Postliquefaction Reconsolidation Settlement of a Soil Deposit Considering Spatially Variable Properties and Ground Motion Variability
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 150, Issue 3
Abstract
Assessment of earthquake-induced liquefaction is an important topic in geotechnical engineering due to the significant potential for damage to infrastructure. Some of the most significant infrastructure damage occurs due to differential settlement of the ground, including due to liquefaction. Postliquefaction deformations commonly are assessed using one-dimensional empirical models, which inherently assume laterally homogeneous soil layers. Numerical models offer the potential to examine the effects of ground motion variability and spatially variable soil properties on liquefaction-induced deformations. This study explored the postliquefaction reconsolidation settlement for a site in Hollywood, South Carolina, which was characterized using a three-dimensional (3D) geostatistical model and simulated using the numerical platform FLAC and constitutive model PM4Sand. The effects of ground motion characteristics on mean and maximum differential settlements were investigated. The physical mechanisms associated with postliquefaction responses such as excess pore pressures, shear strains, and volumetric strains also were examined. The efficacy of uniform models assuming representative percentile soil properties to represent the stochastic mean settlement was investigated. The inherent inability of uniform models to capture differential settlements and therefore the need for using stochastic models is discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The first author is grateful for the financial support provided by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Auburn University. The third author was funded over the course of this work by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant CMMI 1931069. The findings presented herein are those of the authors, and do not necessarily represent views of NSF.
References
Andrus, R. D., R. Boller, W. M. Camp, S. Gassman, M. Hasek, H. Hayati, and P. Talwani. 2008. “Characterizing the liquefaction resistance of aged soils: Summary of selected first year findings.” In Proc., NSF Engineering Research and Innovation Conf. Alexandria, VA: National Science Foundation CMMI.
Arulanandan, K., and J. J. Sybico. 1992. “Post-liquefaction settlement of sand.” In Proc., Wroth Memorial Symp. London: T. Telford.
Baker, J. W., T. Lin, S. K. Shahi, and N. Jayaram. 2011. New ground motion selection procedures and selected motions for the PEER transportation research program. Berkeley, CA: Univ. of California.
Banister, J. R., L. Winters, D. M. Ellett, and R. M. Pyke. 1976. “In-situ pore presure measurements at Rio Blanco.” J. Geotech. Eng. Div. 102 (10): 1073–1091. https://doi.org/10.1061/AJGEB6.0000332.
Basu, D., J. Montgomery, and A. W. Stuedlein. 2022a. “Observations and challenges in simulating post-liquefaction settlements from centrifuge and shake table tests.” Soil Dyn. Earthquake Eng. 153 (May): 107089. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2021.107089.
Basu, D., J. Montgomery, and A. W. Stuedlein. 2023. “Uncertainty in liquefaction-induced settlement in numerical simulations due to model calibration.” In Proc., Geo-Risk. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Basu, D., R. Pretell, J. Montgomery, and K. Ziotopoulou. 2022b. “Investigation of key parameters and issues in simulating centrifuge model tests of a sheet-pile wall retaining a liquefiable soil deposit.” Soil Dyn. Earthquake Eng. 156 (May): 107243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2022.107243.
Beyzaei, C. Z., J. D. Bray, M. Cubrinovski, S. Bastin, M. Stringer, M. Jacka, S. van Ballegooy, M. Riemer, and R. Wentz. 2020. “Characterization of silty soil thin layering and groundwater conditions for liquefaction assessment.” Can. Geotech. J. 57 (2): 263–276. https://doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2018-0287.
Bong, T., and A. W. Stuedlein. 2017. “Spatial variability of CPT parameters and silty fines in liquefiable beach sands.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 143 (12): 04017093. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001789.
Bong, T., and A. W. Stuedlein. 2018. “Effect of cone penetration conditioning on random field model parameters and impact of spatial variability on liquefaction-induced differential settlements.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 144 (5): 04018018. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001863.
Boulanger, R., and K. Ziotopoulou. 2017. PM4Sand (Version 3.1): A sand plasticity model for earthquake engineering applications., Davis, CA: Univ. of California, Davis.
Boulanger, R. W., and I. M. Idriss. 2016. “CPT-Based liquefaction triggering procedure.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 142 (2): 04015065. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001388.
Bwambale, B., and R. D. Andrus. 2019. “State of the art in the assessment of aging effects on soil liquefaction.” Soil Dyn. Earthquake Eng. 125 (Mar): 105658. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2019.04.032.
