New formulae for capacity energy-based assessment of liquefaction triggering     

Yasaman Jafariavval 《Marine Georesources & Geotechnology》2020,38(2):214-222

Abstract

Liquefaction of loose saturated soil deposits is a hazardous type of ground failure occurring under earthquake excitations. Therefore, an accurate estimation of liquefaction potential is extremely important in geotechnical engineering. In the current study, a new model is proposed which estimates the level of strain energy needed for liquefaction initiation. A compiled database containing cyclic tests gathered from previously published works was used to develop new models to predict liquefaction potential. M5′ algorithm was used to find the best correlation between parameters. It was shown that not only the derived formulas are acceptably accurate but also they feature a very simple structure in comparison with available formulas in the literature. The proposed equations are accurate, physically sound and uncomplicated. Furthermore, safety factors were given for different levels of risk, which can be useful for engineering practice. In addition, the influence of different predictors on the liquefaction potential was evaluated and also the significance of input variables was assessed via sensitivity analysis. Finally, a new model was introduced for preliminary estimation of liquefaction potential.  相似文献   

Response of a RC pile group in liquefiable soil: A shake-table investigation     

《Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering》2014

Soil liquefaction induced by earthquakes frequently cause costly damage to pile foundations. However, various aspects of the dynamic behavior and failure mechanisms of piles in liquefiable soils still remain unclear. This paper presents a shake-table experiment conducted to investigate the dynamic behavior of a reinforced-concrete (RC) elevated cap pile foundation during (and prior to) soil liquefaction. Particular attention was paid to the failure mechanism of the piles during a strong shaking event. The experimental results indicate that decreasing the frequency and increasing the amplitude of earthquake excitation increased the pile bending moment as well as the speed of the excess pore pressure buildup in the free-field. The critical pile failure mode in the conducted testing configuration was found to be of the bending type, which was also confirmed by a representative nonlinear numerical model of the RC pile. The experimental results of this study can be used to calibrate numerical models and provide insights on seismic pile analysis and design.  相似文献   

Cyclic response of saturated silts     

《Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering》2014

Softening and strength loss of sands with increasing excess pore water pressure under repeated loads is well-known. However, extensive damage to the built environment also occurs at the sites underlain by fine grained soils during seismic shaking. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the factors affecting cyclic behavior of saturated low-plastic silt through laboratory testing. For this purpose, an extensive laboratory testing program including conventional monotonic and cyclic triaxial tests was carried out over reconstituted silt samples. The effects of the inherent soil properties and the effects of loading characteristics on the cyclic response of saturated low-plastic reconstituted silt samples were examined separately. Based on the test results, a model was introduced to estimate the effect of initial shear stress on the cyclic response. Besides, liquefaction susceptibility of the samples was examined via current liquefaction susceptibility criteria.  相似文献   

Liquefaction-induced deformation of earthen embankments on non-homogeneous soil deposits under sequential ground motions     

《Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering》2014

Damage of embankments during earthquakes is widely attributed to the liquefaction of foundation soil. Previous studies have investigated the dynamic response of embankments by mainly considering uniform sand foundation and a single earthquake event. However, the foundation of an embankment consists of many sublayers of soil from liquefiable sand to relatively impermeable layer, and during earthquakes a mainshock may trigger numerous aftershocks within a short time which may have the potential to cause additional damage to soil structures. Accordingly, the investigation of liquefaction-induced deformation of earthen embankments on various liquefiable foundation conditions under mainshock–aftershock sequential ground motions is carried out by a series of dynamic centrifuge tests in this study. The liquefiable foundation includes uniform sand profile, continuous layered soil profile, and non-homogeneous soil profiles. Effects of various foundation conditions on embankment deformations are compared and analyzed. From the test results, it is found that the embankment resting on non-homogeneous soil deposits suffer more damage compared to the uniform sand foundation of same relative density. The test results also suggest that the sequential ground motions have a significant effect on the accumulated deformation of embankment.  相似文献   

Seismostratigraphic analysis with centennial to decadal time resolution of the sediment sink in the Ganges-Brahmaputra subaqueous delta     

