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What is soil liquefaction

:Description Liquefaction is a phenomenon in which the strength and stiffness of a soil is reduced by earthquake shaking or other rapid loading. Liquefaction and related phenomena have been responsible for tremendous amounts of damage in historical earthquakes around .the world Liquefaction occurs in saturated soils, that is, soils in which the space between individual particles is completely filled with water. This water exerts a pressure on the soil particles that influences how tightly the particles themselves are pressed together. Prior to an earthquake, the water pressure is relatively low. However, earthquake shaking can cause the water pressure to increase to the point where the soil particles can .readily move with respect to each other
Schematic behavior of sand grains in a soil deposit during liquefaction. The blue column represents the .pore water pressure

Earthquake shaking often triggers this increase in water pressure, but construction .related activities such as blasting can also cause an increase in water pressure When liquefaction occurs, the strength of the soil ecreases and, the ability of a soil deposit to support oundations for buildings and bridges is reduced as een in the photo of the overturned apartment .omplex buildings in Niigata in 1964 d f s c

Liquefied soil also exerts higher pressure on retaining walls, which can cause them to tilt or slide. This movement can cause settlement of the retained soil and destruction of .(structures on the ground surface (photo 1 Increased water pressure can also trigger landslides and cause the collapse of dams. Lower San Fernando dam (photo 2) suffered an underwater slide during the San .Fernando earthquake, 1971 Fortunately, the dam barely avoided collapse, thereby preventing a potential disaster of .flooding of the heavily populated areas below the dam P h ot 2 P h ot 1 F l :ow Liquefaction & Cyclic Mobility The term liquefaction has actually been used to describe a number of related phenomena. Because the phenomena can have similar effects, it can be difficult to distinguish between them. The mechanisms causing them, however, are different. These phenomena can be divided into two main categories: flow liquefaction and cyclic mobility.

:Flow Liquefaction

Flow liquefaction is a phenomenon in which the static equilibrium is destroyed by static or dynamic loads in a soil deposit with low residual strength. Residual strength is the strength of a liquefied soil. Static loading, for example, can be applied by new buildings on a slope that exert additional forces on the soil beneath the foundations. Earthquakes, blasting, and pile driving are all example of dynamic loads that could trigger flow liquefaction. Once triggered, the strength of a soil susceptible to flow liquefaction is no longer sufficient to withstand the static stresses that were acting on the soil before the .disturbance

An analogy can be seen in the picture above, where the static stability of a ski jumper in the starting gate is disturbed when the jumper pushes himself from the start seat. After this relatively small disturbance, the static driving force caused by gravity, being greater than the frictional resisting force between the ski and snow, causes the skier to accelerate down the ramp. The path that brings the ski jumper to an unstable state is analogous to the static or dynamic disturbance that triggers flow liquefaction - in both cases, a relatively small disturbance precedes an instability that allows gravity to take over and produce large, rapid movements. Failures caused by flow liquefaction are often characterized by large and rapid movements which can produce the type of disastrous effects experienced by the Kawagishi-cho apartment buildings, which suffered a remarkable bearing capacity failure during the Niigata Earthquake 1964. The Turnagain Heights landslide, Alaska Earthquake 1964 which is thought to be triggered by liquefaction of sand lenses in the 130-acre slide area provides another example of flow liquefaction. Sheffield Dam suffered a flow failure triggered by the Santa Barbara Earthquake in 1925. A 300 ft section (of the 720 feet long dam) moved as much as 100 ft downstream. The dam consisted mainly of silty sands and sandy silts excavated from the reservoir and compacted by routing construction equipment over the fill (Seed, 1968). As these case histories illustrate, flow failures, can involve the flow of considerable volumes of material, which undergoes very large movements that are actually driven by static stresses. The disturbance needed to trigger flow liquefaction can, in some instances, be very .small

:Cyclic Mobility Cyclic mobility is a liquefaction phenomenon, triggered by cyclic loading, occuring in soil deposits with static shear stresses lower than the soil strength. Deformations due to cyclic mobility develop incrementally because of static and dynamic stresses that exist during an earthquake. Lateral spreading, a common result of cyclic mobility, can occur on gently sloping and on flat ground close to rivers and lakes. The 1976 Guatemala earthquake caused lateral spreading along the Motagua river. Observe the cracks parallel to the river (photo 3). On level ground, the high porewater pressure caused by liquefaction can cause porewater to flow rapidly to the ground surface. This flow can occur both during and after an earthquake. If the flowing porewater rises quickly enough, it can carry sand particles through cracks up to the surface, where they are deposited in the form of sand volcanoes or sand boils. These features can often be observed at sites that have been affected by liquefaction, such as in the field along Hwy 98 during the 1979 El Centro .(earthquake (photo4

Photo 4

Photo3

When has soil liquefaction occurred in the

past?

