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Seismic Behavior of Gravel Drains and Compacted Sand Piles using ...

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<strong>Seismic</strong> <strong>Behavior</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Gravel</strong> <strong>Drains</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Compacted</strong><br />

S<strong>and</strong> <strong>Piles</strong> <strong>using</strong> Physical <strong>and</strong> Numerical Models<br />

Abouzar Sadrekarimi<br />

Department. <strong>of</strong> Civil & Environmental Engineering,<br />

University <strong>of</strong> Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, USA<br />

asadrek2@uiuc.edu<br />

ABSTRACT<br />

During recent earthquakes, it was observed that liquefaction can cause severe damages to buildings in<br />

the form <strong>of</strong> significant subsidence <strong>and</strong> shear failure <strong>of</strong> foundation soil. This damages is known to be due<br />

to the build up <strong>of</strong> pore water pressure <strong>and</strong> hence a reduction <strong>of</strong> soil strength. A number <strong>of</strong> remediation<br />

methods exist which reduce the excess pore pressure, enhance the shear deformability <strong>of</strong> the soil <strong>and</strong><br />

fortify the soil. Two well known methods which are gravel drains <strong>and</strong> compacted s<strong>and</strong> piles are<br />

discussed <strong>and</strong> compared in this paper. Some precisely prepared 1-g shaking table tests were performed<br />

regarding these methods. The results show that compacted s<strong>and</strong> piles were more efficient than gravel<br />

drains in the case <strong>of</strong> liquefaction resistance <strong>and</strong> settlement <strong>of</strong> the subsoil during the shaking period. On<br />

the other h<strong>and</strong> after shaking the efficiency <strong>of</strong> the gravel drains was improved by the means <strong>of</strong> excess<br />

pore pressure dissipation. Also the cases were modeled with a numerical finite element program which<br />

could only h<strong>and</strong>le the excess pore water pressure. By evaluating the numerical results with the<br />

experimental ones it is concluded that replicating liquefaction merely by an excess pore pressure<br />

generation/dissipation model would underestimated the excess pore pressure as well as the settlement.<br />

KEYWORDS: <strong>Gravel</strong> <strong>Drains</strong>, <strong>Compacted</strong> S<strong>and</strong> Pile, Liquefaction, Shaking Table, Excess Pore Water<br />

Pressure, Numerical Modeling.<br />

INTRODUCTION<br />

Liquefaction is the most important geotechnical factor which has caused damages to buildings <strong>and</strong> coastal structures<br />

during earthquakes (Shibata et al., 1996; Inagaki et al., 1996; Kamon et al., 1996; Hamada et al., 1996; EERC, 1995).<br />

There are a large number <strong>of</strong> new projects involving the construction or utilization <strong>of</strong> reclaimed areas worldwide.<br />

Conventional reclamation work uses hydraulically placed fills resulting in loose deposits <strong>of</strong> essentially cohesionless soils<br />

highly prone to liquefaction. As an example, in Japan a large artificial isl<strong>and</strong> was constructed <strong>using</strong> 180 million cubic<br />

meters <strong>of</strong> dredged material for the extension <strong>of</strong> Tokyo International Airport with an estimated cost <strong>of</strong> 12 billion dollars.<br />

The continuing development <strong>of</strong> waterfront properties <strong>and</strong> the construction <strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong>fshore artificial isl<strong>and</strong>s impose increasing<br />

pressure on the development <strong>and</strong> implementation <strong>of</strong> remediation measures for liquefaction prone sites. Several<br />

mitigating actions can be taken such as removal or replacement <strong>of</strong> undesirable soil, densification <strong>of</strong> the insitu material,


insitu soil improvement by grouting <strong>and</strong> chemical stabilization <strong>and</strong> <strong>using</strong> <strong>of</strong> relief wells such as gravel or rock drains for<br />

the control <strong>of</strong> undesirable pore water pressure. Although these types <strong>of</strong> mitigation techniques are developed, the<br />

effectiveness <strong>of</strong> these methods are not well defined <strong>and</strong> understood (Das, 1983).<br />

All mitigation techniques which are frequently employed to reduce large deformations <strong>and</strong> subsidence <strong>of</strong> buildings are<br />

based on the following philosophies:<br />

Reducing the build up <strong>of</strong> pore water pressure by means <strong>of</strong> quick drainage <strong>of</strong> water during <strong>and</strong> immediately after the<br />

earthquake.<br />

Improving shear deformability <strong>of</strong> the soil skeleton to prevent large cyclic deformation during the earthquake.<br />

