CPT-Based Evaluation of Liquefaction Potential Accounting for Soil Spatial Variability at Multiple Scales
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 142, Issue 2
Abstract
Understanding and assessing the spatial extent of liquefaction requires that the spatial dependence of soil properties to be taken into account. In this work, a cone penetration test (CPT)-based approach for the evaluation of liquefaction potential is presented where the soil spatial variability is explicitly considered through internally-consistent probabilistic models developed at multiple scales. The novelty of the proposed work comes from the integration of the classical empirically-developed liquefaction criteria with tools in geostatistics and novel multiscale random-field models. A unique feature of the proposed work is its ability to refine and obtain higher resolution random fields for soil properties in critical areas, such as those adjacent to important infrastructure or in areas with detailed small-scale field data. An illustrative example assessing the liquefaction potential at various shaking levels in the Marina District of San Francisco is used to demonstrate the capability of the proposed method.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Andrade, J. E., Baker, J. W., and Ellison, K. C. (2008). “Random porosity fields and their influence on the stability of granular media.” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Meth. Geomech., 32(10), 1147–1172.
Andrus, R. D., and Stokoe, K. H., II (2000). “Liquefaction resistance of soils from shear-wave velocity.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 1015–1025.
Baise, L. G., Lenz, J. A., and Thompson, E. M. (2006). “Discussion of “Mapping liquefaction potential considering spatial correlations of CPT measurements” by Chia-Nan Liu and Chien-Hsun Chen.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 262–263.
Baker, J. W., and Faber, M. H. (2008). “Liquefaction risk assessment using geostatistics to account for soil spatial variability.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 14–23.
Baker, J. W., Seifried, A., Andrade, J. E., and Chen, Q. (2011). “Characterization of random fields at multiple scales: An efficient conditional simulation procedure and applications in geomechanics.” 11th Int. Conf. on Applications of Statistics and Probability in Soil and Structural Engineering (ICASP11), Taylor & Francis, London.
Bardet, J. P., Kapuskar, M., Martin, G. R., and Proubet, J. (1992). “Site-response analyses.”, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA, F85–F114.
Bennett, M. J. (1990). “Ground deformation and liquefaction of soil in the Marina District.”, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA, D1–D36.
Bonilla, M. G. (1992). “Geologic and historical factors affecting earthquake damage.”, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA, F35–F49.
Chen, Q., Seifried, A., Andrade, J. E., and Baker, J. W. (2012). “Characterization of random fields and their impact on the mechanics of geosystems at multiple scales.” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Meth. Geomech., 36(2), 140–165.
DeGroot, D. J. (1996). “Analyzing spatial variability of in situ soil properties.” Uncertainty in the geologic environment: From theory to practice, ASCE, Reston, VA, 210–238.
Elkateb, T., Chalaturnyk, R., and Robertson, P. K. (2003). “Simplified geostatistical analysis of earthquake-induced ground response at the Wildlife Site, California, USA.” Can. Geotech. J., 40(1), 16–35.
Fenton, G. A. (1999). “Estimation for stochastic soil models.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 470–485.
Fenton, G. A., and Vanmarcke, E. H. (1998). “Spatial variation in liquefaction risk.” Geotechnique, 48(6), 819–831.
Holzer, T. L., Bennett, M. J., Noce, T. E., Padovani, A. C., and Tinsley, J. C., III (2002). “Liquefaction hazard and shaking amplification maps of Alameda, Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland, and Piedmont, California: A digital database.”, U.S. Geologic Survey, Reston, VA.
Holzer, T. L., Luke Blair, J., Noce, T. E., and Bennett, M. J. (2006). “Predicted liquefaction of East Bay fills during a repeat of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.” Earthquake Spectra, 22(S2), 261–277.
Hwang, J. H., Chen, C. H., and Juang, C. H. (2005). “Liquefaction hazard analysis: A fully probabilistic method.” Proc., Sessions of the Geo-Frontiers 2005 Congress, Earthquake Engineering and Soil Dynamics, R. W. Boulanger, ed., ASCE, Reston, VA.
Iwasaki, T., Tatsuoka, F., Tokida, K. I., and Yasuda, S. (1978). “A practical method for assessing soil liquefaction potential based on case studies at various sites in Japan.” Proc., 2nd Int. Conf. on Microzonation for Safer Construction-Research and Application, Vol. II, San Francisco, 885–896.
Iwasaki, T., Tokida, K., Tatsuoka, F., Watanabe, S., Yasuda, S., and Sato, H. (1982). “Microzonation for soil liquefaction potential using simplified methods.” Proc., 3rd Int. Conf. on Microzonation, Vol. 3, Seattle, 1319–1330.
Jaksa, M. B. (2000). “Discussion of “Random field modeling of CPT data” by G.A. Fenton.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 1212–1216.
Juang, C. H., Fang, S. Y., and Khor, E. H. (2006). “First order reliability method for probabilistic liquefaction triggering analysis using CPT.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 337–350.
Juang, C. H., Li, D. K., Fang, S. Y., Liu, Z., and Khor, E. H. (2008a). “Simplified procedure for developing joint distribution of amax and Mw for probabilistic liquefaction hazard analysis.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 1050–1058.
