Experimental Investigation of Reverse Fault Rupture – Rigid Shallow Foundation Interaction

Ground differential movements due to faulting have been observed to cause damage to engineered structures and facilities. Although surface fault rupture is not a new problem, there are only a few building codes in the world containing some type of provisions for reducing the risks. Fault setbacks or avoidance of construction in the proximity to seismically active faults, are usually supposed as the first priority. In this paper, based on some 1 g physical modelling tests, clear perspectives of surface fault rupture propagation and its interaction with shallow rigid foundations are presented. It is observed that the surface fault rupture could be diverted by massive structures seated on thick soil deposits. Where possible the fault has been deviated by the presence of the rigid foundation, which remained undisturbed on the footwall. It is shown that the setback provision does not give generally enough assurance that future faulting would not threaten the existing structures.