Exercise Problems in Liquefaction

Lecture-33
1
Exercise Problem -1
A rounded sand subjected to a series of monotonic triaxial compression
tests exhibits the steady-state line(SSL) shown in the next slide.
Assuming that the sand can mobilize a friction angle of 33
0
in the steady
state, estimate the steady state strength that would be mobilized by the
following test specimens:

2
Initial
void ratio
Test Condition
Drained
Undrained
Drained
Undrained
0.75
Specimen Initial

3C

A
B
C
D
100kPa
100kPa
50kPa
50kPa
0.75
0.60
0.60
3
10 100 1000
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
1
Effective confining pressure-kPa
V
o
i
d

r
a
t
i
o
,

e

Fig :1
Exercise Problem -1
Solution
From graph, steady state

3C
is read as









For granular soils,

Steady state shear strength
4
Specimen
A
B
C
D
(

3C
)
ss
100kPa
5kPa
50kPa
800kPa
|
|
.
|

\
|

=
|
.
|

\
|
+ =
|
.
|

\
|
+ =
+ =
2
2
45
2
45
2
3 1
2
3 1
2
3 1
ss C
ss
C
C
N where
N c N
) (
tan
tan
' '
' '
' '
o o
t
|
o o
|
o o
|
| |
( )
(
(
(
(

|
.
|

\
|
+
=
2
1
2
45 tan
.
2
'
3
|
o t
ss C ss
5
Specimen
A
B
C
D
(

3C
)
ss
(kPa)

100
5
50
800

ss
(kPa)

119.6
6
60
957
Solution
Consider an anisotropically consolidated direct simple shear test specimen
with the initial conditions shown below. Show graphically how the pore
pressure ratio at the initiation of liquefaction, r
u
varies with the amplitude
of the cyclic shear stress.
6
50 100
150
p-kPa
0
25
50
75
q-kPa
Exercise Problem -2

Excess pore water pressure u
excess
decreases with cyclic stress amplitude

where is the effective confining pressure
r
u
also decreases with increase in cyclic shear stress amplitude.

7
'
3C
excess
u
u
r
o
=
50 100
150
p-kPa
0
25
50
75
q-kPa
u
excess
u
excess
Solution
'
c 3
o
A 10m thick deposit of loose sand is saturated below a depth of 3m. The soil
below the water table is highly susceptible to liquefaction. Estimate the
ground surface acceleration that would be required to produce sand boils
in a M=7.7 earthquake.




H
1
= 3m
H
2
=7m
8
3m
7m
Exercise Problem -3
9
Figure: Thickness of the overlying layer required to prevent level ground
liquefaction related damage (After Ishihara, 1985).
From the figure, ground surface acceleration that would be required to produce
sand boils for H
1
= 3m and H
2
= 7m is 0.2 g.
Solution
Source: Kramer (1996)
Estimate the variation of uniform cyclic shear stress amplitude with depth for
the upper 50ft of soil (assume =120pcf) at the Gilroy No. 2 (soil) station in
the Loma Prieta earthquake. Estimate the number of equivalent uniform
stress cycles.

10
Exercise Problem -4
Figure: Responses at Gilroy stations for Loma Prieta EQ
Source: Kramer (1996)
Gilroy No. 2 earthquake parameters: M=7.1, a
max
= 0.332g

= 120 pcf.

cyc
= 0.65 0.332 120 z r
d







11
d v cyc
r
g
a
o t
max
65 . 0 =
Solution
z (ft) r
d

cyc
(psf)
0 1.0 0
5 0.99 128
10 0.98 254
. . .
. .
12

cyc
(psf)
z
Solution
z (ft) r
d

cyc
(psf)
0 1.0 0
5 0.99 128
10 0.98 254
. . .
. .
Figure: Variation of cyclic shear stress amplitude
with depth
13
Figure: Number of equivalent uniform stress cycles (N
eq
) for earthquakes
of different magnitude (After Seed et al., 1975)
Solution
From figure, for M=7.1, N
eq
=10 (Taking Mean)
A level deposit of saturated clean sand has an average (N
1
)
60
value of 18 and
an average dry unit weight of 105 pcf. Plot the variation of cyclic shear
stress required to produce liquefaction in M= 5.5, 6.5, 7.5 and 8.5
earthquakes.
14
Exercise Problem -5
(N
1
)
60
= 18;

d
= 105pcf

For saturated sands, assume specific gravity G= 2.6.

15
e
G
w
d
+
=
1

. .
.
. .
] . / [
.
. .
pcf
e
e G
pcf cc g
G
e
w sat
w
d
w
127 3 62
54 0 1
54 0 6 2
1
3 62 1
54 0 1
105
3 62 6 2
1
=
+
+
=
+
+
=
= =
=

= =

Solution
16
Fig: Relationship between cyclic stress ratio and (N
1
)
60
for Mw = 7.5 earthquakes
Solution
From figure, for (N
1
)
60
= 18, CSR
M=7.5
=0.2
For other magnitudes, magnitude correction factors should be applied.

