Assessing CPT-based methods for liquefaction evaluation with emphasis on the cases from the Chi-Chi, Taiwan, earthquake

In the early morning (1:47 Taiwan time) of September 21, 1999, the largest earthquake of the century in Taiwan (M_w=7.6, M_L=7.3) struck this island country. The earthquake killed more than 2400 people and caused great destruction to buildings, bridges, dams, highways, and railways. One of the causes for heavy damages to the structures is soil liquefaction and ground settlement during the earthquake. In this paper, investigation of soil liquefaction and case histories of liquefaction are presented. Three CPT-based simplified methods, the Robertson method, the Olsen method, and the Juang method, are examined using the case histories derived from the Chi-Chi earthquake. The results of the comparison show that the Juang method is more accurate than the two methods in predicting liquefaction potential of soils based on the cases derived from the Chi-Chi earthquake, although all three methods are quite comparable in accuracy.     

Spatial variability of liquefaction potential in regional mapping using CPT and SPT data

Cone penetration test (CPT) and standard penetration test (SPT) are widely used for the site specific evaluation of liquefaction potential and are getting increased use in the regional mapping of liquefaction hazard. This paper compares CPT and SPT-based liquefaction potential characterizations of regional geologic units using the liquefaction potential index (LPI) across the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay, California, USA and examines the statistical and spatial variability of LPI across and within geologic units. Overall, CPT-based LPI characterizations result in higher hazard than those derived from the SPT. This bias may result from either mis-classifications of soil type in the CPT or a bias in the CPT simplified procedure for liquefaction potential. Regional mapping based on cumulative distribution of LPI values show different results depending on which dataset is used. For both SPT and CPT-based characterizations, the geologic units in the area have broad LPI distributions that overlap between units and are not distinct from the population as a whole. Regional liquefaction classifications should therefore give a distribution, rather than a single hazard rating that does not provide for variability within the area. The CPT-based LPI values have a higher degree of spatial correlation and a lower variance over a greater distance than those estimated from SPTs. As a result, geostatistical interpolation can provide a detailed map of LPI when densely sampled CPT data are available. The statistical distribution of LPI within specific geologic units and interpolated maps of LPI can be used to understand the spatial variability of liquefaction potential.     

Evaluation of soil liquefaction in the Chi-Chi, Taiwan earthquake using CPT

During the 1999 Chi-Chi, Taiwan earthquake, many sand boiling phenomena were observed in central Taiwan, which caused severe ground settlement and structure damages. According to the installed accelerograms, the peak ground surface horizontal accelerations in the liquefaction-affected areas range from 774.42 to 121.3 gal. The writers carried out an extensive investigation of soil liquefaction in this earthquake. In this paper, we present results of the CPT exploration and post-earthquake liquefaction analysis. Two hundred and seventy five (275) cone penetration test data were collected from the liquefaction-affected areas, and 46 liquefaction case histories and 88 non-liquefaction case histories were derived that can be used to evaluate the accuracy of existing liquefaction evaluation models. In addition, the strength of the liquefied soils after earthquake and the implication of its liquefaction potential in the future event are discussed.     

Evaluating nonlinear effective stress site response analyses using records from the Canterbury earthquake sequence

A widely used one-dimensional nonlinear effective stress site response analysis program is used to model the response of potentially liquefiable soils during strong shaking. Ground motion records from six events of the 2010–2011 Canterbury earthquake sequence and the extensive site investigation data that have been obtained for the Christchurch area provide the basis for the analyses. The results of the analyses depend significantly on the input motions and soil profile characterization, so these important aspects are examined. Deconvolved Riccarton Gravel input motions were generated, because recorded rock or firm layer motions were not available. Nonlinear effective stress seismic site response analyses are shown to capture key aspects of the observed soil response through the comparison of acceleration response spectra of calculated surface motions to those of recorded surface motions; however, equivalent-linear and total stress nonlinear analyses capture these aspects as well. Biases in the computed motions compared to recorded motions were realized for some cases but they can be attributed primarily to the uncertainty in the development of the input motions used in the analyses.     