Reinforcing the soil skeleton, which in turn can reduce both shear strain <strong>and</strong> generation <strong>of</strong> excess pore water pressure<br />

<strong>and</strong> increases the soil strength.<br />

One <strong>of</strong> the widely used mitigation methods is <strong>using</strong> gravel drains. The possible benefits <strong>of</strong> gravel drains are densification<br />

<strong>of</strong> surrounding non-cohesive soil, dissipation <strong>of</strong> excess pore water pressure <strong>and</strong> re-distribution <strong>of</strong> earthquake-induced or<br />

pre-existing stresses (due to introduction <strong>of</strong> the stiffer columns). When dealing with non-plastic silty soils, only the third<br />

benefit can be expected primarily to mitigate liquefaction (Baez, 1995). The gravel drain technique is ideally suited for<br />

improving s<strong>of</strong>t silts <strong>and</strong> clays, <strong>and</strong> loose silty s<strong>and</strong>s. The level <strong>of</strong> improvement depends on the soil type, installation<br />

technique, relative spacing <strong>of</strong> the drains, <strong>and</strong> drain diameter. Crushed stones made <strong>of</strong> recycled concrete from torn-down<br />

apartment buildings <strong>and</strong> complexes are suitable alternatives to be used as drain materials (Orense et al., 2003). <strong>Gravel</strong><br />

drains operate by providing preferential drainage paths which enable accumulated pore pressures to dissipate ideally<br />

before the surrounding soil reaches a state <strong>of</strong> initial liquefaction (Brennan <strong>and</strong> Madabhushi, 2002). One <strong>of</strong> the first<br />

studies on gravel drains as liquefaction remediation is that done by Seed <strong>and</strong> Booker (1977). Since this was published,<br />

drains have been subjected to real earthquakes, such as Koshiro-Oki (Sonu et al., 1993), Northridge (Boulanger et al.,<br />

1998) <strong>and</strong> Kobe (Yasuda et al., 1996). Several shortcomings <strong>of</strong> gravel drains have been reported in the literature. A<br />

collected experience suggests that while drains can certainly provide a solution, settlement can still occur to an<br />

unsatisfactory degree (Brennan <strong>and</strong> Madabhushi, 2002).<br />

Regarding aforesaid remarks, in the current study some aspects <strong>of</strong> the effectiveness <strong>of</strong> gravel drains <strong>and</strong> compacted s<strong>and</strong><br />

piles in mitigating excess pore water pressure <strong>and</strong> reducing the subsidence <strong>of</strong> buildings has been studied <strong>using</strong> 1g<br />

shaking table tests <strong>and</strong> following that the experimental results are compared with a numerical method which incorporates<br />

an improved procedure <strong>of</strong> that used by Seed <strong>and</strong> Booker (1977).<br />

PHYSICAL MODELING<br />

A series <strong>of</strong> shaking table tests were conducted on model gravel drains <strong>and</strong> compacted s<strong>and</strong> piles. Figure 1 shows a three<br />

dimensional view <strong>of</strong> the model. Models were constructed in a transparent plexiglass container <strong>of</strong> 180cm long, 45cm wide<br />

<strong>and</strong> 70cm high. The bottom <strong>of</strong> the container was covered by a fine screen mesh so that the saturation process could be<br />

performed by percolating water gradually <strong>and</strong> uniformly from the bottom <strong>of</strong> the soil box.


Figure 1. Three-dimensional view <strong>of</strong> the model apparatus<br />

Firuzkooh s<strong>and</strong> was used as the subsoil. The characteristics <strong>of</strong> this s<strong>and</strong> are Gs = 2.658, emax = 0.943, emin = 0.603,<br />

D50 = 0.3mm, Cu = 2.58, Cc = 0.97 <strong>and</strong> permeability <strong>of</strong> 0.0125 cm/sec. The model foundation had dimensions <strong>of</strong><br />

