Benefits of inclined pile foundations in earthquake resistant design of bridges

This paper studies the effects of the use of inclined pile foundations on the seismic response of bridges, and shows that this type of foundation is able to promote significant reductions in the ductility demand of reinforced concrete piers. To this end, a set of nine multi-span roadway viaducts with different pier heights and span lengths is defined. Each configuration is designed and dimensioned in detail following a displacement-based approach, considering both linear and non-linear expected behaviours and assuming different target ductilities for piers. The systems are assumed to be founded on a specific soil profile, and suitable pile foundation layouts and dimensions are determined for each case, with four different pile rake angles (including the vertical case) in each configuration. Soil-structure interaction phenomena are incorporated through the corresponding frequency-dependent impedance functions and kinematic interaction factors. The transverse response of the viaducts, subject to a set of seven suitable scaled real accelerograms, is computed and analysed making use of a substructuring approach and non-linear time-domain analysis in which a lumped parameter model is adopted to represent the foundation response. Results, presented not only in terms of ductility demand but also of energy dissipated in the structural system by damping or by yielding, suggest that inclined piles are clearly beneficial to the seismic response of bridges, contributing to significant reductions in ductility demand due to the particular kinematic seismic response of this type of foundations and associated reductions in the input seismic energy to the system.