ABSTRACT
In this study, we developed centrifuge model simulations using the discrete element method (DEM) to quantitatively evaluate the earth pressure acting upon box culvert underground structures during the displacement of reverse faults directly beneath the structures. Furthermore, we investigated the reproducibility of ground deformation modes and the earth pressure upon underground structures through comparison with experimental results. We thus found that the earth pressure on the top slabs of underground structures is constant at the initial earth pressure, although the side wall earth pressure increases with fault displacement. Moreover, we found that the earth pressure acting upon underground structures is affected by the positional relationship between bottom slabs and fault lines. As a result, the full-scale three-dimensional DEM simulations proposed in this paper offer new possibilities for physical modelling studies of both ground deformation scenarios and earth pressure acting upon underground structures in geotechnical centrifuge tests.
