Experimental study on seismic response of subway station built in loess

Abstract The present investigation is concerned with the dynamic seismic response of subway station built in loess site by a series of shaking table tests. Firstly, according to the Bockingham π theorem, the scale ratio is determined and then the model system is designed. Then, based on the geological environment and seismological background of Xi’an, the input ground motions and loading scheme are determined. On the basis of the test data, the acceleration responses of model system, strain response characteristics of the structure, distribution of dynamic soil pressure between loess and structure, the settlement of model ground and the seismic damage mode of model system are analyzed systematically. The results show that the peak accelerations in model soil increase gradually from the bottom to the top of the soil. The peak tensile strains measured at the top and bottom of the center columns are larger than those obtained at the side walls, while the peak tensile strains in the floor slab are the smallest. Moreover, the relationship between structure uplift and soil pressure difference can be fitted by exponential function.