Evolution of anti-liquefaction performance of foundation soils after dam construction

Abstract

This research examines the foundation of a 7-year-old reservoir dam. No anti-liquefaction reinforcement treatment was applied before or during dam construction because the designers believed that the overburden load of the levee improved the soil liquefaction resistance. Here, we reassess the anti-liquefaction performance of the foundation and evaluate the reinforcement effect of the levee overburden load. Standard penetration tests and cone penetration tests were conducted to assess and compare the liquefaction potential of the foundation soils before and after the dam construction to reveal the evolution of anti-liquefaction performance. The confining pressure and relative density of the liquefiable soils were obtained before and after dam construction. Laboratory resonant column tests and dynamic triaxial tests were conducted under different confining pressures to obtain the dynamic properties of the soils before and after dam construction and the evolution mechanism of the anti-liquefaction performance of the foundation soils.