Use of instability curves for the assessment of post-liquefaction stability and deformation of sloping grounds

Abstract

The paper presents a simplified approach to determine the post-cyclic deformation of liquefied sloping grounds. The approach uses instability curves derived from undrained multi-stage (cyclic+monotonic) triaxial tests. It is shown that the salient aspects of the post-liquefaction deformation can be expressed as a function of the state parameter ψ, defined as the void ratio difference between the current state of the soil and its critical state at the same mean stress level, and amplitude of accumulated cyclic strain. As the proposed approach predicts deformations, rather than residual strength or factor of safety, the method can be used for the definition of the performance criteria following a performance-based design approach. The application of the proposed method is illustrated through a real case study.