foundation design problems for gravity structures subjected to combinations of static and cyclic loads under undrained conditions and specifies soil data needed to analyze these problems. The paper then presents results from undrained triaxial and direct simple shear tests with various combinations of static and cyclic shear stresses on Drammen clay and describes how the data needed in the analysis can be derived from these tests. The results provide general knowledge about soil behavior under cyclic loading and constitute a database which can be used to determine soil parameters for early feasibility studies of gravity structures on clay. The database can also guide in setting up laboratory testing programs for soils from actual sites and provide a framework for interpretation of the results from such testing. Further, the results in the database can be used to develop and to check the validity of theoretical models.