Estimating the Severity of Liquefaction Ejecta Using the Cone Penetration Test
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 148, Issue 3
Abstract
A cone penetration test (CPT)-based procedure to estimate liquefaction-induced ejecta severity is developed. The liquefaction ejecta demand parameter () captures the amount of upward seepage pressure that can produce artesian flow due to elevated excess hydraulic head, and the crust layer resistance parameter () captures the strength and thickness of the nonliquefiable crust layer. The procedure is examined using 176 well-documented field case histories consisting of thick, clean sand, and stratified silty soil sites in Christchurch. tends to increase systematically as ejecta severity increases at the thick, clean sand sites, and low values are estimated at stratified soil sites that did not produce ejecta, which resolves the apparent overestimation by other liquefaction indices at stratified soil sites. improves the reliability of the procedure by differentiating the performance of sites with and without a competent crust layer overlying a thick liquefiable layer with a high value. The proposed liquefaction ejecta severity chart separates cases with severe or extreme ejecta, which have high and low values, from cases with minor or no ejecta, which have low and high values.
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Data Availability Statement
All subsurface data and aerial photographs are publicly available through New Zealand Geotechnical Database (NZGD) website: www.nzgd.org.nz.
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge support from the Republic of Indonesia through the Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP) for the first author. This study was also funded by the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research (PEER) Center through the Transportation Systems Research Program and by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant CMMI-1561932. All opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the LPDP, PEER, or NSF. Data compiled by NZ and US researchers following the Canterbury earthquakes are available in NZGD and GEER reports. Data and insights shared by Sjoerd van Ballegooy of Tonkin + Taylor and Misko Cubrinovski of the University of Canterbury were also helpful.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 148 • Issue 3 • March 2022
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 26, 2021
Accepted: Oct 22, 2021
Published online: Dec 23, 2021
Published in print: Mar 1, 2022
Discussion open until: May 23, 2022
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