20cmx30cm <strong>and</strong> was applying an overburden pressure <strong>of</strong> 3 kPa on the s<strong>and</strong>. A geometrical scaling factor <strong>of</strong> 1:25 can be<br />

assumed throughout these tests to model a prototype with a width <strong>of</strong> 5m. Different types <strong>of</strong> transducers were employed<br />

to measure acceleration, pore water pressure <strong>and</strong> displacement at different positions as shown in Figure 2. The pore<br />

pressure transducers were fixed in place to record the pore water pressures at the exact locations; however the<br />

acceleration transducers were free to move with the adjacent soil.<br />

Moist tamping method, in which the Firuzkooh s<strong>and</strong> was mixed with 5% moisture, was used to prepare a uniform soil<br />

pr<strong>of</strong>ile. Wet Firuzkooh s<strong>and</strong> was poured inside the container <strong>and</strong> carefully tamped to a total unit weight <strong>of</strong> 14.41 kN/m3,<br />

thus a target void ratio <strong>of</strong> 0.9 was gained for the liquefiable soil through the tests. Dyed grid lines were created to make<br />

the behavior <strong>of</strong> model ground visible. The soil models were percolated with carbon dioxide to help dissolve the air in the<br />

void space, in order to facilitate full saturation by water. Afterwards the model was saturated from bottom with a very<br />

slow steady flow <strong>of</strong> water in order to sustain the controlled density <strong>of</strong> the tamped s<strong>and</strong>. Input shaking in all tests was a<br />

harmonic wave. The frequency <strong>of</strong> shaking <strong>and</strong> amplitude <strong>of</strong> base acceleration were 3 Hz <strong>and</strong> 0.28g respectively.<br />

Figure 2. Schematic view <strong>of</strong> the model <strong>and</strong> transducers (A1~A4: Accelerometers, P1~P5: Pore water pressure<br />

transducers <strong>and</strong> D1:Displacement transducer)<br />

Test O was performed without any improvements; in test G gravel drains were placed in the model ground. These gravel<br />

drains had a diameter <strong>of</strong> 5cm <strong>and</strong> were s<strong>and</strong>wiched by geo-textile filters. The longitudinal <strong>and</strong> transverse center-to-center<br />

spacing <strong>of</strong> these drains was 25cm <strong>and</strong> 30cm respectively. Dynamic compaction in test C was applied by dropping a 2.0


kg weight with a circular bottom area <strong>of</strong> 19.6cm2 from a height <strong>of</strong> 30cm, ten times. The ground could be improved to a<br />

depth <strong>of</strong> almost 30cm in model scale <strong>using</strong> this method. The resulting compacted s<strong>and</strong> piles had a relative density <strong>of</strong><br />

about 65-70%. Relative densities as high as 90% can be achieved in field with crushed stones (Adalier et al., 2003). The<br />

center-to-center distance <strong>of</strong> the piles was 5cm. These piles covered an abscissa <strong>of</strong> 1B. Figure 3 schematically shows<br />

different types <strong>of</strong> models as described above. A dynamic data acquisition system was utilized to record the behavior <strong>of</strong><br />

the model during the test. During all tests, data were recorded at a sampling rate <strong>of</strong> 1000 samples per second.<br />

Figure 3. Schematic views <strong>of</strong> test arrangements.<br />

NUMERICAL MODELING<br />

The conducted experiments were simulated with a two-dimensional finite element code (FEQDrain) programmed by<br />

Pestana et al. (1998). This program allows for generation <strong>and</strong> dissipation <strong>of</strong> the pore water pressure during dynamic<br />

loading, <strong>and</strong> the basic differential equation is the one used by Seed <strong>and</strong> Booker (1977), <strong>and</strong> Onoue (1988) with some<br />

modifications in the treatment <strong>of</strong> boundary conditions <strong>and</strong> drain elements, which are as below:


Where u is the pore water pressure, t is time, mv is the coefficient <strong>of</strong> volumetric compressibility, ?w is the unit weight <strong>of</strong><br />

water, z is depth within the soil, <strong>and</strong> k is the coefficient <strong>of</strong> permeability. The last term, ?ug/?t, is the undrained rate <strong>of</strong><br />

pore pressure buildup which is calculated through empirical findings <strong>of</strong> development <strong>of</strong> pore water pressure in granular<br />

soils under cyclic loading conditions.<br />

The above relation is an empirical relationship <strong>and</strong> ? is the empirical constant, which depends on the soil type. N is the<br />

number <strong>of</strong> uniform shear stress cycles undergone by the soil at the given depth during the earthquake loading <strong>and</strong> N1 is<br />

the number <strong>of</strong> cycles at the same stress level required to cause liquefaction under undrained conditions (EERC, 1975).<br />