Magnitude CSR
M
/CSR
M=7.5


1.50
6

1.32


1.13


1.00


0.89
4
1
5
4
3
6
2
1
7
2
1
8
Solution
Table: Magnitude Correction Factors
17
18
Magnitude R = CSR
M
/CSR
M=7.5
CSR
M
= R0.2

5.5 1.44 0.288
6.5

1.20 0.24
7.5

1.00 0.20
8.5

0.90 0.18
Solution
Table: Cyclic stress Ratios
19
Solution
Depth
z ft)



M = 5.5

M = 6.5

M = 7.5

M = 8.5

0 0 0 0 0
5

93.168 77.640 64.700 58.23
10

186.336 155.280 129.400 116.46
20 372.672 310.560 258.800 232.92
30 559.008 465.840 388.200 349.38
40 745.344 621.120 517.600 465.84
50 931.680 776.400 647.000 465.84
( )z
w sat vo cyclic
o t = =
M M
CSR CSR
'
pcf
pcf
127
3 62
=
=
sat
w

.
20
Solution
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
0 200 400 600 800 1000
D
e
p
t
h

(
f
t
)

Cyclic Shear Stress Psf
M=5.5
M=6.5
M=7.5
M=8.5
A level deposit of saturated clean sand has an average (N
1
)
60
value of 18 and
an average dry unit weight of 105pcf. Plot the variation of cyclic shear
stress required to produce liquefaction in M= 5.5, 6.5, 7.5 and 8.5
earthquakes. Assume that the sand has 15% fines.


21
Exercise Problem -6
22 22
Fig: Relationship between cyclic stress ratio and (N
1
)
60
for Mw = 7.5 earthquakes
Solution
Source: Kramer (1996)
From figure, for (N
1
)
60
= 18, with 15% fines as shown in figure (previous
slide) CSR
M=7.5
=0.27
For other magnitudes, magnitude correction factors should be applied.

Magnitude CSR
M
/CSR
M=7.5


1.50
6

1.32


1.13


1.00


0.89
4
1
5
4
3
6
2
1
7
2
1
8
Solution
Table: Magnitude Correction Factors
23
24
Magnitude R = CSR
M
/CSR
M=7.5
CSR
M
= R0.27


5.5
1.44 0.388
6.5

1.20 0.32
7.5

1.00 0.27
8.5

0.90 0.24
Solution
Table: Cyclic stress Ratios
25
Solution
( )z
w sat vo cyclic
o t = =
M M
CSR CSR
'
pcf
pcf
127
3 62
=
=
sat
w

.
Depth
z ft)



M = 5.5

M = 6.5

M = 7.5

M = 8.5

0 0 0 0 0
5

125.7768 104.814 87.345 78.6105
10

251.5536 209.628 174.69 157.221
20 503.1072 419.256 349.38 314.442
30 754.6608 628.884 524.07 471.663
40 1006.214 838.512 698.76 628.884
50 1257.768 1048.14 873.45 786.105
26
Solution
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400
D
e
p
t
h

(
f
t
)

Cyclic Shear Stress Psf
M=5.5
M=6.5
M=7.5
M=8.5
Prior to the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, a site investigation at the Hunters
Point Navy Base in San Francisco showed 13 to 15m of clean, hydraulically
filled sand with D
50
= 0.29mm. The water table was at a depth of about
2.5m.CPT tests produced the following average tip resistances. The Loma
Prieta earthquake produced peak ground accelerations on the order of
0.15g to 0.20g at similar sites in the Bay Area. Assuming that the sand has
an average dry density of 1.6Mg/m
3
, compute and plot the factor of safety
against liquefaction that would have been expected in the Loma Prieta
earthquake.

27
Depth Interval(m)
Average q
c
(MPa)
3-4
4-5
5-6
6-7
7-8
8-9
9-10
10-11
6.5
5.7
5.2
4.9
5.1
6.3
6.9
7.6
Exercise Problem -7
28
D
50
of sand 0.29 mm
Depth of water table 2.5 m
Magnitude of earthquake 7.1
Peak ground acceleraration
Case I 0.15 g
Case II 0.2 g
Max dry density (d) 1.6 Mg/m
3
=15.696 kN/m
3

Specific gravity G (assumed) 2.6
Unit weight of water (
w
) 9.81 kPa
void ratio (e ) 0.625
Saturated unit weight (
sat
) 19.4690 kN/m
3

Solution
3
/ 47 . 19 / 98 . 1
1
6 . 2 625 . 0 ; 7 . 15
1
m kN cc g
e
e G
f orG e
e
G
w sat
w
= =
+
+
=
= = =
+

d
= 1.6Mg/m
3

d
= 15.7kN/m
3

29
Fig: Relationship between cyclic stress ratio and normalized cone
resistance (Mitchell and Tseng, 1990)
Solution
30
Depth interval
(m)
Avg
depth(m) r
d

Avg
q
c
(MPa)
v0
'
(kPa) CRR
7.5

CRR
7.1
/
CRR
7.5
CRR
7.1

v0

(kPa)
CSR

0.15g
CSR
0.2g

FOS
at
0.15g

FOS
at
0.2g

3-4 3.5 0.98 6.5 48.90 0.13 1.07 0.13 58.71 0.115 0.153 1.17 0.874
4-5 4.5 0.97 5.7 58.56 0.11 1.07 0.12 78.18 0.126 0.168 0.93 0.699
5-6 5.5 0.96 5.2 68.22 0.11 1.07 0.11 97.65 0.134 0.179 0.84 0.629
6-7 6.5 0.95 4.9 77.88 0.10 1.07 0.11 117.12 0.139 0.186 0.77 0.576
7-8 7.5 0.94 5.1 87.54 0.10 1.07 0.11 136.59 0.143 0.191 0.77 0.578
8-9 8.5 0.93 6.3 97.19 0.12 1.07 0.13 156.05 0.146 0.194 0.90 0.672
9-10 9.5 0.92 6.9 106.85 0.13 1.07 0.14 175.52 0.147 0.196 0.94 0.703
10-11 10.5 0.90 7.6 116.51 0.14 1.07 0.15 194.99 0.147 0.196 1.01 0.760
Solution
31
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
0.00 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00 1.20 1.40
D
e
p
t
h

(
m
)

FOS
FOS for
0.15g
Solution