:Earthquakes Liquefaction has been observed in earthquakes for many years. In fact, written records dating back hundreds and even thousands of years describe earthquake effects that are now known to be associated with liquefaction. Nevertheless, liquefaction has been so widespread in a number of recent earthquakes that it is often associated with them. Some of those earthquakes are listed below.

Alaska, USA, 1964

Niigata, Japan, 1964

Loma Prieta, USA, 1989 1964 Alaska earthquake, USA: As a part of the Pacific Ring, the southern coast area of Alaska experiences many earthquakes. On Good Friday, March 27, 1964, great earthquake of magnitude 9.2 struck Prince William Sound and caused severe damage in the form of landslides and liquefaction as seen in the pictures. This seismic event is not only the second largest ever to have been recorded but it lasted for over 3 minutes (radio announcement) and was felt over an area of 500,000 square miles. A tsunami, heavily increased the amount of damage to wharf and waterfront facilities, and caused five deaths hours after the earthquake in Crescent City, California
Liquefaction:

Liquefaction in sand layers, and in sand and silt seams in the clayey soils beneath Anchorage, caused many of the destructive landslides that occurred during the earthquake (Seed 1973). The liquefied seams and lenses disturbed the sensitive clays, and caused their strengths to drop below the levels needed for stability.

1964 Niigata earthquake, Japan:

The Niigata earthquake of June 16, 1964 had a magnitude of 7.5 and caused severe damage to many structures in Niigata. The destruction was observed to be largely limited to buildings that were founded on top of loose, saturated soil deposits. Even though about 2000 houses were totally destroyed, only 28 lives were lost (General report on the Niigata earthquake 1964). A tsunami, triggered by movement of the sea floor associated with the fault rupture, totally destroyed the port of Niigata.
Liquefaction:

The Niigata earthquake, together with the Alaska earthquake also of 1964, brought liquefaction phenomena and their devastating effects to the attention of engineers and seismologists. A remarkable ground failure occurred near the Shinano river bank where the Kawagishi-cho apartment buildings suffered bearing capacity failures and tilted severely (left). Despite the extreme tilting, the buildings themselves suffered remarkably little structural damage. Sand boils (photo 5) and ground fissures were observed at various sites in Niigata. Lateral spreading caused the foundations of the Showa Bridge to move laterally so much that the simply supported spans became unseated and collapsed (photo 6).

Photo 5 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, USA:

photo 6

The October 17 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake (M=7.1) caused severe damage not only in the vicinity of the epicenter near Santa Cruz, but also in more distant areas to the north around San Francisco and Oakland.

Liquefaction:

Soil liquefaction caused major damage to waterfront facilities, structures, and buried pipelines at locations in the Bay Area where loose saturated, sandy soils were susceptible to liquefaction. The numerous sandboils that were observed provided indisputable evidence of the occurrence of liquefaction. Liquefaction was observed at a number of sites, including the Oakland airport, sites along the Salinas River, and Moss Landing Marine Station (right, below, photo).

1995 Kobe earthquake, Japan: The 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake (M=6.9), commonly referred to as the Kobe earthquake, was one of the most devastating earthquakes ever to hit Japan; more than 5,500 were killed and over 26,000 injured. The economic loss has been estimated at about $US 200 billion. The proximity of the epicenter, and the propagation of rupture directly beneath the highly populated region, help explain the great loss of life and the high level of destruction. (On line report of Kobe earthquake). The spectacular collapse of the Hanshin expressway illustrates the effects of the high loads that were imposed on structures in the area. The strong ground motions that led to collapse of the Hanshin Express way also caused severe liquefaction damage to port and wharf facilities.

Where does soil liquefaction

Locations:

commonly occur?

Because liquefaction only occurs in saturated soil, its effects are most commonly observed in low-lying areas near bodies of water such as rivers, lakes, bays, and oceans. The effects of liquefaction may include major sliding of soil toward the body slumping and of water, as in the case of the 1957 Lake Merced slide shown above, or more modest movements that produce tension cracks such as those on the banks of the Motagua River following the 1976 Guatemala Earthquake. Port and wharf facilities are often located in areas susceptible to liquefaction, and many have been damaged by liquefaction in past earthquakes. Most ports and wharves have major retaining structures, or quay walls, to allow large ships to moor adjacent to flat cargo handling areas. When the soil behind and/or beneath such a wall liquefies, the pressure it exerts on the wall can increase greatly - enough to cause the wall to slide and/or tilt toward the water. As illustrated below, liquefaction caused major damage to port facilities in Kobe, Japan in the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake.

Retaining wall damage and lateral spreading, Kobe 1995.

Lateral displacement of a quay wall on Port Island, Kobe 1995.

Damaged quay walls and port facilities on Rokko Island. Quay walls have been Island. Quay walls have been pushed outward by 2 to 3 meters with 3 to 4 meters deep depressed areas called grabens forming behind the walls, Kobe 1995.

