LAUSR

Abstract This paper investigates the effect of seismic buffers made of flexible polyurethane (PU) foam on the seismic response of a non-yielding retaining wall. A series of shaking table tests were conducted on three types of seismic buffers: pure PU foam (9 cm thick), pure PU foam (4.5 cm thick), and a mixture of PU foam and sand (15% foam and 85% sand by mass). A control test also was carried out on a similar model without the seismic buffer. The results revealed that seismic buffers (thickness equals 15% of wall height) can reduce retaining wall forces up to 35%. Despite the low isolation efficiency, the seismic buffers of PU foam-sand mixture restricted the vertical and horizontal displacement of the backfill. It can be concluded that it is possible to construct PU foam-sand buffers at different mixing ratios behind a retaining wall that are proportional to the specified backfill displacement and load attenuation.