ABSTRACT
Good seismic behaviour of buildings on pile foundations has been recorded for a long time. The author has advanced a possible explanation by assuming that the piles were either damaged or severed during the earthquake and subsequently transferred only limited horizontal forces to the building. This suggests that the pile foundations have the ability, if properly designed, to act as a natural seismic damper and to significantly diminish the horizontal forces transferred to the structure.
Two methods at achieving this effect are set forth: the one, choosing the lateral stiffness of the piles so that minimal shear forces would develop for a given pattern of ground motion; the other, designing plastic hinges in the piles so that limited shear forces would develop.