<strong>Drains</strong> can be modeled in four different ways. In the first case, there is no drain, thus allowing the site to be analyzed<br />

prior to remediation. The second method uses a “perfect” drain, similar to the LARF (EERC, 1976) code, in which<br />

excess pore pressures below the water table are assumed uniform. Thus, if the water level in the drain starts out at the<br />

ground surface, the excess pore pressures in the drain will always be zero. If however, the water level is below the<br />

ground surface, water can accumulate within the drain, leading to a uniform rise in the excess pore pressures within the<br />

drain, thus retarding subsequent entry <strong>of</strong> water. The third approach follows an Onoue-type analysis (Onoue, 1988) in<br />

which the drain is represented by a soil element with both horizontal <strong>and</strong> vertical hydraulic conductivities which can be<br />

set independently <strong>of</strong> the soil outside the drain. Thus, a very high permeability channel can be created. As in the “perfect”<br />

drain method, the code has the additional capability for allowing water to accumulate within the drain itself. The<br />

boundary conditions are as Figure 4.<br />

The input parameters were applied as following. Only one layer in the soil pr<strong>of</strong>ile was defined due to the relatively<br />

uniform s<strong>and</strong> deposit prepared throughout the tests. The depth to static ground water table was set to zero since water<br />

level was at the ground surface in the model tests. An effective vertical stress <strong>of</strong> 3 kPa was used to model the foundation<br />

overburden pressure <strong>and</strong> a hydraulic conductivity <strong>of</strong> 1.25x10-4 m/s was assigned. Also coefficient <strong>of</strong> volumetric<br />

compressibility <strong>of</strong> 5x10-5 m2/kN was used, provided by some consolidation experiments carried out on Firuzkooh s<strong>and</strong>.<br />

The number <strong>of</strong> cycles to cause liquefaction in each test was extracted from the acceleration time history response.<br />

Equivalent number <strong>of</strong> cycles due to earthquake loading was selected from the recorded input acceleration time history<br />

(acceleration transducer A4) <strong>of</strong> each test <strong>and</strong> 10 second duration was used. According to tests specifications relative<br />

density (Dr), total layer thickness <strong>and</strong> total unit weight <strong>of</strong> 12.65%, 0.6 m <strong>and</strong> 18.56 KN/m3 were used respectively. An<br />

axisymmetric analysis with a variable compressibility was performed. The gravel drains were modeled with a constant<br />

hydraulic conductivity <strong>of</strong> 0.25 m/s, an outside radius <strong>of</strong> 2.5 cm <strong>and</strong> a tributary area radius <strong>of</strong> 20.34 cm according to the<br />

experiments. Besides, the compacted s<strong>and</strong> piles were modeled as uniform soils with higher relative densities <strong>and</strong> less<br />

hydraulic conductivities.<br />

(1)<br />

(2)<br />

(3)<br />

(4)


Experimental results<br />

Acceleration time histories<br />

Figure 4. Boundary conditions used in the numerical modeling (EERC, 1997)<br />

The acceleration responses <strong>of</strong> the models are shown in Figures 5-7. A very clear reduction <strong>of</strong> acceleration occurred after<br />

the second cycle in test O (Figure 6) which indicates severe liquefaction <strong>and</strong> s<strong>of</strong>tening <strong>of</strong> the soil particularly at the<br />

positions <strong>of</strong> A1 <strong>and</strong> A2. This kind <strong>of</strong> s<strong>of</strong>tening also happened in test G (Figure 6) after the seventh cycle. The presence<br />

<strong>of</strong> gravel drains delayed the s<strong>of</strong>tening <strong>of</strong> the soil; however it didn’t mitigate it completely. The larger amplitudes <strong>of</strong><br />

acceleration response in test G implies that the seismic shaking was transferred, with some amplification from the base<br />

<strong>of</strong> the deposit up to the footing by the composite ground <strong>of</strong> s<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> gravel drains. The loss <strong>of</strong> strength in test G was<br />

larger <strong>and</strong> faster than that in test C (Figure 7). At corresponding locations, attenuations were smaller <strong>and</strong> delayed in test<br />

