Fault Rupture Propagation through Previously Ruptured Soil
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 139, Issue 10
Abstract
Surface fault rupture during recent earthquakes has significantly damaged structures. Although several researchers have studied surface fault rupture, the effects of fault rupture propagating through soil that has been ruptured previously have not been investigated. Yet, faults rupture multiple times so that native soil deposits will have likely undergone previous ruptures that would have developed shear bands within the soil, and the stress state of the soil will have evolved because of these events. In addition, the predominant modes of soil shearing during the fault rupture process have not been characterized fully. Numerical simulations are performed to analyze the mechanics of dip-slip surface fault rupture and to explore the effects of previously ruptured soil. The numerical results demonstrate that the soil rupture process occurs in two distinct stages. First, broad deformation occurs before strain localization, which is followed by more localized deformation after shear band formation. Stress paths in the rupture zone are analogous to plane-strain extension (loading) and plane-strain compression (unloading) element tests for reverse and normal faults, respectively. The performance of structures significantly depends on whether the soil has been ruptured previously.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant CMMI-0926473. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF. The writers would also like to thank Professors G. Gazetas and I. Anastasopoulos for sharing the results of the centrifuge experiments conducted by Professor Bransby and others as part of their research effort to investigate the effects of surface fault rupture on soil and structures.
References
Anastasopoulos, I., Gazetas, G., Bransby, M. F., Davies, M. C. R., and El Nahas, A. (2007). “Fault rupture propagation through sand: Finite element analysis and validation through centrifuge experiments.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 133(8), 943–958.
Anastasopoulos, I., Gazetas, G., Bransby, M. F., Davies, M. C. R., and El Nahas, A. (2009). “Normal fault rupture interaction with strip foundations.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 135(3), 359–370.
Bransby, M. F., Davies, M. C. R., and El Nahas, A. (2008a). “Centrifuge modeling of normal fault-foundation interaction.” Bull. Earthquake Eng., 6(4), 585–605.
Bransby, M. F., Davies, M. C. R., El Nahas, A., and Nagaoka, S. (2008b). “Centrifuge modeling of reverse fault-foundation interaction.” Bull. Earthquake Eng., 6(4), 607–628.
Bray, J. D. (2001). “Developing mitigation measures for the hazards associated with earthquake surface fault rupture.” Workshop on Seismic Fault-Induced Failures – Possible Remedies for Damage to Urban Facilities, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Univ. of Tokyo, Tokyo, 55–79.
Bray, J. D. (2009). “Designing buildings to accommodate earthquake surface fault rupture.” Improving the seismic performance of existing and other structures, B. Goodno, ed., ASCE, Reston, VA, 1269–1280.
Bray, J. D., Seed, R. B., Cluff, L. S., and Seed, H. B. (1994a). “Earthquake fault rupture propagation through soil.” J. Geotech. Engrg., 120(3), 543–561.
Bray, J. D., Seed, R. B., and Seed, H. B. (1992). “On the response of earth dams subjected to fault rupture.” Stability and Performance of Slopes and Embankments - II, ASCE, Reston, VA, 608–624.
Bray, J. D., Seed, R. B., and Seed, H. B. (1993). “1g small-scale modelling of saturated cohesive soils.” J. ASTM Geotech Test., 16(1), 46–53.
Bray, J. D., Seed, R. B., and Seed, H. B. (1994b). “Analysis of earthquake fault rupture propagation through cohesive soil.” J. Geotech. Engrg., 120(3), 562–580.
Byrne, P. M., Park, S. S., Beaty, M., Sharp, M., Gonzalez, L., and Abdoun, T. (2004). “Numerical modeling of liquefaction and comparison with centrifuge tests.” Can. Geotech. J., 41(2), 193–211.
Cluff, L. S., Page, R. A., Slemmons, D. B., and Crouse, C. B. (2003). “Seismic hazard exposure for trans-Alaska pipeline.” Advancing mitigation technologies and disaster response for lifeline systems, J. E. Beavers, ed., ASCE, Reston, VA, 535–546.
Cole, D. A., Jr., and Lade, P. V. (1984). “Influence zones in alluvium over dip-slip faults.” J. Geotech. Eng., 110(5), 599–615.
Duncan, J. M., Byrne, P., Wong, K. S., and Mabry, P. (1980). “Strength, stress-strain and bulk modulus parameters for finite element analyses of stresses and movements in soil masses.” Rep. No. UCB/GT/80-01, Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA.
FLAC 6.0 [Computer software]. Minneapolis, Itasca Consulting Group.
Gazetas, G., Pecker, A., Faccioli, E., Paolucci, R., and Anastasopoulos, I. (2008). “Design recommendations for fault-foundation interaction.” Bull. Earthquake Eng., 6(4), 677–687.
Ha, D., et al. (2008). “Centrifuge modeling of earthquake effects on buried high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipelines crossing fault zones.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 134(10), 1501–1515.
Johansson, J., and Konagai, K. (2006). “Fault induced permanent ground deformation – An experimental comparison of wet and dry soil and implications for buried structures.” Soil. Dyn. Earthquake Eng., 26(1), 45–63.
Kelson, K., et al. (2001). “Fault-related surface deformation.” Earthquake Spectra, 17(S1), 19–36.
Lade, P. V., and Cole, D. A., Jr. (1984). “Influence zones in alluvium over dip-slip faults.” J. Geotech. Eng., 110(5), 599–615.
Lade, P. V., Nam, J., and Liggio, C. D. (2010). “Effects of particle crushing in stress drop-relaxation experiments on crushed coral sand.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 136(3), 500–509.
Lee, S.-S., Goel, S. C., and Chao, S.-H. (2004). “Performance-based seismic design of steel moment frames using target drift and yield mechanism.” 13th World Conf. on Earthquake Engineering, Canadian Association for Earthquake Engineering, Ottawa.
Loukidis, D., Bouckovalas, G. D., and Papadimitriou, A. G. (2009). “Analysis of fault rupture propagation through uniform soil cover.” Soil. Dyn. Earthquake Eng., 29(11–12), 1389–1404.
Sibson, R. H. (1977). “Fault rocks and fault mechanisms.” J. Geol. Soc. London, 133(3), 191–213.
Simo, J. C., Oliver, J., and Armero, F. (1993). “An analysis of strong discontinuities induced by strains-softening in rate-independent inelastic solids.” Comput. Mech., 12(5), 277–296.
Son, M., and Cording, E. J. (2005). “Estimation of building damage due to excavation-induced ground movements.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 131(2), 162–177.
Wood, D. M. (1990). Soil behavior and critical state soil mechanics, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 139 • Issue 10 • October 2013
Pages: 1637 - 1647
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 29, 2012
Accepted: Feb 25, 2013
Published online: Feb 27, 2013
Published in print: Oct 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.