The Effect of a Rubber Sheet on the Dynamic Response of a Machine Foundation Located over a Small Thickness of Soil Layer

Abstract

Placing a machine footing over a small thickness of soil layer, which is located over a bedrock, could encounter many challenges due to the bed’s notable stiffness in comparison to the soil. The advantages of using rubbers to protect facilities (structures, machine foundations, nearby footings and equipment, etc.) from vibration and control its consequences are well known nowadays. In this study, the benefits of employing a small thickness of rubber sheet (2 mm) on the dynamic response of a machine foundation which is located over four thicknesses of soil (210, 420, 630, and 840 mm) has been investigated. The soil layer is located over an artificial bedrock that is consisted of a thick concrete layer. The tests have been conducted in a vast test pit of size 2500×2500 mm and a depth of 840 mm by using a semi large-scale machine foundation model with a square concrete foundation of width 400×400×100 mm. It was observed that, by increasing the soil layer thickness, the resonant frequency and amplitude of the vibrating system decreases. Moreover, by employing a rubber sheet beneath the machine footing, the resonant frequency of the vibrating system significantly decreases especially for a small thickness of the soil layer. Although, using a rubber sheet could slightly increase the resonant amplitude, but the benefit of the resonant frequency-changing capability of the rubber sheet is too impressive by taking the resonant frequency of the system far enough from the unchangeable working frequency of the machine and preventing the resonant phenomenon to happen.