C comparing to tests G <strong>and</strong> O. This can be attributed to the reinforcing effect <strong>of</strong> the compacted s<strong>and</strong> piles. In general,<br />

throughout shaking, model test C behaved in a stiffer manner <strong>and</strong> the cyclic mobility induced s<strong>of</strong>tening occurred<br />

gradually after eight cycles <strong>of</strong> shaking in shallower depths <strong>of</strong> A1 <strong>and</strong> A2. <strong>Compacted</strong> s<strong>and</strong> piles due to their dilative<br />

characteristic appeared to be stronger <strong>and</strong> degradation <strong>of</strong> their strength was not very significant. The spikier <strong>and</strong> an<br />

overall stiffer response <strong>of</strong> the compacted s<strong>and</strong> piles exhibit a more pronounced cyclic-mobility behavior <strong>of</strong> the stratum.<br />

This cyclic mobility behavior explains why the accelerations reduce at a later time than those <strong>of</strong> the unremediated<br />

ground.


Figure 5. Time histories <strong>of</strong> accelerations recorded in Test O<br />

Figure 6. Time histories <strong>of</strong> accelerations recorded in Test G


Excess pore water pressure<br />

Figure 7. Time histories <strong>of</strong> accelerations recorded in Test C<br />

Time histories <strong>of</strong> excess pore pressure ratio, ru, recorded at depths <strong>of</strong> 15cm <strong>and</strong> 35cm below the center <strong>of</strong> the foundation<br />

are shown in Figures 8-10. Comparing these figures with the acceleration time histories indicates that acceleration<br />

amplitudes attenuated due to excess pore pressure buildup since the chronological agreement between the maximum<br />

excess pore pressure <strong>and</strong> the attenuation <strong>of</strong> acceleration amplitude is clearly seen from these figures. Maximum excess<br />

pore pressure ratio (ru) was achieved during some initial cycles <strong>and</strong> remained almost unchanged within the shaking<br />

period. The maximum excess pore pressure ratios in all tests, were almost the same however, the number <strong>of</strong> cycles<br />

ca<strong>using</strong> this maximum ru was different. The gravel drains increased the resistance against liquefaction <strong>and</strong> ru reached its<br />

maximum within a larger number <strong>of</strong> cycles. A similar behavior was observed in test C with the compacted subsoil.<br />

Compaction was able to increase liquefaction resistance more than gravel drains. During shaking, gravel drains were not<br />

able to reduce the excess pore pressure considerably; <strong>and</strong> changes in the behavior <strong>of</strong> the remediated ground was<br />

primarily a result <strong>of</strong> the stiffening effect <strong>of</strong> the gravel drains.<br />

After the shaking excess pore water pressures at deeper locations started to dissipate, however they increased in<br />

shallower deposits due to the upward movement <strong>of</strong> water from deeper strata <strong>and</strong> flows draining from the surrounding far<br />

field soils; such a phenomenon was also observed by Liu <strong>and</strong> Dobry (1997) as well as during the 1995 Kobe earthquake,<br />

where upward seepage was observed in Rokko Isl<strong>and</strong> an hour after the main event (Shibata et al., 1996). This migration<br />

<strong>of</strong> water may reduce the strength <strong>of</strong> surface soils <strong>and</strong> generate "secondary" (or seepage induced) liquefaction, ca<strong>using</strong><br />

large deformations or loss <strong>of</strong> bearing capacity (EERC, 1975; Yoshimi <strong>and</strong> Kuwabara, 1973).<br />

Furthermore the excess pore water pressure ratios show that at any specific depth there was a moment after which, the<br />

excess pore pressures started to dissipate faster. This is the initial period, where vertical dissipation had not had a chance<br />

to get hold on the soil at that corresponding depth <strong>and</strong> only radial drainage was experienced at that depth.<br />

After shaking the differences in dissipation rates <strong>of</strong> various tests were remarkable which indicates that gravel drains<br />

accelerated the excess pore pressure dissipation after shaking, showing their effectiveness in non-dynamic cases i.e.<br />

effectively mitigating secondary liquefaction due to the upward flowing water after earthquake. The deeper pore water<br />

pressure used the full drain capacity <strong>and</strong> overlying deposits waited for the way to be clear. At shallower sections water<br />

left through surface rather than the drain itself. Such phenomenon was also observed by Brennan <strong>and</strong> Madabhushi<br />

(2002).