Liquefaction also frequently causes damage to bridges that cross rivers and other bodies of water. Such damage can have drastic consequences, impeding emergency response and rescue operations in the short term and causing significant economic loss from business disruption in the longer term. Liquefaction-induced soil movements can push foundations out of place to the point where bridge spans loose support (right photo) or are compressed to the point of buckling (left, photo).

?Why does soil liquefaction occur

:Explanation To understand liquefaction, it is important to recognize the conditions that exist in a soil deposit before an earthquake. A soil deposit consists of an assemblage of individual soil particles. If we look closely at these particles, we can see that each particle is in contact with a number of neighboring particles. The weight of the overlying soil particles produce contact forces between the particles - these forces hold individual particles in .place and give the soil its strength

Soil grains in a soil deposit. The height of the blue The length of the arrows represents the size of the column to the right represents the level of porewater contact forces between individual soil grains. The pressure in the soil. contact forces are large when the porewater pressure is low.

Liquefaction occurs when the structure of a loose, saturated sand breaks down due to some rapidly applied loading. As the structure breaks down, the loosely-packed individual soil particles attempt to move into a denser configuration. In an earthquake, however, there is not enough time for the water in the pores of the soil to be squeezed out. Instead, the water is "trapped" and prevents the soil particles from moving closer together. This is accompanied by an increase in water pressure which reduces the contact forces between the individual soil particles, thereby softening and weakening the soil deposit. Observe how small the contact forces are because of the high water pressure. In an extreme case, the porewater pressure may become so high that many of the soil particles lose contact with each other. In such cases, the soil will have very little strength, and will behave more like a liquid than a solid - hence, the name "liquefaction".
?How can soil liquefaction hazards be reduced

There are basically three possibilities to reduce liquefaction hazards when designing and constructing new buildings or other structures as bridges, tunnels, and roads.
Avoid Liquefaction Susceptible Soils:

The first possibility, is to avoid construction on liquefaction susceptible soils. There are various criteria to determine the liquefaction susceptibility of a soil. By characterizing the soil at a particular building site according to these criteria one can decide if the site is susceptible to liquefaction and therefore unsuitable for the desired structure.
Build Liquefaction Resistant Structures:

If it is necessary to construct on liquefaction susceptible soil because of space restrictions, favorable location, or other reasons, it may be possible to make the structure liquefaction resistant by designing the foundation elements to resist the effects of liquefaction.
Improve the Soil:

The third option involves mitigation of the liquefaction hazards by improving the strength, density, and/or drainage characteristics of the soil. This can be done using a variety of soil improvement techniques.

Abstract: Soil liquefaction describes the behavior of soils that, when loaded, suddenly suffer a transition from a solid state to a liquefied state, or having the consistency of a heavy liquid. Liquefaction[1] is more likely to occur in loose to moderately saturated granular soils with poor drainage, such as silty sands or sands and gravels capped or containing seams of impermeable sediments [2]. During loading, usually cyclic undrained loading, e.g. earthquake loading, loose sands tend to decrease in volume, which produces an increase in their porewater pressures and consequently a decrease in shear strength, i.e. reduction in effective stress. Deposits most susceptible to liquefaction are young (Holocene-age, deposited within the last 10,000 years) sands and silts of similar grain size (well-sorted), in beds at least metres thick, and saturated with water. Such deposits are often found along riverbeds, beaches, dunes, and areas where windblown silt (loess) and sand have accumulated. Some examples of liquefaction include quicksand, quick clay, turbidity currents, and earthquake liquefaction. Depending on the initial void ratio, the soil material can respond to loading either strain-softening or strain-hardening. Strain-softened soils, e.g. loose sands, can be triggered to collapse, either monotonically or cyclically, if the static shear stress is greater than the ultimate or steady-state shear strength of the soil. In this case flow liquefaction occurs, where the soil deforms at a low constant residual shear stress. If the soil strain-hardens, e.g. moderately dense to dense sand, flow liquefaction will generally not occur. However, cyclic softening can occur due to cyclic undrained loading, e.g. earthquake loading. Deformation during cyclic loading will depend on the density of the soil, the magnitude and duration of the cyclic loading, and amount of shear stress reversal. If stress reversal occurs, the effective shear stress could reach zero, then cyclic liquefaction can take place. If stress reversal does not occur, zero effective stress is not possible to occur, then cyclic mobility takes place. The resistance of the cohesionless soil to liquefaction will depend on the density of the soil, confining stresses, soil structure (fabric, age and cementation), the magnitude and duration of the cyclic loading, and the extent to which shear stress reversal occurs [4]. Although the effects of liquefaction have been long understood, it was more thoroughly brought to the attention of engineers and seismologists in the Niigata, Japan and Alaska earthquakes. It was also a major factor in the destruction in San Francisco's Marina District during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.