Experimental study on the effect of unbalanced backfill soil on the cyclic response of the steel H-pile and integral abutment steel H-pile structure

This paper aims to address one of the primary sources of uncertainties during earthquakes in Integral Abutment Jointless Bridges (IAJBs): the backfill soil and its intricate interaction with the pile and abutment. To achieve this goal, quasi-static cyclic tests were conducted on three specimens: (i) a steel H-pile buried in balanced soil, (ii) a steel H-pile buried in unbalanced soil, and (iii) an integral abutment steel H-pile buried in unbalanced soil. The findings reveal that the backfill soil and its interaction with the pile and abutment control the deformation of the pile and are beneficial during earthquakes for the IAJBs.