Documentation of soil conditions at liquefaction and non-liquefaction sites from 1999 Chi–Chi (Taiwan) earthquake

The 1999 Chi–Chi, Taiwan, earthquake provides case histories of ground failure and non-ground failure that are valuable to the ongoing development of liquefaction susceptibility, triggering and surface manifestation models because the data occupy sparsely populated parameter spaces (i.e. high cyclic stress ratio and high fines content with low to moderate soil plasticity). In this paper, we document results from several large site investigation programs conducted in Nantou, Wufeng and Yuanlin, Taiwan. The seismic performance of the investigated sites include non-ground failure building and free-field sites, building sites with partial foundation bearing failures, free-field lateral spread sites, and free-field level ground sites with sediment boils. Field and laboratory investigation protocols for the sites are described, including cone penetration testing (some with pore pressure and shear wave velocity measurements) and rotary wash borings with standard penetration testing (including energy measurements). Implications of the SPT energy measurements with respect to established guidelines for the estimation of SPT energy ratio (including short rod corrections) are presented. Finally, data for three example sites are shown that illustrate potential applications of the data set, and which also demonstrate a condition where existing liquefaction analysis procedures fail to predict the observed field performance.     

Assessment of soil liquefaction incorporating earthquake characteristics

This paper investigates the effect of nature of the earthquake on the assessment of liquefaction potential of a soil deposit during earthquake loading. Here, the nature of the earthquake is included via the parameter V, the ‘pseudo-velocity’, that is the gross area under the acceleration record of the earthquake at any depth below the ground surface. By analysing a number of earthquake records from different parts of the world, a simple method has been outlined to assess the liquefaction potential of a soil deposit based on the pseudo-velocity. For many earthquakes occurred in the past, acceleration records are available or can be computed at the ground level or some other depth below the ground surface. Therefore, this method is a useful tool at the preliminary design stage to determine the liquefaction potential before going into a detailed analysis. Validation of the method is carried out using a database of case histories consisting of standard penetration test values, acceleration records at the ground surface and field observations of liquefaction/non-liquefaction. It can be seen that the proposed method has the ability to predict soil liquefaction potential accurately, despite its simplicity.     

Assessment of liquefaction evaluation procedures and severity index frameworks at Christchurch strong motion stations

The objective of the study presented herein is to assess three commonly used CPT-based liquefaction evaluation procedures and three liquefaction severity index frameworks using data from the 2010–2011 Canterbury earthquake sequence. Specifically, post-event field observations, ground motion recordings, and results from a recently completed extensive geotechnical site investigation programme at selected strong motion stations (SMSs) in the city of Christchurch and surrounding towns are used herein. Unlike similar studies that used data from free-field sites, accelerogram characteristics at the SMS locations can be used to assess the performance of liquefaction evaluation procedures prior to their use in the computation of surficial manifestation severity indices. Results from this study indicate that for cases with evidence of liquefaction triggering in the accelerograms, the majority of liquefaction evaluation procedures yielded correct predictions, regardless of whether surficial manifestation of liquefaction was evident or not. For cases with no evidence of liquefaction in the accelerograms (and no observed surficial evidence of liquefaction triggering), the majority of liquefaction evaluation procedures predicted liquefaction was triggered. When all cases are used to assess the performance of liquefaction severity index frameworks, a poor correlation is shown between the observed severity of liquefaction surface manifestation and the calculated severity indices. However, only using those cases where the liquefaction evaluation procedures yielded correct predictions, there is an improvement in the correlation, with the Liquefaction Severity Number (LSN) being the best performing of the frameworks investigated herein. However scatter in the relationship between the observed and calculated surficial manifestation still remains for all liquefaction severity index frameworks.     