Cary, J. R., A. W. Stuedlein, C. R. McGann, B. A. Bradley, and B. W. Maurer. 2022. “Effect of refinements to CPT-based liquefaction triggering analysis on liquefaction severity indices at the Avondale playground site, Christchurch, NZ.” In Proc., 4th Int. Conf. on Performance Based Design in Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering, 1454–1466. Berlin: Springer.
Chen, Q., C. Wang, and C. H. Juang. 2016. “Probabilistic and spatial assessment of liquefaction-induced settlements through multiscale random field models.” Eng. Geol. 211: 135–149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2016.07.002.
Chian, S. C., K. Tokimatsu, and S. P. G. Madabhushi. 2014. “Soil liquefaction–induced uplift of underground structures: Physical and numerical modeling” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 140 (10): 04014057. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001159.
Cubrinovski, M., A. Rhodes, N. Ntritsos, and S. Van Ballegooy. 2019. “System response of liquefiable deposits” Soil Dyn. Earthquake Eng. 124 (Feb): 212–229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2018.05.013.
Dafalias, Y. F., and M. T. Manzari. 2004. “Simple plasticity sand model accounting for fabric change effects” J. Eng. Mech. 130 (6): 622–634. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9399(2004)130:6(622).
DeGroot, D. J., and G. B. Baecher. 1993. “Estimating autocovariance of in-situ soil properties” J. Geotech. Eng. 119 (1): 147–166. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9410(1993)119:1(147).
Doar, R. D., III, and C. G. St. C. Kendall. 2014. “An analysis and comparison of observed Pleistocene South Carolina (USA) shoreline elevations with predicted elevations derived from marine oxygen isotope stages” Q. Res. 82 (Feb): 164–174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2014.04.005.
Fenton, G. A., and E. H. Vanmarcke. 1998. “Spatial variation in liquefaction risk.” Géotechnique 48 (6): 819–831. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.1998.48.6.819.
Geyin, M., and B. W. Maurer. 2019. “An analysis of liquefaction-induced free-field ground settlement using 1,000+ case histories: Observations vs. state-of-practice predictions.” In Proc., Geo-Congress, 489–498. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Gianella, T. N. 2015. “Ground improvement and liquefaction mitigation using driven timber piles.” Master thesis, Dept. of Civil and Construction Engineering, Oregon State Univ.
Gianella, T. N., and A. W. Stuedlein. 2017. “Performance of driven displacement pile–improved ground in controlled blasting field tests.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 143 (9): 04017047. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001731.
Green, R. A., B. W. Maurer, and S. V. Ballegooy. 2018. “The influence of the non-liquefied crust on the severity of surficial liquefaction manifestations: Case history from the 2016 valentine’s day earthquake in New Zealand.” In Geotechnical earthquake engineering and soil dynamics V, 21–32. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Griffiths, D. V., G. A. Fenton, and N. Manoharan. 2002. “Bearing capacity of rough rigid strip footing on cohesive soil: Probabilistic study.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 128 (9): 743–755. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2002)128:9(743).
Howell, R., E. Rathje, and R. Boulanger. 2015. “Evaluation of simulation models of lateral spread sites treated with prefabricated vertical drains.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 141 (1): 04014076. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001185.
Idriss, I. M., and R. W. Boulanger. 2008. Soil liquefaction during earthquakes. Monograph MNO-12. Oakland, CA: Earthquake Engineering Research Institute.
Ishihara, K., and M. Yoshimine. 1992. “Evaluation of settlements in sand deposits following liquefaction during earthquakes.” Soils Found. 32 (1): 173–188. https://doi.org/10.3208/sandf1972.32.173.
Itasca. 2016. FLAC (Version 8.0)–Fast Lagrangian analysis of continua. Reston, VA: Itasca Consulting Group.
Jafarzadeh, F., and E. Yanagisawa. 1995. “Settlement of sand models under unidirectional shaking.” In Proc., First Int. Conf. on Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering, 693–698. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Jana, A., A. Dadashiserej, B. Zhang, A. W. Stuedlein, T. M. Evans, K. H. Stokoe, II, and B. R. Cox. 2023. “Multidirectional vibroseis shaking and controlled blasting to determine the dynamic in situ response of a low-plasticity silt deposit.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 149 (3): 04023006. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0002924.
Jana, A., and A. W. Stuedlein. 2021. “Dynamic in situ nonlinear inelastic response of a deep medium dense sand deposit.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 147 (6): 04021039. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0002523.