Juang, C. H., Liu, C. N., Chen, C. H., Hwang, J. H., and Lu, C. C. (2008b). “Calibration of liquefaction potential index: A re-visit focusing on a new CPTU model.” Eng. Geol., 102(1–2), 19–30.
Juang, C. H., Yang, S. H., Yuan, H., and Khor, E. H. (2004). “Characterization of the uncertainty of the Robertson and Wride model for liquefaction potential evaluation.” Soil Dyn. Earthquake Eng., 24(9), 771–780.
Kramer, S. L. (1996). Geotechnical earthquake engineering, Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
Ku, C. S., Juang, C. H., Chang, C. W., and Ching, J. (2012). “Probabilistic version of the Robertson and Wride method for liquefaction evaluation: Development and application.” Can. Geotech. J., 49(1), 27–44.
Lenz, J. A., and Baise, L. G. (2007). “Spatial variability of liquefaction potential in regional mapping using CPT and SPT data.” Soil Dyn. Earthquake Eng., 27(7), 690–702.
Liu, C. N., and Chen, C. H. (2006). “Mapping liquefaction potential considering spatial correlations of CPT measurements.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 1178–1187.
Luna, R., and Frost, J. D. (1998). “Spatial liquefaction analysis system.” J. Comput. Civ. Eng., 48–56.
National Research Council. (1985). Liquefaction of soils during earthquakes. National Academies Press, Washington, DC.
Pokhrel, R. M., Kuwano, J., and Tachibana, S. (2013). “A kriging method of interpolation used to map liquefaction potential over alluvial ground.” Eng. Geol., 152(1), 26–37.
Popescu, R., Deodatis, G., and Nobahar, A. (2005a). “Effects of random heterogeneity of soil properties on bearing capacity.” Probab. Eng. Mech., 20(4), 324–341.
Popescu, R., Prevost, J. H., and Deodatis, G. (2005b). “3D effects in seismic liquefaction of stochastically variable soil deposits.” Geotechnique, 55(1), 21–31.
Robertson, P. K. (2009). “Performance based earthquake design using the CPT.” Proc., IS Tokyo Conf., Balkema, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 3–20.
Robertson, P. K., and Wride, C. E. (1998). “Evaluating cyclic liquefaction potential using the cone penetration test.” Can. Geotech. J., 35(3), 442–459.
Seed, H. B. (1979). “Soil liquefaction and cyclic mobility evaluation for level ground during earthquakes.” J. Geotech. Eng. Div., 105(2), 201–255.
Seed, H. B., and Idriss, I. M. (1971). “Simplified procedure for evaluating soil liquefaction potential.” J. Geotech. Eng. Div., 97(9), 1249–1273.
Seed, H. B., and Idriss, I. M. (1982). “Ground motions and soil liquefaction during earthquakes.” Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, Oakland, CA.
Seed, H. B., Tokimatsu, K., Harder, L. F., and Chung, R. M. (1985). “The influence of SPT procedures in soil liquefaction resistance evaluations.” J. Geotech. Eng. Div., 1425–1445.
Seed, R. B., et al. (2003). “Recent advances in soil liquefaction engineering: a unified and consistent framework.” Proc., 26th Annual ASCE Los Angeles Geotechnical Spring Seminar, Univ. of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA.
Shinozuka, M., Feng, M. Q., Lee, J., and Naganuma, T. (2000). “Statistical analysis of fragility curves.” J. Eng. Mech., 1224–1231.
Sonmez, H. (2003). “Modification of the liquefaction potential index and liquefaction susceptibility mapping for a liquefaction-prone area (Inegol, Turkey).” Environ. Geol., 44(7), 862–871.
Thompson, E. M., Baise, L. G., and Kayen, R. E. (2007). “Spatial correlation of shear-wave velocity in the San Francisco Bay area sediments.” Soil Dyn. Earthquake Eng., 27(2), 144–152.
Thompson, E. M., Baise, L. G., Kayen, R. E., Morgan, E. C., and Kaklamanos, J. (2011). “Multiscale site-response mapping: A case study of Parkfield, California.” Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am., 101(3), 1081–1100.
Toprak, S., and Holzer, T. L. (2003). “Liquefaction potential index: Field assessment.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 315–322.
Uzielli, M., Vannucchi, G., and Phoon, K. K. (2005). “Random field characterisation of stress-nomalised cone penetration testing parameters.” Geotechnique, 55(1), 3–20.
Vivek, B., and Raychowdhury, P. (2014). “Probabilistic and spatial liquefaction analysis using CPT data: A case study for Alameda County site.” Nat. Hazards, 71(3), 1715–1732.
Wang, M., and Takada, T. (2005). “Macrospatial correlation model of seismic ground motions.” Earthquake Spectra, 21(4), 1137–1156.
Youd, T. L., et al. (2001). “Liquefaction resistance of soils: Summary report from the 1996 NCEER and 1998 NCEER/NSF workshops on evaluation of liquefaction resistance of soils.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 817–833.
Zhang, G., Robertson, P. K., and Brachman, R. W. (2002). “Estimating liquefaction-induced ground settlements from CPT for level ground.” Can. Geotech. J., 39(5), 1168–1180.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 142 • Issue 2 • February 2016
Copyright
© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 3, 2014
Accepted: Jul 14, 2015
Published online: Sep 7, 2015
Published in print: Feb 1, 2016
Discussion open until: Feb 7, 2016
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.