Figure 8. Time histories <strong>of</strong> excess pore pressure ratio under the foundation centerline in Test O<br />

Figure 9. Time histories <strong>of</strong> excess pore pressure ratio under the foundation centerline in Test G


Figure 2. Figure 10: Time histories <strong>of</strong> excess pore pressure ratio under the foundation centerline in Test C<br />

Figure 11. Excess pore water pressure ratio isopiestic lines in Test O


Figure 12. Excess pore water pressure ratio isopiestic lines in Test G<br />

Figure 13. Excess pore water pressure ratio isopiestic lines in Test C<br />

The isopiestic lines for excess pore water pressure ratio, five seconds after the shaking had started, are depicted in<br />

Figures 11-13. It can be observed that the excess pore water pressures right under the foundation never reached zero<br />

effective stress conditions in any <strong>of</strong> the tests <strong>and</strong> the corresponding excess pore pressure ratios never gained a value <strong>of</strong><br />

100%. This is due to the presence <strong>of</strong> foundation, other wise the shaking intensity was enough to develop complete<br />

liquefaction. Looking at the locations farther from the effect <strong>of</strong> the foundation, shows that achieving higher excess pore<br />

water pressure ratios was possible. In other words, ru values were lowest immediately below the foundation, revealing a


significantly less contractive soil response within the foundation soil. If there was no foundation placed on the soil the<br />

soils at shallower depths would be more susceptible to liquefy than soils at deeper depths. Centrifuge <strong>and</strong> other 1g<br />

shaking table tests on foundations supported by s<strong>and</strong>y deposits have shown that excess pore water pressure was generally<br />

smaller under the foundation than the free field (Laak et al., 1994; Whitman <strong>and</strong> Lambe, 1988; Liu <strong>and</strong> Dobry, 1997;<br />

Adalier et al., 1998; Adalier et al., 2002; Koga <strong>and</strong> Matsuo, 1990) i.e. the superposed footing loads caused a beneficial<br />

reduction <strong>of</strong> liquefaction potential. This is similar to sloping ground conditions, in which the maximum achievable pore<br />

water pressures are suppressed by the static driving shear stress <strong>and</strong> may not reach full liquefaction, no matter how many<br />

additional loading cycles are applied. Koga <strong>and</strong> Matsuo (1990) attributed it to the inability <strong>of</strong> the earlier liquefied freefield<br />

soil to provide lateral stress more than its initial vertical effective stress to the foundation soil.<br />

Settlement<br />

Earthquake induced settlement frequently causes damages to structures supported on shallow foundations, damage to<br />

utilities that serve pile-supported structures, <strong>and</strong> damage to lifelines that are commonly buried at shallow depths. Failure<br />

is observed in the form <strong>of</strong> considerable subsidence due to the following reasons:<br />

S<strong>of</strong>tening <strong>of</strong> the subsoil resulting in lateral deformations <strong>of</strong> the soil which can be indicated by the curved shapes <strong>of</strong> the<br />

dyed s<strong>and</strong> under the footing in Figure 14.<br />

Loss <strong>of</strong> shear strength, which causes a punching settlement <strong>of</strong> the model foundation.<br />

General settlement <strong>of</strong> subsoil following liquefaction, which is caused by excess pore pressure dissipation during <strong>and</strong><br />

after the earthquake.<br />

Earthquake shaking causes excess pore pressure to build up under undrained conditions, thereby reducing the effective<br />

stress. The excess pore pressure produces a hydraulic gradient that drives the pore water out <strong>of</strong> the voids. The flow <strong>of</strong><br />

water reduces the hydraulic gradient until the excess pore pressure completely dissipates. As the water flows from the<br />

voids, the volume <strong>of</strong> the soil decreases. The magnitude <strong>of</strong> the volume change increases with the magnitude <strong>of</strong> the<br />

seismically induced excess pore pressure. Even small excess pore pressures which may not be sufficient to produce flow<br />

liquefaction or cyclic mobility, can produce some post-earthquake settlements. The time required for this settlement to<br />

occur depends on the permeability <strong>and</strong> compressibility <strong>of</strong> the soil, <strong>and</strong> on the length <strong>of</strong> the drainage path (Kramer, 1996).<br />

Among the mentioned reasons, the effects <strong>of</strong> the first <strong>and</strong> second mechanisms were more remarkable.


