Shaking Table Tests for Seismic Response of Orthogonal Overlapped Tunnel under Horizontal Seismic Loading

Abstract

This paper presents the seismic dynamic response and spectrum characteristics of an orthogonal overlapped tunnel by shaking table tests. First, a prototype of the engineering and shaking table test device, which was used to design details of the experiment, was developed. Then, the sensors used in the test were selected, and the measurement points were arranged. Subsequently, the Wenchuan seismic wave with horizontal direction in different peak ground accelerations was inputted into the model, followed by a short analysis of the seismic response of the overlapped tunnel in the shaking table test as well as the distribution of the peak acceleration. Throughout the studies, the model exhibited obvious deformation stages during the seismic wave loading process, which can be divided into elastic, plastic, plastic enhancement, and failure stage. In particular, the time- and frequency-domain characteristics of the key parts of the tunnel were discussed in detail by using the continuous wavelet transform (CWT) based on the Morlet wavelet as the basis function. We found that the acceleration response was more intense within 25–60 s after the seismic wave was inputted. Furthermore, owing to “the superposition effect,” the seismic response at the crown of the under-crossing tunnel was stronger than that at the invert of the upper-span tunnel. The low and medium frequencies in the transformation of small scales (5–20) significantly affected the overlapped tunnel. These results elucidate the seismic dynamic response of the overlapped tunnel and provide guidance for the design of stabilizing structures for reinforcing tunnels against earthquakes.