A comparative study between gravel and rubber drainage columns for mitigation of liquefaction hazards

Abstract

Liquefaction is one of the most destructive natural hazards that cause damage to engineering structures during an earthquake. This study aims to examine the effect of rubber and gravel drainage columns on the reduction of liquefaction potential of saturated sandy soils using a shaking table. Experiments were carried out in various conditions such as construction materials, different arrangements and diameters of drainage columns. Effects of the relative density and the input motion on the base test were investigated as well. The results demonstrate that rubber drainage columns have slightly better performance compared to gravel drainage columns at high relative density and high input acceleration. Soil improvement using gravel drainage columns, which leads to reduction in liquefaction effects at moderate input acceleration and low relative density, is a more effective method than that using rubber drainage columns. By increasing the number and diameter of gravel and rubber drainage columns, deformations due to liquefaction are reduced. The drainage rate of gravel drains is higher than that of rubber drains after shaking. Totally, the outcomes indicate that densification is the most important factor controlling liquefaction.