Experimental study of the evolution of soil arching effect under cyclic loading based on trapdoor test and particle image velocimetry

Arching effect, which is a common phenomenon in any system involving soil–structure interaction, has been found to be inevitably affected by various factors, including loading conditions. This study investigated the evolution of arching effect induced by cyclic loading by conducting a series of tests using a trapdoor apparatus. The test box was instrumented to control the displacement of the moving gate and to record the variation of vertical …