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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Current methodologies for assessing the potential for earthquake-induced liquefaction in soils

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:5010159

The geotechnical engineering literature reflects continuing evolution of methods for evaluation of liquefaction potential, and several significant advances have been achieved in the past few years; notably in the areas of in situ testing and the use of data from past occurrences of liquefaction, strain-based approaches, the steady-state concept, and non-linear, effective stress analysis. In the light of new knowledge and the reexamination of old data, liquefaction occurrence is no longer believed to be restricted to relatively clean, uniform, loosely-deposited, saturated sands, and a great deal of research emphasis has thus been given, or is proposed, to understanding the dynamic behavior of saturated gravelly soils and fine-grained soils with some plasticity. This report discusses conditions under which the potential for earthquake-induced liquefaction should be evaluated, and describes procedures and criteria that are currently applied to assess the liquefaction potential of soils ranging in gradation from gravels to clays. Emphasis is given to several of the more recent field, laboratory, and theoretical approaches. 19 figs.

Research Organization:
Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, MS (USA). Geotechnical Lab.
OSTI ID:
5010159
Report Number(s):
NUREG/CR-4430; ON: TI86900256
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English