Luisa Palamenghi  Tilmann SchwenkVolkhard Spiess  Hermann R. Kudrass 《Continental Shelf Research》2011,31(6):712-730

The deltas of large rivers have become the focus of many research studies due to their vulnerability in times of expected sea level rise. One major delta in peril is the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta (Bangladesh) due to its low elevation and high subsidence rate. In this study, high-resolution seismic and sediment echosounder data of the subaqueous part of the delta are analyzed by an integrated seismo-acoustic stratigraphic approach.Transparent Units (TUs) are the most prominent, continuously traceable architectural elements within the sigmoidal clinoform. TUs consist of homogenized sediments and are interpreted to be formed by liquefaction flows generated by subduction-related earthquakes of the nearby plate-boundary. The uppermost TUs are related to the historical well known major earthquakes which occurred in 1762, 1897 and 1950. Using the TUs as time marks the mean annual storage rates for the intervals could be assessed. A direct comparison of echosounder data gathered in 1994, 1997 and 2006 is used as another method to estimate the last decade mean annual storage rate.In general, the averaged decadal to centennial mean annual storage rates in the foreset beds have significantly decreased within the last ∼300 years from 22% to 18% and down to 13.8% of the present total annual fluviatile suspension supply to the delta (10⁹ t a⁻¹). This decrease, however, is not evenly distributed along the foreset beds. In the western clinoform mean annual storage rates slightly decreased during the last ∼300 years, whereas in the eastern clinoform the mean annual storage rate of the last decade is one-third of the initial value in the late eighteenth century.The variation of clinoform slope angles generally coincides with the local accumulation rates but a variable degree of asymmetry gives some new insights in the future trend of the subaqueous delta development. The sink of sediment in the western clinoform depocentre landward of the inflection point, where shape changes from convex to concave, is producing an increase in concavity.The decline in monsoon precipitation over the last centuries is assumed to have significantly contributed to the decreased mean annual storage rate in the eastern clinoform where the convexity of the clinoform increases seaward of the inflection point. It is very likely that the whole depocentre of the fluvial sediment load is shifting toward the western subaqueous delta and to the Swatch of No Ground Canyon and, thereby, increasing the export to the deep-sea fan.  相似文献   

Site-specific and spatially-distributed ground-motion intensity estimation in the 2010–2011 Canterbury earthquakes     

《Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering》2014

This paper presents site-specific and spatially-distributed ground-motion intensity estimates which have been utilized in the aftermath of the 2010–2011 Canterbury, New Zealand earthquakes. The methodology underpinning the ground motion intensity estimation makes use of both prediction models for ground motion intensity and its within-event spatial correlation. A key benefit of the methodology is that the estimated ground motion intensity at a given location is not a single value but a distribution of values. The distribution is comprised of both a mean and standard deviation, with the standard deviation being a function of the distance to nearby observations at strong motion stations.The methodology is illustrated for two applications. Firstly, maps of conditional peak ground acceleration (PGA) have been developed for the major events in the Canterbury earthquake sequence, which among other things, have been utilized for assessing liquefaction triggering susceptibility of land in residential areas. Secondly, the conditional distribution of response spectral ordinates is obtained at the location of the Canterbury Television building (CTV), which catastrophically collapsed in the 22 February 2011 earthquake. The conditional response spectra provide insight for the selection of ground motion records for use in forensic seismic response analyses of important structures at locations where direct recordings are absent.  相似文献   

Coupled analysis for response and instability of sloping seabed under wave action     

《Applied Ocean Research》2019

Wave-induced instability of seabed may cause damage to coastal and offshore structures. This issue has been investigated mostly for mildly sloping ($<5^{°}$) seabed considering uncoupled or one-way coupled response of wave and seabed interaction. However, some of the marine structures are founded on seabed with steeper slopes. In this study, the wave-induced response and instability of sloping seabed are evaluated using a coupled finite element model. The interaction between fluid and porous seabed accounting for the effect of fluid motion on the seabed response, and conversely the effect of seabed response on the fluid motion (but not on the surface wave profile) is considered. The results indicate that the system response (fluid pressure, stresses, etc.) and the extent of instantaneously liquefied zone within the sloping seabed with significant steepness are lesser than those for horizontal seabed. Moreover, for typical sediment and wave characteristics, for the flat seabed, the response obtained from fully coupled analysis is not significantly different from those obtained by uncoupled analysis. For the sloping bed, such difference is slightly greater as compared to that for the flat bed.  相似文献   

