Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering and Soil Dynamics V
Liquefaction Hazard Assessment: Satellites vs. In Situ Tests
Publication: Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering and Soil Dynamics V: Liquefaction Triggering, Consequences, and Mitigation (GSP 290)
ABSTRACT
Semi-empirical models based on in-situ geotechnical tests are the standard-of-practice for predicting soil liquefaction. Since the inception of the “simplified” cyclic-stress model in 1971, variants based on various in-situ tests have been developed, including the cone penetration test (CPT). More recently, prediction models based solely on remotely-sensed geospatial information were proposed. These “geospatial” models aim to rapidly predict liquefaction using data that is free and readily available. This includes: (1) common ground-motion intensity measures, which can either be provided in near-real-time following an earthquake, or predicted for a future event; and (2) geospatial parameters (e.g., among many, ground slope; distance to water bodies; and compound-topographic-index), which collectively are used to infer characteristics of the subsurface without in-situ testing. However, the predictive capabilities of geotechnical and geospatial models have not been rigorously compared, which could elucidate techniques for model improvement, and which would inform modeling approaches that statistically coalesce predictions from multiple models. Accordingly, this study assesses the relative efficacy of liquefaction prediction-models based on geospatial vs. CPT data using 9,731 case-studies compiled from recent earthquakes in New Zealand. While the top-performing models are CPT-based, the geospatial models perform surprisingly well considering the relative time- and cost-requirements underlying the predictions. Although further research is warranted, the findings of this study suggest that geospatial models have the potential to provide valuable predictions of liquefaction occurrence and consequence. Towards this end, several thrusts of ongoing investigation are outlined.
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Published In
Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering and Soil Dynamics V: Liquefaction Triggering, Consequences, and Mitigation (GSP 290)
Pages: 348 - 356
Editors: Scott J. Brandenberg, Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles, and Majid T. Manzari, Ph.D., George Washington University
ISBN (Online): 978-0-7844-8145-5
Copyright
© 2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: Jun 7, 2018
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