Performance of sheet pile as a seismic retrofit for old piled abutment subjected to liquefaction-induced lateral spreading

Abstract Liquefaction-induced lateral spreading causes severe damage to the pile foundation of structures. Old structures that are not properly designed for liquefaction are more vulnerable to a strong earthquake. Many old piled abutments require a remedial measure against lateral spreading. This paper examines the responses of an old piled abutment subjected to liquefaction-induced lateral spreading and efficacy of the sheet pile reinforcement technique to mitigate the associated damage through dynamic centrifuge experiments. The experiment on the old piled abutment reveals that the abutment moves together with the spreading soil and shows a significant channel-ward movement without pinning effect. The large bending moments are found to take place around the pile head and the interface of the loose and the dense layer as expected. The installation of sheet pile in front of the abutment considerably reduces the channel-ward movement of the abutment thus mitigate the bending moment demand of the piles.