Figure 14. Failure patterns observed after shaking <strong>of</strong> (a) Test O, (b) Test G<br />

Figure 15 shows the recorded time histories <strong>of</strong> foundation settlements. The initial settlement rate <strong>of</strong> tests O <strong>and</strong> G was<br />

larger than that <strong>of</strong> test C; however after this initial fast settlement the settlement rates in all <strong>of</strong> the tests become very<br />

similar. This implies a similar initial settlement mechanism in tests O <strong>and</strong> G which because <strong>of</strong> its high rate can be<br />

attributed to a loss <strong>of</strong> shear strength <strong>and</strong> punching type <strong>of</strong> settlement. This observation is analogical to the behavior <strong>of</strong><br />

the response acceleration <strong>and</strong> excess pore pressure ratio which were discussed earlier. Due to the larger voids in gravel<br />

drains this type <strong>of</strong> settlement was larger in gravel drains. Afterwards the rate <strong>and</strong> mechanisms <strong>of</strong> settlement becomes a<br />

s<strong>of</strong>tening type in all <strong>of</strong> the tests which was manifested by lateral deformations in the subsoil as shown in Figure 14 for<br />

tests O <strong>and</strong> G. Furthermore the amount <strong>of</strong> settlement due to s<strong>of</strong>tening <strong>and</strong> lateral deformation in all <strong>of</strong> the tests was<br />

almost the same <strong>and</strong> equal to 50mm. This can be justified by the same amount <strong>of</strong> the maximum pore water pressure ratio<br />

developed in all <strong>of</strong> the tests.<br />

Settlement in test C seems to be reasonably controlled. Compaction could reduce the rate <strong>and</strong> the maximum amount <strong>of</strong><br />

settlement as well as delaying the settlement initiation time. Figure 10 shows an initial negative excess pore water<br />

pressure developed at 15 cm below the foundation centerline in test C <strong>and</strong> correspondingly the ground surface was<br />

observed to have a smaller subsidence. Settlement in test C was due to the migration <strong>of</strong> underlying foundation soil<br />

towards the free field <strong>and</strong> was partially masked by heave.


Figure 15. Foundation settlements observed in different tests<br />

In all <strong>of</strong> the tests regarding the ten second shaking period, most <strong>of</strong> the foundation settlements occurred during shaking,<br />

<strong>and</strong> a smaller portion <strong>of</strong> the total settlement was caused by post-shaking soil reconsolidation due to excess pore water<br />

pressure dissipation. The less efficiency <strong>of</strong> gravel drains can be realized by comparing these two phenomena that excess<br />

pore water pressure was reduced mostly after shaking <strong>and</strong> most <strong>of</strong> the settlement occurred during shaking. However,<br />

more recently, gravel drains have been used to reduce post-earthquake settlements resulting from soil consolidation due<br />

to excess pore pressure dissipation <strong>and</strong> secondary liquefaction (EERC, 1997).<br />

NUMERICAL RESULTS<br />

The numerical analysis presented in figures 16-18 illustrate that the numerical method was only able to predict the excess<br />

pore pressure ratio correctly in test O. In the other tests <strong>using</strong> gravel drains <strong>and</strong> compacted s<strong>and</strong> piles, the computed<br />

excess pore pressure ratios were much smaller than the measured values. However the trends in each test were predicted<br />

correctly i.e. the excess pore pressure ratios in deeper layers were larger than those in shallower layers.


Figure 16. Time histories <strong>of</strong> excess pore pressure ratio under the center <strong>of</strong> foundation by the numerical analyzing <strong>of</strong> Test<br />

O<br />

Figure 17. Time histories <strong>of</strong> excess pore pressure ratio under the center <strong>of</strong> foundation by the numerical analyzing <strong>of</strong> Test<br />

G


Figure 18. Time histories <strong>of</strong> excess pore pressure ratio under the center <strong>of</strong> foundation by the numerical analyzing <strong>of</strong> Test<br />

C<br />

By not considering the s<strong>of</strong>tening <strong>and</strong> loss <strong>of</strong> strength <strong>of</strong> the subsoil, which had a significant contribution in foundation<br />

settlements, the computed settlements were much smaller than the recorded values in Figure 19. Ignoring the loss <strong>of</strong><br />

shear strength mechanism has made the settlement <strong>of</strong> the gravel drains to be much smaller than the non-remediated case.<br />

However the efficiency <strong>of</strong> the compacted piles in reducing the rate <strong>and</strong> amount <strong>of</strong> settlement is demonstrated in the<br />

numerical simulations too.<br />

Figure 19. Foundation settlement in different tests obtained by numerical analysis.


