Empirical Methodology to Estimate Seismically Induced Settlement of Partially Saturated Sand
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 139, Issue 3
Abstract
Settlement of soil layers during and after earthquake shaking is a major cause of damage to buildings and geotechnical structures. The available empirical design methods to consider seismically induced settlement focus on sands in dry or water-saturated conditions, and there is currently a gap in the basic understanding of the mechanisms of seismically induced settlements of partially saturated sands. An effective stress-based empirical methodology is proposed to estimate the seismically induced settlement of a free-field layer of sand in partially saturated conditions. This approach estimates the settlement by separately considering the volumetric strains caused by compression of void space during strong shaking (seismic compression) and dissipation of excess pore water pressures generated during earthquake shaking (postcyclic reconsolidation). A parametric evaluation of the methodology indicates that the small strain shear modulus, the parameters of the modulus reduction curve, the approach to estimate the upper bound on volumetric strain during liquefaction, and the pore water pressure generation parameter can have significant impacts on the predicted settlement. The model predictions were validated using results from a newly developed centrifuge physical modeling system that involved the use of steady-state infiltration to maintain a uniform degree of saturation with depth in the sand layer. Both the model and experimental results show a nonlinear trend in surface settlement with degree of saturation, with a minimum value obtained for sand at a degree of saturation between 0.3 and 0.6.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Arulanandan, K., Anandarajah, A., and Abghari, A. (1983). “Centrifugal modeling of soil liquefaction susceptibility.” J. Geotech. Eng., 109(3), 281–300.
Cabarkapa, Z., Cuccovillo, T., and Gunn, M. (1999). “Some aspects of the pre-failure behaviour of unsaturated soil.” Proc., 2nd Int. Conf. on Pre-failure Deformation Characteristics of Geomaterials, Balkema, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Cetin, K. O., Bilge, H. T., Wu, J., Kammerer, A. M., and Seed, R. B. (2009). “Probabilistic model for the assessment of cyclically induced reconsolidation (volumetric) settlements.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 135(3), 387–398.
D’Appolonia, E., (1970). “Dynamic loadings.” J. Soil Mech. and Found. Div., 96(SM1), Proc. Paper 7010, 49–72.
Dashti, S., Bray, J. D., Pestana, J. M., Riemer, M., and Wilson, D. (2010). “Mechanisms of seismically induced settlement of buildings with shallow foundations on liquefiable soil.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 136(1), 151–164.
Dewoolkar, M. M., Ko, H. Y., Stadler, A. T., and Astaneh, S. M. F. (1999). “A substitute pore fluid for seismic centrifuge modeling.” Geotech. Testing J., 22(3), 196–210.
Dief, H. M., and Figueroa, J. L. (2003). “Shake table calibration and specimen preparation for liquefaction studies in the centrifuge.” Geotech. Test. J., 26(4), 402–409.
Dobry, R., and Ladd, R. S. (1980). “Soil liquefaction and cyclic mobility evaluation for level ground during earthquakes and liquefaction potential: Science versus practice.” J. Geotech. Eng., 106(6), 720–724.
Duku, P. M., Stewart, J. P., Whang, D. H., and Yee, E. (2008). “Volumetric strains of clean sands subject to cyclic loads.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 134(8), 1073–1085.
Finn, W. D. L., and Byrne, P. M. (1976). “Estimating settlements in dry sand during earthquakes.” Can. Geotech. J., 13(4), 355–363.
Ghayoomi, M. (2011). “Seismically induced settlement of partially saturated sand.” Ph.D. dissertation, Univ. of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO.
Ghayoomi, M., Ko, H.-Y., and McCartney, J. S. (2011). “Measurement of seismically induced settlement in unsaturated sands.” ASTM Geotech. Test. J., 34(4), 1–11.
Ghayoomi, M., and McCartney, J. S. (2011). “Measurement of small-strain shear moduli of partially saturated sand during infiltration in a geotechnical centrifuge.” ASTM Geotech. Test. J., 34(5), 1–12.
Hardin, B. O., and Drnevich, V. P. (1972). “Shear modulus and damping in soils: Design equations and curves.” J. Soil Mech. Found., 98(7), 667–692.
Hardin, B. O., and Richart, F. E. (1963). “Elastic wave velocities in granular soils.” J. Soil Mech. Found., 89(1), 33–65.
Hsu, C.-C., and Vucetic, M. (2004). “Volumetric threshold shear strain for cyclic settlement.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 130(1), 58–70.
Inci, G., Yesiller, N., and Kagawa, T. (2003). “Experimental investigation of dynamic response of compacted clayey soils.” Geotech. Test. J., 26(2), 125–141.
Ishihara, K., and Yoshimine, M. (1992). “Evaluation of settlements in sand deposits following liquefaction during earthquakes.” Soil Found., 32(1), 173–188.
Khosravi, A., Ghayoomi, M., and McCartney, J. S. (2010). “Impact of effective stress on the dynamic shear modulus of unsaturated sand.” Proc., GeoFlorida, ASCE, Reston, VA.
Kim, D. S., Seo, W. S., and Kim, M. J. (2003). “Deformation characteristics of soils with variations of capillary pressure and water content.” Soil Found., 43(4), 71–79.
Kondner, R. L., and Zelasko, J. S. (1963). “Hyperbolic stress-strain formulation for sands.” Proc., 2nd Pan American Conf. on Soil Mechanic and Foundations Engineering, ISSMGE, 289–324.
Kramer, S. L. (1996). Geotechnical earthquake engineering, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
Lee, K. L., and Albaisa, A. (1974). “Earthquake induced settlement in saturated sands.” J. Geotech. Eng., 100(GT4), 387–405.
