ABSTRACT
In order to clarify the availability of a soil-bag (breastwork) method for reducing response amplitude on the ground, two types of vibration tests were performed. In addition to the tests, simple shear tests to determine material properties were conducted. Through a parametric study on the vibration tests, the effective information for estimating dynamic properties such as elastic modulus, response amplification and complex features in the time history can be obtained. The damping factors are estimated based on the resonance curves and those are the range from 8% to 11%. The reason for the reduced occurrence is discussed. The grain size of the sands considerably affects the elastic modulus and the damping factor. While the amplification distribution along the heights and the amplitude spectrum ratios for the wide frequency range are simple, the dynamic behavior exhibits complexity. The 3D-FEM model is useful to reproduce the test results though through try and error.