Figure 20. Excess pore water pressure ratio isopiestic lines from numerical simulation <strong>of</strong> Test O.<br />

Figure 21. Excess pore water pressure ratio isopiestic lines from numerical simulation <strong>of</strong> Test G.


Figure 22. Excess pore water pressure ratio isopiestic lines from numerical simulation <strong>of</strong> Test C.<br />

The isopiestic lines <strong>of</strong> the excess pore water pressure ratios, obtained from the numerical simulations, are depicted in<br />

Figures 20-22, <strong>and</strong> can be compared with their counterparts in Figures 11-13. Higher excess pore pressure ratios in test O<br />

<strong>and</strong> lower ones in tests G <strong>and</strong> C are the effects <strong>of</strong> the ground remediation. The numerical code applies the overburden<br />

pressure uniformly all over the surface, that's why the contours are not the same shape as the actual ones in Figures 11-<br />

13, especially in tests O <strong>and</strong> C. However, in corresponding depths the computed excess pore water pressure ratios agreed<br />

very well with the actual ones in test O but in tests G <strong>and</strong> C they were much less than the real values. In addition the<br />

numerical code was not able to simulate the dilative response <strong>and</strong> the consequent negative excess pore pressure beneath<br />

the foundation in test C. Besides the pore pressure reduction capability <strong>of</strong> the gravel drains was expressed by the<br />

numerical simulation.<br />

CONCLUSIONS<br />

A series <strong>of</strong> 1g shaking table tests were carried out to evaluate the performance <strong>of</strong> two common ground improvement<br />

techniques, gravel drains <strong>and</strong> s<strong>and</strong> compacted piles. For comparison a test with no improvement was also performed to<br />

compare the behaviors. Following the experimental work, these techniques were modeled with a finite element code.<br />

The experiments presented that the improvement provided by the dynamic compaction method not only reduces the<br />

excess pore pressure, but also the stiffer compacted s<strong>and</strong> piles provided higher overall foundation shear strength <strong>and</strong><br />

bearing capacity, preventing settlements better than gravel drains. Settlement was mainly due to migration <strong>of</strong> underlying<br />

foundation soil towards the free field (lateral spreading) in the tests with s<strong>and</strong> compacted piles. However with the gravel<br />

drains, the settlement was considerably raised due to the loss <strong>of</strong> shear strength <strong>and</strong> punching attained by the shaking<br />

process. Since gravel is a frictional material possessing negligible cohesion, confining pressure applied by the soil is <strong>of</strong><br />

paramount importance. Sufficient vertical stress or confining pressure might be required to engage the full reinforcing<br />

effect <strong>of</strong> the gravel drains. This confinement can be obtained with the weight <strong>of</strong> the structure <strong>and</strong> method <strong>of</strong> installation.<br />

The installation process should embed the drains tightly within the soil matrix, while preventing mixing <strong>of</strong> the in-situ<br />

s<strong>of</strong>t soil with the drain material. Such contamination not only compromises the strength <strong>of</strong> the columns, but also reduces<br />

their drainage capacity. Furthermore it was observed that the intensity <strong>of</strong> shaking was enough to produce liquefaction,<br />

however the excess pore pressure ratio never reached 100% under the center <strong>and</strong> edge <strong>of</strong> the foundation due to the static<br />

driving shear stress.<br />

In general, the test results suggest that compacted s<strong>and</strong> columns as stiffer elements are likely to be more viable solutions<br />

in mitigating liquefaction where the only possible mitigation benefit is from the stiffening stress concentration criterion.


The real advantages <strong>of</strong> drains may lie not in preventing liquefaction but in reducing the time that deposits spend in a<br />

liquefied state. This should prevent problems caused by prolonged post-earthquake excess pore pressures <strong>and</strong> secondary<br />

liquefaction, such as rotation <strong>of</strong> bridge piers or high backfill pressures behind quay walls <strong>and</strong> this implies that the<br />

efficiency <strong>of</strong> gravel drains would be improved in small duration earthquakes.<br />

The numerical analysis illustrated that simulating the liquefaction phenomenon by only considering pore pressure<br />

generation <strong>and</strong> dissipation, would be far from the margins <strong>of</strong> safety, especially in the remediated cases. Finally it should<br />

be emphasized that the effectiveness <strong>of</strong> the improvement methods depends not only on the mechanism <strong>of</strong> their behavior<br />

but also on the quality <strong>and</strong> quantity <strong>of</strong> the employed techniques.<br />

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© 2006 ejge

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