Comparison of Recently Developed Liquefaction Analysis Methods at Two Fluvial Sand Sites

A number of newer liquefaction evaluation methods have been proposed since the consensus on liquefaction analysis procedures was reached by Youd et al. (2001). These methods are compared and applied to two candidate sites for construction of a power plant along the Ohio River. Comprehensive subsurface investigations were carried out and indicated primarily clean fluvial sands at both sites. Assessment of soil liquefaction susceptibility was made using field measurements consisting of SPT N-values, cone tip stress q_T, and shear wave velocity V_s. By comparing the results given by the various newly proposed liquefaction analysis methods, their relative conservatism is evaluated. At these two sites, it was concluded that the methods based on SPT N-value and cone tip resistance q_T are more conservative than the methods based on shear wave velocity V_s.