Jana, A., and A. W. Stuedlein. 2022. “Dynamic, in situ, nonlinear-inelastic response and post-cyclic strength of a plastic silt deposit.” Can. Geotech. J. 59 (1): 111–128. https://doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2020-0652.
Kuhlemeyer, R. L., and J. Lysmer. 1973. “Finite element method accuracy for wave propagation problems.” J. Soil Mech. Found. Div. 99 (5): 421–427. https://doi.org/10.1061/JSFEAQ.0001885.
Lewis, M. R., I. Arango, and M. D. McHood. 2008. “Site characterization philosophy and liquefaction evaluation of aged sands—A Savannah River Site and Bechtel perspective.” In From research to practice in geotechnical engineering, 540–558. Aachen, Germany: Deutsche Ges. fur Erd- und Grundbau.
Lumb, P. 1975. “Spatial variability of soil properties.” In Proc., 2nd Int. Conf. on Application of Statistics and Probability in Soil and Structural Engineering, 397–421. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Mahvelati, S., J. T. Coe, A. W. Stuedlein, P. Asabere, and T. N. Gianella. 2016. “Time-rate variation of the shear wave velocity (site stiffness) following blast-induced liquefaction.” In Proc., Geo-Chicago GSP 271. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Mahvelati, S., J. T. Coe, A. W. Stuedlein, P. Asabere, T. N. Gianella, and A. Kordjazi. 2020. “Recovery of small-strain stiffness following blast-induced liquefaction based on shear wave velocity measurements.” Can. Geotech. J. 58 (6): 848–865. https://doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2019-0658.
Malvick, E. J., B. L. Kutter, R. W. Boulanger, and R. Kulasingam. 2006. “Shear localization due to liquefaction-induced void redistribution in a layered infinite slope.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 132 (10): 1293–1303. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2006)132:10(1293).
Maybin, G. R., and P. G. Nystrom. 1997. Geologic and resource map of South CarolinaSC Geological Survey. Clemson, SC: South Carolina Geological Survey.
Mejia, L., and E. Dawson. 2006. “Earthquake deconvolution for FLAC.” In Proc., 4th Int. FLAC Symp. on Numerical Modeling in Geomechanics. Reston, VA: Itasca Consulting Group.
Montgomery, J., and R. W. Boulanger. 2017. “Effects of spatial variability on liquefaction-induced settlement and lateral spreading.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 143 (1): 04016086. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001584.
Nagase, H., and K. Ishihara. 1988. “Liquefaction-induced compaction and settlement of sand during earthquakes.” Soils Found. 28 (1): 65–76. https://doi.org/10.3208/sandf1972.28.65.
Nuttli, O., G. Bollinger, and R. Herrmann. 1986. The 1886 Charleston, South Carolina, earthquake—A 1986 perspective. Reston, VA: USGS.
Phoon, K.-K., and F. H. Kulhawy. 1999. “Characterization of geotechnical variability.” Can. Geotech. J. 36 (4): 612–624. https://doi.org/10.1139/t99-038.
Polshin, D., and R. Tokar. 1957. “Maximum allowable non-uniform settlement of structures.” In Proc., 4th ICSMFE, 402–406. London: International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering.
Popescu, R., J. H. Prevost, and G. Deodatis. 1997. “Effects of spatial variability on soil liquefaction: Some design recommendations.” Géotechnique 47 (5): 1019–1036. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.1997.47.5.1019.
Pretell, R., K. Ziotopoulou, and N. A. Abrahamson. 2022. “Conducting 1D site response analyses to capture 2D spatial variability effects.” Earthquake Spectra 38 (3): 2235. https://doi.org/10.1177/87552930211069400.
Pyke, R. M., C. K. Chan, and H. B. Seed. 1975. “Settlement of sands under multidirectional shaking.” J. Geotech. Eng. Div. 101 (4): 379–398. https://doi.org/10.1061/AJGEB6.0000162.
Ramirez, J., A. R. Barrero, L. Chen, S. Dashti, A. Ghofrani, M. Taiebat, and P. Arduino. 2018. “Site response in a layered liquefiable deposit: Evaluation of different numerical tools and methodologies with centrifuge experimental results.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 144 (10): 04018073. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001947.
Rauthause, M. P., A. W. Stuedlein, and M. J. Olsen. 2020. “Quantification of surface roughness using laser scanning with application to the frictional resistance of sand-timber pile interfaces.” Geotech. Test. J. 43 (4): 20180384. https://doi.org/10.1520/GTJ20180384.
Robertson, P. K., and C. E. Wride. 1998. “Evaluating cyclic liquefaction potential using the cone penetration test.” Can. Geotech. J. 35 (5): 442–459. https://doi.org/10.1139/t98-017.
