DYNAMIC-RESPONSES OF SHALLOW-BURIED FLEXIBLE PLATES SUBJECTED TO IMPACT LOADING

The dynamic soil-structure interaction phenomenon involved in a shallo w-buried flexible plate under impact loading is investigated both expe rimentally and numerically. This interaction causes load relief on the buried structure. Plexiglass plates were used as the buried flexible roof structure and low-velocity impact loadings were generated on the soil surface. Measurements of the interaction loads between the sand a nd the plate, and the accelerations of the buried plates were conducte d. A decoupled single-degree-of-freedom model was used to simulate the dynamic responses of the buried flexible plates. The numerical model allows separation between soil medium and the buried structure. Differ ent degrees of load-relief phenomenon are experimentally and numerical ly observed for the buried plates of three different stiffnesses. The numerical calculation shows good agreement with the experimental resul ts. The results show that the stiffer plates experienced less separati on from soil, which was observed in terms of higher loading magnitudes and longer loading durations. The same separation phenomenon was also observed in terms of lower displacement magnitudes and shorter durati ons.