Nonlinear deformation analyses of an embankment dam on a spatially variable liquefiable deposit

Abstract

Nonlinear deformation analyses of an embankment dam on a spatially variable (stochastic), liquefiable alluvial deposit are presented and compared to results of analyses using uniform properties for the same deposit. The results are used to examine the basis for selecting representative properties (as a percentile of the stochastic distributions), which when used in uniform models, produces embankment deformations consistent with the median response of the stochastic models. Analyses are performed for four different sets of realizations for the stochastic alluvial deposit and a range of shaking intensities. The results suggest that the use of 33rd percentile properties for representing stochastic deposits in uniform models is reasonable to slightly conservative for cases where the length scale of the deformation mechanism is significantly greater than the scale of fluctuation in the deposit.