Seismic Behavior of Frame-Wall-Rocking Foundation Systems. I: Test Program and Slow Cyclic Results

AbstractThe mechanism of foundation rocking has received much attention recently due to its appealing seismic resistant features, namely, self-centering tendency and energy dissipation capability. It is well recognized, however, that other inelastic mechanisms will contribute to a system’s seismic resistance. Considering the strength difference between a rocking footing and a shear wall structural fuse, and the system symmetry, six different two-story-two-bay frame-wall-foundation building models were constructed and tested in a geotechnical centrifuge. In this paper, the test program and experimental results when the models were subjected to slow cyclic loading are presented. A companion paper presents results from the dynamic phase of testing. Results indicate that, with the aid of foundation rocking, the system behaves in a ductile and stable manner with no strength degradation, even when the model is pushed to a drift of more than 2.5%. Importantly, when structural and foundation component strengths a...