Mitigation of seismic hazard on retaining structures - A numerical experiment

In this research, a numerical experiment was conducted on a retaining structure experiencing earthquake loading. For a backfill consisting purely of sandy soils, the seismic lateral thrust acting on the structure was first determined by simulating both sinusoidal load as well as the earthquake time history of an actual earthquake. A part of the backfill immediately behind the structure was then substituted by lightweight Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) geofoam, which acts as the compressible buffer. The effect of such lightweight compressible buffer material on the developed seismic thrust was then examined. The results show that the use of the EPS geofoam as a compressible buffer yields significant reduction of the lateral seismic thrust against a structure.