Lu, N., Godt, J. W., and Wu, D. T. (2010). “A closed form equation for effective stress in unsaturated soil.” Water Resources Res., 46, W05515.
Mancuso, C., Vassallo, R., and d’Onofrio, A. (2002). “Small strain behavior of a silty sand in controlled-suction resonant column-torsional shear tests.” Can. Geotech. J., 39(1), 22–31.
Mendoza, C. E., Colmenares, J. E., and Merchan, V. E. (2005). “Stiffness of an unsaturated compacted clayey soil at very small strains.” Conf. on Advanced Experimental Unsaturated Soil Mechanics, Balkema, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 199–204.
Menq, F.-Y. (2003). “Dynamic properties of sandy and gravelly soils.” Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX.
Muraleetharan, K. K., and Granger, K. K. (1999). “The use of miniature pore pressure transducers in measuring matric suction in unsaturated soils.” ASTM Geotech. Test. J., 22(3), 226–234.
Ng, C. W. W., Xu, J., and Yung, S. Y. (2009). “Effects of imbibition-drainage and stress ratio on anisotropic stiffness of an unsaturated soil at very small strains.” Can. Geotech. J., 46(9), 1062–1076.
Pradel, D. (1998). “Procedure to evaluate earthquake-induced settlements in dry sandy soils.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 124(4), 364–368.
Qian, X., Gray, D. H., and Woods, R. D. (1991). “Resonant column tests on partially saturated sands.” ASTM Geotech. Test. J., 14(3), 266–275.
Sawada, S., Tsukamoto, Y., and Ishihara, K. (2006). “Residual deformation characteristics of partially saturated sandy soils subjected to seismic excitation.” Soil. Dyn. Earthquake Eng., 26(2–4), 175–182.
Sawangsuriya, A., Edil, T. B., Bosscher, P. J., and Wang, X. (2009). “Modulus-suction-water relationship for compacted soils in postcompaction state.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 135(10), 1390–1403.
Seed, H. B., and Idriss, I. M. (1970). “Soil moduli and damping factors for dynamic response analyses.” Rep. No. EERC70-10, Earthquake Engineering Research Center, Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA.
Seed, H. B., and Idriss, I. M. (1971). “Simplified procedure for evaluating soil liquefaction potential.” J. Soil Mech. Found., 97(9), 1249–1274.
Seed, H. B., and Lee, K. L. (1965). “Studies of liquefaction of sands under cyclic loading conditions.” Rep. TE-65-65, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA.
Seed, H. B., and Silver, M. L. (1972). “Settlement of dry sands during earthquakes.” J. Geotech. Eng., 98(4), 381–397.
Silver, M. L., and Seed, H. B. (1971). “Volume changes in sands during cyclic loading.” J. Soil Mech. Found., 97(SM9), 1171–1182.
Stewart, J. P., Smith, P. M., Whang, D. H., and Bray, J. D. (2004). “Seismic compression of two compacted earth fills shaken by the 1994 Northridge earthquake.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 130(5), 461–476.
Stokoe, K. H., Kutulus, A., and Menq, F.-Y. (2004). “SASW measurements at the NEES Garner Valley Test Site, California.” Data Rep., College of Engineering, Univ. of Texas–Austin, Austin, TX.
Tokimatsu, K., and Seed, H. B. (1987). “Evaluation of settlements in sands due to earthquake shaking.” J. Geotech. Eng., 113(8), 861–878.
van Genuchten, M. (1980). “A closed form equation for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 44(5), 892–898.
Vassallo, R., Mancuso, C., and Vinale, F. (2007). “Effects of net stress and suction history on the small strain stiffness of a compacted clayey silt.” Can. Geotech. J., 44(4), 447–462.
Wartman, J., et al. (2003). “Ground failure.” Earthq. Spectra, 19(S1), 35–56.
Whang, D. H., Moyneur, M. S., Duku, P., and Stewart, J. P. (2005). “Seismic compression behavior of non-plastic silty sands.” Proc., Int. Symposium on Advanced Experimental Unsaturated Soil Mechanics, A. Tarantino, E. Romero, and Y. J. Cui, eds., A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 257–263.
Wu, J., and Seed, R. B. (2004). “Estimating of liquefaction-induced ground settlement (case studies).” Proc., 5th Int. Conf. on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering, New York.
Wu, S., Gray, D. H., and Richart, F. E., Jr. (1984). “Capillary effects on dynamic modulus of sands and silts.” J. Geotech. Eng., 110(9), 1188–1203.
Yang, Z., Elgamal, A., and Parra, E. (2003). “Computational model for cyclic mobility and associated shear deformation.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 129(12), 1119–1127.
Yegian, M. K., Eseller-Bayat, E., Alshawabkeh, A., and Ali, S. (2007). “Induced-partial saturation for liquefaction mitigation: Experimental investigation.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 133(4), 372–380.
Yoshimi, Y., Tanaka, K., and Tokimatsu, K. (1989). “Liquefaction resistance of a partially saturated sand.” Soil Found., 29(3), 157–162.
Youd, T. L. (1970). “Densification and shear of sand during vibration.” J. Soil Mech. Found., 96(SM3), 863–880.
Zeghal, M., Elgamal, A.-W., Tang, H. T., and Stepp, J. C. (1995). “Lotung downhole array, II: Evaluation of soil nonlinear properties.” J. Geotech. Eng., 121(4), 363–378.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 139 • Issue 3 • March 2013
Pages: 367 - 376
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 28, 2011
Accepted: May 14, 2012
Published online: May 17, 2012
Published in print: Mar 1, 2013
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.