Efficient Finite-Element Model for Seismic Response Estimation of Piles and Soils in Liquefied and Laterally Spreading Ground Considering Shear Localization

Abstract

AbstractA key challenge for estimating seismic response of piles and soils in liquefied and laterally spreading ground is the efficient prediction of local loosening phenomenon (shear localization) at the interlayer between the liquefied loose sand and the overburden crust. To this end, a simplified finite-element (FE) model was developed. In the soil model, a soft interlayer element with a thickness and corresponding low reference shear modulus was developed to represent the shear localization phenomenon. The proposed FE models were then used to simulate centrifuge tests of a single pile, a two-pile group, and a six-pile group in sloping liquefiable profiles that lead to lateral spreading. Predicted results of the shear-localization-induced soil lateral spreading displacement, as well as the structural response, agree reasonably well with the test records, indicating that the proposed FE model is capable of approximating the seismic responses of soil and piles in liquefied and laterally spreading ground....