Seed, H. B., and K. L. Lee. 1966. “Liquefaction of saturated sands during cyclic loading.” J. Soil Mech. Found. Div. 92 (6): 105–134. https://doi.org/10.1061/JSFEAQ.0000913.
Sento, N., M. Kazama, and R. Uzuoka. 2004. “Experiment and idealization of the volumetric compression characteristics of clean sand after undrained cyclic shear.” [In Japanese.] Doboku Gakkai Ronbunshu 2004 (764): 307–317. https://doi.org/10.2208/jscej.2004.764_307.
Shahir, H., A. Pak, M. Taiebat, and B. Jeremić. 2012. “Evaluation of variation of permeability in liquefiable soil under earthquake loading.” Comput. Geotech. 40 (Mar): 74–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2011.10.003.
Stuedlein, A., and T. N. Gianella. 2016. Drained timber pile ground improvement for liquefaction mitigation. Washington, DC: NCHRP IDEA Program.
Stuedlein, A. W., and T. Bong. 2017. “Effect of spatial variability on static and liquefaction-induced differential settlements.” In Proc., Geo-Risk GSP 282. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Stuedlein, A. W., T. Bong, J. Montgomery, J. Ching, and K. K. Phoon. 2021. “Effect of densification on the random field model parameters of liquefiable soil and their use in estimating spatially-distributed liquefaction-induced settlement.” Int. J. Geoeng. Case Histories 6 (4): 17. https://doi.org/10.4417/IJGCH-06-04-01.
Stuedlein, A. W., T. N. Gianella, and G. Canivan. 2016. “Densification of granular soils using conventional and drained timber displacement piles.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 142 (12): 04016075. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001554.
Stuedlein, A. W., J. C. Huffman, A. R. Barbosa, and A. F. Belejo. 2022. “Probabilistic structural system response to differential settlement resulting from spatially variable soil.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 148 (2): 04021184. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0002735.
Stuedlein, A. W., A. Jana, A. Dadashiserej, and X. Yang. 2023. “On the in situ cyclic resistance of natural sand and silt deposits.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 149 (4): 04023015. https://doi.org/10.1061/JGGEFK.GTENG-10784.
Tokimatsu, K., and H. B. Seed. 1987. “Evaluation of settlements in sands due to earthquake shaking.” J. Geotech. Eng. 113 (8): 861–878. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9410(1987)113:8(861).
USGS. 2014. Unified hazard tool. Reston, VA: USGS.
Vanmarcke, E. H. 1977. “Probabilistic modeling of soil profiles.” J. Geotech. Eng. Div. 103 (11): 1227–1246. https://doi.org/10.1061/AJGEB6.0000517.
Yoshimine, M., H. Nishizaki, K. Amano, and Y. Hosono. 2006. “Flow deformation of liquefied sand under constant shear load and its application to analysis of flow slide of infinite slope.” Soil Dyn. Earthquake Eng. 26 (2–4): 253–264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2005.02.016.
Yost, K. M., B. R. Cox, L. Wotherspoon, R. W. Boulanger, S. van Ballegooy, and M. Cubrinovski. 2019. “In situ investigation of false-positive liquefaction sites in Christchurch, New Zealand: Palinurus Road case history.” In Proc., Geo-Congress, 436–451. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Youd, T. L., and C. T. Garris. 1995. “Liquefaction-induced ground-surface disruption.” J. Geotech. Eng. 121 (11): 805–809. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9410(1995)121:11(805).
Ziotopoulou, K., and R. W. Boulanger. 2013. “Numerical modeling issues in predicting post-liquefaction reconsolidation strains and settlements.” In Proc., 10th Int. Conf. on Urban Earthquake Engineering, 1–2. Tokyo: Center for Urban Earthquake Engineering.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 150 • Issue 3 • March 2024
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 16, 2023
Accepted: Oct 17, 2023
Published online: Jan 3, 2024
Published in print: Mar 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Jun 3, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Continuum mechanics
- Deformation (mechanics)
- Engineering fundamentals
- Engineering mechanics
- Geomechanics
- Geometry
- Geotechnical engineering
- Geotechnical investigation
- Ground motion
- Mathematics
- Models (by type)
- Numerical models
- Soil deformation
- Soil dynamics
- Soil liquefaction
- Soil mechanics
- Soil properties
- Soil settlement
- Solid mechanics
- Spatial variability
- Structural mechanics
- Three-dimensional models
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.