Experimental and conceptual evidence about the limitations of shear wave velocity to predict liquefaction

Based on the liquefaction performance of sites with seismic activity, the normalized shear wave velocity, V_s1, has been proposed as a field parameter for liquefaction prediction. Because shear wave velocity, V_s, can be measured in the field with less effort and difficulty than other field tests, its use by practitioners is highly attractive. However, considering that its measurement is associated with small strain levels, of the order of 10⁻⁴–10⁻³%, V_s reflects the elastic stiffness of a granular material, hence, it is mainly affected by soil type, confining pressure and soil density, but it is insensitive to factors such as overconsolidation and pre-shaking, which have a strong influence on the liquefaction resistance. Therefore, without taking account of the important factors mentioned above, the correlation between shear wave velocity and liquefaction resistance is weak.In this paper, laboratory test results are presented in order to demonstrate the significant way in which OCR (overconsolidation ratio) affects both shear wave velocity and liquefaction resistance. While V_s is insensitive to OCR, the liquefaction resistance increases significantly with OCR. In addition, the experimental results also confirm that V_s correlates linearly with void ratio, regardless of the maximum and minimum void ratios, which means that V_s is unable to give information about the relative density. Therefore, if shear wave velocity is used to predict liquefaction potential, it is recommended that the limitations presented in this paper be taken into account.     

Characterization of the uncertainty of the Robertson and Wride model for liquefaction potential evaluation

As the profession moves toward the performance-based earthquake engineering design, it becomes more important and pressing to examine the uncertainty of the limit state model used for liquefaction potential evaluation. In this paper, the uncertainty of the Robertson and Wride model, a simplified model for liquefaction resistance and potential evaluation based on cone penetration test, is investigated in detail for its model uncertainty in the framework of first-order reliability analysis. The uncertainties of the parameters used in the Robertson and Wride model are also examined. The model uncertainty is estimated by calibration with a fairly large set of case histories. The results show that the uncertainty of the Robertson and Wride model may be characterized with a mean-to-nominal of 0.94 and a coefficient of variation of 0.15 based on the case histories examined.     

Comparison of liquefaction potential of loess in Lanzhou, China, and Memphis, USA

This paper presents an evaluation of the liquefaction potential of loess in Lanzhou, China, and Memphis, USA. The topography, stratigraphy, and genesis of loess in these two areas were investigated and compared. Several loess samples in each study area were taken and their physical indices were determined. In addition, the microstructures of these loess samples were investigated using an electron microscope, and dynamic triaxial tests were performed using an artificial seismic wave. The results of this investigation indicated that both Lanzhou loess and Memphis loess have a potential for liquefaction, but Memphis loess is less susceptible to liquefaction. Furthermore, Lanzhou loess and Memphis loess behave differently during ground shaking.     

Practical applications of a nonlinear approach to analysis of earthquake-induced liquefaction and deformation of earth structures

Seismic stability, liquefaction, and deformation of earth structures are critical issues in geotechnical earthquake engineering practice. At present, the equivalent linear approach is considered the ‘state of practice’ in common use. More recently, dynamic analyses incorporating nonlinear, effective-stress-based soil models have been used more frequently in engineering applications. This paper describes a bounding surface hypoplasticity model for sand [Wang ZL. Bounding surface hypoplasticity model for granular soils and its applications. PhD Dissertation for the University of California at Davis, U.M.I. Dissertation Information Service, Order No. 9110679; 1990; Wang ZL, Dafalias YF, Shen CK. Bounding surface hypoplasticity model for sand. ASCE, J Eng Mech 1990;116(5):983–1001; Wang ZL, Makdisi FI. Implementing a bounding surface hypoplasticity model for sand into the FLAC program. In: Proceedings of the international symposium on numerical modeling in geomechanics. Minnesota, USA; 1999. p. 483–90] incorporated into a two-dimensional finite difference analysis program [Itasca Consulting Group, Inc. FLAC (Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua), Version 4. Minneapolis, MN; 2000] to perform nonlinear, effective-stress analyses of soil structures. The soil properties needed to support such analyses are generally similar to those currently used for equivalent linear and approximate effective-stress analyses. The advantages of using a nonlinear approach are illustrated by comparison with results from the equivalent linear approach for a rockfill dam. The earthquake performance of a waterfront slope and an earth dam were evaluated to demonstrate the model's ability to simulate pore-pressure generation and liquefaction in cohesionless soils.     

