A case study of liquefaction: demonstrating the application of an advanced model and understanding the pitfalls of the simplified procedure
File(s)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Tsaparli, Vasiliki
Kontoe, Stavroula
Taborda, David
Potts, David
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The complexity of advanced constitutive models often dictates that their capabilities are only demonstrated in the context of model testing under controlled conditions. In the case of earthquake engineering and liquefaction in particular, this restriction is magnified by the difficulties in measuring field behaviour under seismic loading. In this paper, the well documented case of the Canterbury Earthquake Sequence in New Zealand, for which extensive field and laboratory data are available, is utilised to demonstrate the accuracy of a bounding surface plasticity model in fully-coupled finite element analyses. A strong motion station with manifestation of liquefaction and the second highest peak vertical ground acceleration during the Mw 6.2 February 2011 event is modelled. An empirical assessment predicted no liquefaction for this station, making this an interesting case for rigorous numerical modelling. The calibration of the model aims at capturing both the laboratory tests and the field measurements in a consistent manner. The characterisation of the ground conditions is presented, while, to specify the bedrock motion, the records of two stations without liquefaction are deconvolved and scaled to account for wave attenuation with distance. The numerical predictions are compared to both the horizontal and vertical acceleration records and other field observations, showing a remarkable agreement, also demonstrating that the high vertical accelerations can be attributed to compressional resonance. The results provide further insights into the underperformance of the simplified procedure.
Date Issued
2020-06-01
Date Acceptance
2019-04-16
Citation
Geotechnique: international journal of soil mechanics, 2020, 70 (6), pp.538-558
ISSN
0016-8505
Publisher
ICE Publishing
Start Page
538
End Page
558
Journal / Book Title
Geotechnique: international journal of soil mechanics
Volume
70
Issue
6
Copyright Statement
© 2019 ICE Publishing, all rights reserved.
Sponsor
Geotechnical Consulting Group
Identifier
https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/10.1680/jgeot.18.P.263
Grant Number
GCG Chair
Subjects
Science & Technology
Technology
Engineering, Geological
Engineering
dynamics
earthquakes
field instrumentation
finite-element modelling
liquefaction
numerical modelling
SURFACE PLASTICITY MODEL
TIME-INTEGRATION
GROUND MOTIONS
SITE RESPONSE
SAND
EARTHQUAKE
CHRISTCHURCH
ACCELERATION
PERMEABILITY
FORMULATION
0905 Civil Engineering
0907 Environmental Engineering
0914 Resources Engineering and Extractive Metallurgy
Geological & Geomatics Engineering
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2019-05-22