Evaluating the Impact of Overburden Pressure on Liquefaction Susceptibility in Granular Soils: Insights from Centrifuge Modeling

1. Home
2. Publications
3. Online Library
4. Evaluating the Impact of Overburden Pressure on Liquefaction Susceptibility in Granular Soils: Insights from Centrifuge Modeling

This study presents an investigation of overburden pressure effect on liquefaction triggering of liquefiable granular deposits. Six centrifuge experiments were performed on idealized field cases with varying relative densities, boundary conditions, and overburden pressures. The simulations included cyclic loading applied at the base of a 5-m deposit of the soil. Acceleration, excess pore pressure during and after shaking, shear stress ratio, and shear strain time histories were identified at multiple locations in the soil deposit. The analysis of experimental recordings revealed significant effects of overburden pressure on the liquefaction responses of clean Ottawa sand. It was found that sand under high overburden experiences more partial drainage during and after shaking. The results showed stress-based correction factors field values larger than 1.0 inconsistent with the traditional approach of obtaining () from undrained laboratory tests. This discrepancy was attributed to the partial drainage conditions simulated in both single and double drainage setups. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the behavior of saturated soils under high overburden pressures, which can help engineers make more accurate and reliable liquefaction potential assessments.

5th European Conference on Physical Modelling in Geotechnics (ECPMG2024)

Geotechnical infrastructure