Assessment of liquefaction potential based on peak ground motion parameters

Conventionally, evaluation of liquefaction potential of loose saturated cohesionless deposits as specified in Japanese design codes employs peak ground acceleration (PGA). However, recent large-scale earthquakes in Japan revealed that liquefaction at some sites did not occur even though large PGAs were recorded at or near these sites. As an alternative approach, an evaluation procedure based on peak ground motion parameters, i.e. incorporating both PGA and the peak ground velocity (PGV), is proposed. By performing parametric studies using one-dimensional seismic response analysis and formulating regression models, seismic-induced shear stresses within the deposit are expressed in terms of peak ground motion parameters at the surface, and these are used to calculate the factor of safety against liquefaction. Application to case histories in Japan indicates that the proposed two-parameter equation can adequately account for the occurrence and non-occurrence of liquefaction at various sites as compared to the conventional PGA-based approach. Moreover, analyses of several strong motion records at various sites show that liquefaction may occur when PGA≥150 gal and PGV≥20 kine, indicating that these values can serve as thresholds in assessing the possible occurrence of liquefaction.     

A critical state interpretation for the cyclic liquefaction resistance of silty sands

Contrary to many laboratory investigations, common empirical correlations from in situ tests consider that the increase in the percentage of fines leads to an increase of the cyclic liquefaction resistance of sands. This paper draws upon the integrated Critical State Soil Mechanics framework in order to study this seemingly not univocal effect. Firstly the effect of fines on the Critical State Line (CSL) is studied through a statistical analysis of a large data set of published monotonic triaxial tests. The results show that increasing the content of non-plastic fines practically leads to a clockwise rotation of the CSL in (e–ln p) space. The implication of this effect on cyclic liquefaction resistance is subsequently evaluated with the aid of a properly calibrated critical state elasto-plastic constitutive model, as well as a large number of published experimental results and in situ empirical correlations. Both sets of data show clearly that a fines content, less than about 30% by weight, may prove beneficial at relatively small effective stresses (p₀<50–70 kPa), such as the in situ stresses prevailing in most liquefaction case studies, and detrimental at larger confining stresses, i.e. the stresses usually considered in laboratory tests. To the extent of these findings, a correction factor is proposed for the practical evaluation of liquefaction resistance in terms of the fines content and the mean effective confining stress.     

Numerical analysis of deformation behaviour of quay walls under earthquake loading

In the last 50 years, there have been many incidences of failure of gravity quay walls. These failures are often associated with significant deformation of liquefiable soil deposits. Gravity quay wall failures have stimulated great progress in the development of deformation-based design methods for geotechnical structures. In this paper, the effective-stress analysis method has been used in conjunction with a generalised elasto-plasticity constitutive model implemented into a finite element procedure. Various monotonic and cyclic triaxial paths are simulated in order to demonstrate the capabilities of the constitutive model. The FEM is validated by back analysis of a typical Port Island PC1 caisson type quay wall, which was damaged during the 1995 Hyogoken-Nanbu earthquake. The numerical results are compared with the observed data obtained consisting of seaward displacement, settlement and tilting. In addition, both the influence of permeability, on the generation of pore water pressure and the influence of the relative density of the backfill and foundation layers, on the residual deformation of gravity quay walls are investigated.     

