Mitigation of Liquefaction-Induced Lateral Deformation in a Sloping Stratum: Three-dimensional Numerical Simulation
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 135, Issue 11
Abstract
Finite-element (FE) simulations are increasingly providing a versatile environment for conducting lateral ground deformation studies. In this environment, mitigation strategies may be assessed in order to achieve economical and effective solutions. On the basis of a systematic parametric study, three-dimensional FE simulations are conducted to evaluate mitigation by the stone column (SC) and the pile-pinning approaches. Mildly sloping saturated cohesionless strata are investigated under the action of an applied earthquake excitation. For that purpose, the open-source computational platform OpenSees is employed, through a robust user interface that simplifies the effort-intensive pre- and postprocessing phases. The extent of deployed remediation and effect of the installed SC permeability are investigated. The influence of mesh resolution is also addressed. Generally, SC remediation was found to be effective in reducing the sand stratum lateral deformation. For a similar stratum with permeability in the silt range, SC remediation was highly ineffective. In contrast, pile pinning appeared to be equally effective for the sand and silt strata permeability scenarios. Overall, the conducted study highlights the potential of computations for providing insights toward the process of defining a reliable remediation solution.
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Acknowledgments
The reported research was supported by the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research (PEER) Center, under the National Science Foundation Award No. UNSPECIFIEDEEC-9701568. This support is gratefully acknowledged.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 135 • Issue 11 • November 2009
Pages: 1672 - 1682
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© 2009 ASCE.
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Received: Feb 12, 2008
Accepted: Apr 27, 2009
Published online: Apr 30, 2009
Published in print: Nov 2009
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