Numerical Modeling of Liquefaction-Induced Downdrag: Validation against Centrifuge Model Tests
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 148, Issue 12
Abstract
Earthquake-induced soil liquefaction can cause soil settlement around piles, resulting in drag load and pile settlement after shaking stops. Estimating the axial load distribution and pile settlement is important for designing and evaluating the performance of axially loaded piles in liquefiable soils. Commonly used neutral plane solution methods model the liquefiable layer as an equivalent consolidating clay layer without considering the sequencing and pattern of excess pore pressure dissipation and soil settlement. Moreover, changes in the pile shaft and the tip resistance due to excess pore pressures are ignored. A TzQzLiq numerical model was developed using the existing TzLiq material and the new QzLiq material for modeling liquefaction-induced downdrag on piles. The model accounts for the change in the pile’s shaft and tip capacity as free-field excess pore pressures develop or dissipate in soil. The developed numerical model was validated against data from a series of large centrifuge model tests, and the procedure for obtaining the necessary information and data from those is described. Additionally, a sensitivity study on TzLiq and QzLiq material properties was performed to study their effect on the developed drag load and pile settlement. Analysis results show that the proposed numerical model can reasonably predict the time histories of axial load distribution and settlement of axially loaded piles in liquefiable soils both during and postshaking.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code generated or used during the study are available in a repository online following the funding agency’s data retention policies. The centrifuge test data used in this study are made available through DesignSafe under Project PRJ-2828. https://www.designsafe-ci.org/data/browser/public/designsafe.storage.published/PRJ-2828.
Acknowledgments
Funding for this research was provided by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) under Agreement 65A0688. The authors gratefully acknowledge this support. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this paper are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect Caltrans’s.
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Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 148 • Issue 12 • December 2022
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© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 16, 2021
Accepted: Aug 15, 2022
Published online: Sep 30, 2022
Published in print: Dec 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Feb 28, 2023
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