Use of Vertical and Inclined Walls to Mitigate the Interaction of Reverse Faulting and Shallow Foundations: Centrifuge Tests and Numerical Simulation

Abstract

This research introduces a new effective approach, including a weak vertical wall (WVW) and a strong inclined wall (SIW) under a shallow foundation, to reduce the rotations caused by a fault rupture. A series of centrifuge tests, followed by numerical modeling and verified by the test results, were conducted to explore the most suitable characteristics of an inclined wall. It is shown that a WVW is, in some cases, ineffective when it is not in the fault rupture path. Furthermore, uncertainties related to determining the exact location of the fault outcrop make it essential to construct a SIW beneath a foundation to protect the foundation that has already been improved by the WVW. The results proved that the application of the proposed approach could reduce the damage potential to the surface and embedded foundations located at various positions relative to reverse faults with various dip angles.