Karst landforms constitute one of the most harmful geological conditions, which have an adverse effect on the deep foundation structures of bridges. During earthquakes, the existence of karst caves can cause serious seismic damage to the bridge pile foundation. In order to investigate the seismic response of rock-socketed piles under vertical loads in complex karst cave conditions, finite element numerical simulation analyses were carried out, referring to the practical major bridge structure rock-socketed pile project in China. The peak strain distributions of rock-socketed pile foundation influenced by single-karst cave factors under the combined action of vertical loads and ground motions were investigated, and the influences of complex multi-caves were further explored. The results showed that the restraint effect of the bedrock near the pile would gradually decrease with the increase of the height of the karst cave and the decrease of the height of the karst cave roof; under the condition of a beaded karst cave, the constraint of bedrock between the karst caves makes the pile present the distribution characteristics of “multi-segment and multi-broken line”; under the condition of an underlying karst cave, the existence of the underlying karst cave would decrease the restraint of the bedrock at the bottom pile and increase the peak strain of the pile to a certain extent. This paper revealed the seismic response law of the rock-socketed pile under vertical loads within various complex karst cave conditions and developed reasonable reinforcement measures aiming at dangerous locations, providing important engineering guidance and a reference for the seismic design of rock-socketed pile foundation in complex karst areas.

To comprehensively evaluate the seismic performance of offshore bridges, a seismic risk analysis of an example bridge was developed based on improved two-dimensional (2D) seismic fragility analysis. Taking a simply-supported beam bridge in an offshore tidal environment as an example, the adverse effects of chloride ion erosion are considered and the seismic response process of the example bridge is simulated using the Incremental Dynamic Analysis (IDA) method. The appropriate damage indexes are chosen for the plate rubber bearing and the pier, and the one-dimensional (1D) seismic fragility curves of single components and the entire bridge are obtained. The correlation coefficients of vulnerable components are quantitatively proposed based on the correlation analysis method, and the 2D seismic fragility curves of the entire bridge are achieved while accounting for seismic correlation between vulnerable components. The seismic risk probability of the entire bridge is finally determined after combining hazard analysis at the bridge site and seismic loss analysis. The results show that there is a significant correlation between vulnerable components and that 2D seismic fragility analysis based on the reliable correlation coefficients of vulnerable components can more comprehensively evaluate the seismic performance of the entire bridge. In the context of seismic disaster reduction research focused on slight and moderate damage caused by moderate-to-small ground motions, this research can provide scientific and technical support for seismic design and seismic risk assessment of offshore bridges.

Deep excavations in composite “soft upper-hard lower” strata present significant deformation control challenges due to strong stiffness contrasts. This study investigates the deformation characteristics of a deep metro foundation pit in Jinan under zoned excavation conditions. A three-dimensional finite element model was developed to simulate the staged excavation process, and the spatiotemporal evolution of diaphragm wall deflection and ground settlement was analyzed, with particular focus on the influence of soft soil thickness. The results show clear spatial variation, with maximum lateral wall displacements exhibiting a typical “bulging” profile along the longer sides of the pit. The normalized maximum wall displacement (δ_hm/H_e) ranges from 0.051% to 0.090%, while the ratio of maximum ground settlement to wall displacement is 0.35–0.57, indicating lower deformation levels compared to homogeneous soft soils. As the soft soil thickness increases, the wall displacement increases and the location of maximum displacement migrates downward and outward. Under the investigated conditions, a transition toward a “kick-out” deformation mode occurs when the soft soil thickness reaches the transition range identified in the parametric analysis. These findings provide a quantitative basis for deformation prediction and support design in composite strata.