Pre-shear effect on liquefaction resistance of a Fujian sand     

《Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering》2015

Pre-shear history has been shown to be a critical factor in the liquefaction resistance of sand. By contrast to prior experimental studies in which triaxial shear tests were used to examine the effects of pre-shear on the liquefaction resistance of sand, hollow cylinder torsional shear tests were used in this study to avoid the influence of the inherent anisotropy that is inevitably produced during the sample preparation process because of gravitational deposition. A series of cyclic undrained shear tests were performed on sand samples that had experienced medium to large pre-shear loading. The test results showed that the liquefaction resistance of sand can be greatly reduced by its pre-shear history, and a pre-shear strain within the range from 0.1% to 5% can cause sand to be more prone to liquefaction. During the cyclic shear tests, the samples that had experienced pre-shear loading exhibited different behaviors when cyclic shear loading started in different directions, i.e., the clockwise direction and the counterclockwise direction. If the cyclic loading started in the identical direction as the pre-shear loading, then the mean effective stress of the sand was almost unchanged during the first half of the loading cycle; if the cyclic loading started in the direction opposite to that of the pre-shear loading, then the mean effective stress decreased significantly during the first half of the loading cycle. However, this anisotropic behavior was only remarkable during the first loading cycle. From the second cycle onward, the speeds of the decrease in the mean effective stresses in the two types of shear tests became similar.  相似文献   

Cyclic resistance and liquefaction behavior of silt and sandy silt soils     

《Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering》2016

The liquefaction behavior and cyclic resistance ratio (CRR) of reconstituted samples of non-plastic silt and sandy silts with 50% and 75% silt content are examined using constant-volume cyclic and monotonic ring shear tests along with bender element shear wave velocity (V_s) measurements. Liquefaction occurred at excess pore water pressure ratios (r_u) between 0.6 and 0.7 associated with cumulative cyclic shear strains (γ) of 4% to 7%, after which cyclic liquefaction ensued with very large shear strains and excess pore water pressure ratio (r_u>0.8). The cyclic ring shear tests demonstrate that cyclic resistance ratio of silt and sandy silts decreases with increasing void ratio, or with decreasing silt content at a certain void ratio. The results also show good agreement with those from cyclic direct simple shear tests on silts and sandy silts. A unique correlation is developed for estimating CRR of silts and sandy silts (with more than 50% silt content) from stress-normalized shear wave velocity measurements (V_s1) with negligible effect of silt content. The results indicate that the existing CRR–V_s1 correlations would underestimate the liquefaction resistance of silts and sandy silt soils.  相似文献   

Qualification of residential land from the viewpoint of liquefaction vulnerability     

《Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering》2016

While the assessment of liquefaction potential by using borehole data has a long history since 1970s, its target users are still limited to professional engineers and experts. This situation is not favored by ordinary people who are seriously concerned with the reliability and preservation of their real estates during strong earthquakes. The demand of the people is that the liquefaction vulnerability of their residential land is precisely and clearly but concisely demonstrated so that people without engineering background can understand the real extent of risk. In this regard, the authors, under the governmental support, proposed a simple manifestation of the extent of liquefaction vulnerability of private houses in terms of the thickness of the surface unliquefiable crust and the vertical weighted average of the factor of safety or its equivalence. This achievement was made possible by introducing the ageing effects of soil on liquefaction resistance in addition to using geotechnical data base of subsoil conditions. During the work, it was found that existing borehole data may not be fully reliable and that experts who have sufficient knowledge of the local subsoil should assess the vulnerability. This requirement is satisfied by the qualification of special engineers that has been initiated by the Japanese Geotechnical Society in conjunction with several other institutions. The proposed method of subsoil qualification is used not only for individual residential land but also for regional hazard assessment.  相似文献