Centrifuge Modeling of Bridge Systems Designed for Rocking Foundations

Abstract

In good soil conditions, spread footings for bridges are less expensive than deep foundations. Furthermore, rocking shallow foundations have some performance advantages over conventional fixed-base foundations; they can absorb some of the ductility demand that would typically be absorbed by the columns, and they have better recentering characteristics than conventional reinforced-concrete (RC) columns. Foundations designed for elastic behavior do not have these benefits of nonlinear soil-structure interaction. One potential disadvantage of rocking systems is that they can produce significant settlement in poor soil conditions. Centrifuge model tests were performed to account for the interaction between soil, footing, column, deck and abutments