Dynamic response of shallow-buried cylindrical structures

An analytical and experimental investigation of the phenomenon of dynamic soil-structure interaction of buried structures is conducted. A shock impulse environment simulated by low velocity impact (free-drop impact system) is developed to generate a well-characterized dynamic loading on the free surface. Small-scale model of cylindrical buried structures are tested under this shock impulse system. The dynamic behavior of a typical elastic buried structure is studied by using plexiglas. Load relief at the center of the roof of the buried structure is observed. When a linear-elastic dynamic analysis by the finite element method is conducted, the numerical results are found to have good correlation with the experimental observation of the peak displacement on the buried roof. However, the behavior after the peak response cannot be simulated using the current linear-elastic formulation.