第11届国际土动力学和地震工程会议及第13届世界地震工程会议砂土液化研究综述

最近国际上土动力学和岩土地震工程方面召开了两次重大学术会议,即2004年1月在美国Berkeley召开的第11届国际土动力学和地震工程学术会议(11thSDEE)以及和2004年8月在加拿大温哥华召开的第13届世界地震工程大会(13thWCEE),对这两次会议中有关砂土液化方面的研究进行综述,力求反映液化研究方面的最新研究进展和发展趋势。     

1976年唐山大地震CPT液化数据库重构

1976年唐山大地震导致了范围广、灾害严重的液化震害。地震发生后,已有学者对液化场地进行了2次静力触探测试。本文首先给出基于2次测试数据的唐山大地震CPT液化数据库,利用中国规范方法和NCEER推荐方法对数据库进行液化判别,发现针对第1次测试数据的判别成功率较高,而针对第2次测试数据的判别成功率较低。经30年的时间,绝大多数测试点的液化层强度与埋深均发生了较大变化,第2次测试时土层液化可能性已发生了较大变化,其测试数据对液化判别方法的改进意义较小。利用第2次测试的摩阻比Rf将第1次测试数据ps分解为qc和fs,相比第2次测试数据,分解指标具有更高的可靠性。为此基于第1次测试分解数据构建唐山大地震CPT液化数据库,为液化判别方法改进提供数据支持。     

1999年岫岩地震序列研究

用相对定位法对1999年11月29日辽宁省岫岩地区5.4级地震序列的前震、主震和余震进行了重新定位。结果是该序列的主震震源位置为40.538°N,123.026°E,深度为6.958km;重新定位的前震震中分布长短轴差别不大,分布在长轴约1.38km,短轴约1.23km,深度为6～11km的震源范围内,其中4级以上前震明显沿NW向分布,主震位于前震震中NW向分布的东南端;重新定位的余震明显沿NW走向分布,长轴约3.26km,短轴约0.79km,深度为5～12km,余震分布范围比前震分布范围大,主要是后期余震活动向SE向发展的结果。分析表明,1999年岫岩地震序列主要沿NW向分布,这个方向与1975年海城地震序列的NW向分布一致,与海城7.3级主震和岫岩5.4级主震震源机制解NW走向节面一致,也与海城 岫岩震区活动构造方向和岫岩主震的等震线长轴方向一致。并认为岫岩5.4级主震可能被前震触发,这为主破裂成核过程提供了一次实例。     

Validation of a new endochronic liquefaction model for granular soil by using centrifuge test data

The application of a new liquefaction constitutive model, based on the endochronic theory applied to densification of sandy soil, to a set of centrifuge tests from the University of British Columbia, is presented in this paper. The model employed herein takes into account, in a unified formulation, contractive and dilative behaviours, and considers the soil collapse as well. First of all, the model is calibrated by means of undrained cyclic simple shear stress test data. The constitutive law of the soil is implemented in the bidimensional coupled finite element code CMLIQ (Cyclic Mobility and LIQuefaction), developed by the authors. Three centrifuge tests are analysed, the seismic loading and the geometry being the same for all of them, namely an improved slope with drain devices or denser soil at some locations. Comparisons between the data provided by the numerical model and the experimental measurements are shown, and, as a result, the accuracy of the model is explored and evaluated.     

Numerical simulation of ground flow caused by seismic liquefaction

Flow failure of sandy subsoil induced by seismic liquefaction is known to cause significant damage to structures. It is induced not only by the dynamic forces exerted by seismic acceleration but also by the static gravity force in consequence of the topography of the ground. The ground flow may sometimes continue after the end of the seismic loading and finally the ground is significantly deformed to cause a failure.This paper numerically predicts the magnitude of flow that could occur when soil liquefaction continues for a sufficiently long period. It is considered that liquefied soil behaves like a viscous liquid, and hence, ground flow is governed by the principle of minimum potential energy. In the calculation, liquefied sand is assumed to be a viscous liquid that deforms in undrained conditions with its volume remaining constant. To consider the non-linearity due to large displacement, the updated Lagrangian method is used to solve the equation of motion. The Newmark β method is employed to calculate the time history of the ground motion. Finally, a simulation using this calculation method shows that the proposed method gives reasonable results for the conditions indicated.