Seismic performance of helical piles in dry sand from large-scale shaking table tests

Recent earthquakes have highlighted the need for safe and efficient construction of earthquake-resilient structures. Meanwhile, helical piles are gaining popularity as a foundation not only for new construction, but also retrofitted structures, owing to their advantages over conventional driven pile alternatives. In addition, several structures supported by helical piles in New Zealand sustained minimal damage during the Christchurch earthquake, proving that helical piles can be a suitable foundation option in highly seismic areas. However, there is a knowledge gap concerning their seismic performance. Therefore, the current study investigates the performance of helical piles through a full-scale shaking table test programme – the inaugural large-scale seismic testing programme performed on helical piles. The experimental set-up involved installing ten steel piles with different configurations and pile head masses in dry sand enclosed in a laminar shear box mounted on the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation at University of California, San Diego (NEES/UCSD) large high-performance outdoor shaking table (LHPOST). The loading scheme consisted of white noise and two earthquake time histories with varying intensity and frequency content. The experimental results are presented in terms of the natural frequency and response of test piles (peak deflections). The effects of loading frequency and intensity and the pile's geometrical configuration and installation method were evaluated.