This paper reports on the results of soil-foundation numerical modelling and the seismic response of a cooling tower founded on piles of a petrochemical facility located in the city of Augusta (Sicily, Italy). The city was affected in the past by some destructive earthquakes (1693, 1848, and 1990) that damaged a large territory of Southeastern Sicily, which was characterized by a very high seismic hazard. With this aim, the paper reports the FEM modelling of the seismic behaviour of the coupled soil-structure system. To determine the soil profile and the geotechnical characteristics, laboratory and in situ investigations were carried out in the studied area. The seismic event occurred in January 1693 and has been chosen as a scenario earthquake. Moreover, a parametric study with different input motions has also been carried out. A Mohr-Coulomb model has been adopted for the soil, and structural elements have been simulated by means of an elastic constitutive model. Two different vertical alignments have been analysed, considering both the free-field condition and the soil-structure interaction. The dynamic response has been investigated in terms of accelerations, response spectra, and amplification functions. The results have also been compared with those provided by Italian technical regulations. Finally, the seismic response of the coupled soil-structure system has been further examined in terms of peak bending moments along the pile foundation, emphasizing the possibility of a kinematic interaction on piles induced by the seismic action.
In this paper, a study concerning the soil liquefaction potential in the city of Catania is presented. The stress-based liquefaction analysis framework for cohesionless soil includes a function that describes fundamental aspects of dynamic site response, i.e., the shear stress reduction coefficient, rd, which depends on several factors (depth; earthquake and ground motion characteristics; dynamic soil properties). Various relationships of rd are reported in literature because of the importance of assessment of CSR. Herein, new variations of rd with depth have been obtained using different deterministic earthquake scenarios as input motion. The relationships are based on large numbers of site response analyses for different site conditions. The new relationships obtained have been used for the evaluation of the liquefaction potential in the area of the Catania Harbour. The liquefaction resistance has been evaluated by the horizontal stress index (KD) from seismic dilatometer Marchetti tests (SDMTs). Various correlations were developed to estimate the CRR from KD, expressed in form of CRR-KD curves to differentiate between liquefiable and non-liquefiable zones. In this study three different CRR-KD curves have been used.
In this paper, the design of a new laminar shear box at the Laboratory of Earthquake Engineering and Dynamic Analysis (L.E.D.A.) of the University of Enna “Kore” (Sicily, Italy), is presented. The laminar box has been developed to investigate the liquefaction phenomenon and to validate advanced numerical models and/or the numerical approaches assessed to simulate and prevent related effects. The first part of the paper describes in detail the types of soil containers that have been used in the last three decades around the world. Particular attention is paid to laminar shear box and liquefaction studies. Moreover, the most important factors that affect the performance of a laminar shear box are reported. The last part of the paper describes components, properties, and design advantages of the new laminar shear box for 1g shaking table tests at L.E.D.A. The new laminar box has a rectangular cross section and consists of 16 layers. Each layer is composed of two frames: an inner frame and an outer frame. The inner frame has an internal dimension of 2570 mm by 2310 mm, while the outer frame has an internal dimension of 2700 mm by 2770 mm. Between the layers, there is a 20 mm gap, making the total height 1600 mm.
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