Influence of soil liquefaction on the design bearing capacity of a single pile

Abstract

Introduction. Pile foundations are considered one of the most suitable foundation solutions for construction in seismic areas. However, during earthquakes, specific processes often occur that adversely affect the interaction of piles with the surrounding soil. Soil liquefaction is one of the most difficult problems in geotechnical engineering in seismic areas, in which the soil will lose its strength properties. Assessing the effect of soil liquefaction on the design bearing capacity of piles during seismic impacts is an aspect of the design of pile foundations.
 Materials and methods. Using the formulas in standards documents for determining the design bearing capacity of piles with the suggested new technique on the hypothesis that after the influence of seismic waves and liquefaction, the soil with self-compaction pulls the pile down due to skin friction, i.e. additional downward loads affect upon the piles.
 Results. Various design cases are considered, with and without taking into account the effect of soil liquefaction on the bearing capacity of piles, under engineering and geological conditions in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. A comparison is presented between the results in the considering various cases.
 Conclusions. The suggested technique allows to evaluate the reduction in the bearing capacity of piles after soil liquefaction. Further researches on the effect of soil liquefaction on the bearing capacity of piles are one of the main tasks in the design of buildings and structures in seismic areas for reduction in the risk of the catastrophic destruction of the foundations and buildings during and after an earthquake.