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COLLEGE OF
ENGG.AMRAVATI.
ABSTRACT
fortunately the above foundation failure can be reduces by adopting some precautions in
construction, which should be within the economic means of people in most countries.
Liquefaction is major part earthquake which causes foundation failure and lost of life. It
is fairly well accepted that earthquakes will continue to occur and cause disasters if we
are not prepared. Assessing earthquake risk and improving engineering strategies to
mitigate damages are the only options before us. Geologists, seismologists and engineers
are continuing their efforts to meet the requirements of improved zoning map., reliable
databases of earthquake processes and their effects; better understanding of liquefaction
EARTHQUAKE
Earthquakes are caused by active faults, which are, faults along which
the two sides of the fracture move with respect to each other. A fault is a fracture within
some particular rocky mass within the earth's crust. Fault sizes can vary greatly, as some
faults can be miles long. In short, an earthquake is caused by the sudden movement of
the two sides of a fault with respect to another.
There are three different groups of faults, depending on the way they move.
GROUND SHAKING
SURFACE FAULTING
The consequences of major fault rupture at the surface can be extreme. Buildings
may be torn apart, gas lines severed, and roads made impassible. Damage by faults is
more localized than the widespread damage caused by ground shaking. Nevertheless, the
identification of active surface faults is an important part of estimating future earthquake
losses.
Most of the faults on these maps are presently inactive. Geologic evidence
indicating active fault movement within the last 10,000 years has been reported for only a
few small faults in Washington. The best documented active surface faults in the state are
located near Lake Cushman in westem Washington he most recent time of movement of
many faults is unknown because, in many places, the faults are not covered by young
geologic materials. Such material, if found to be disturbed, would provide geologic
evidence of the time of movement.
BUILDING COLLAPSE
People can be trapped in collapsed buildings or under rubble that collapses into
the street. This is the type of damage that leads to the worst casulaties. The worst thing to
do in a quake is to rush out into the street during the quake. The danger from being hit by
falling glass and debris is many times greater in front of the building than inside. In the
1989 Loma Prieta quake the streets of San Francisco's financial district were covered by
broken glass and people were buried under the facade of a brick building that fell forward
into the street. Likewise in the 1964 Alaska quake, a huge concrete facade fell off of a
department store onto pedestrians passing by.
Buildings that can otherwise withstand the quake can be knocked off their
foundations and severly damaged. This type of damage can be largely prevented by
bolting the frame securely to the foundation, so it will remain in place.
LANDSIDES
Buildings can be damaged when the ground gives way beneath them. This can be
in the form of a landslide down a hill, or liquifaction of soils that can cause severe
settling of the ground. Ground movement can change the whole landscape, as in the New
Madrid Quake that changed the course of the Mississppi River. A landslide into a lake or
resevoir can cause flooding downstream. This kind of damage is not unique to
earthquakes, but can be triggered by a quake.
LIQUEFACTION
Soil liquefaction and related ground failures are commonly associated with large
earthquakes. In common usage, liquefaction refers to the loss of strength in saturated,
cohesion fewer soils due to the build-up of pore water pressures during dynamic loading.
A more precise definition of soil liquefaction is given by Sladen
"Liquefaction is a phenomenon wherein a mass of soil loses a large percentage of
its shear resistance, when subjected to monotonic, cyclic, or shock loading, and
flows in a manner resembling a liquid until the shear stresses acting on the mass
are as low as the reduced shear resistance."
In a more general manner, soil liquefaction has been defined as the transformation
"from a solid state to a liquefied state as a consequence of increased pore pressure and
reduced effective stress" ("Definition of terms..." 1978). Some ground failures attributed
to soil liquefaction are more correctly described to “cyclic mobility” which results in
limited soil deformations without liquid-like flow. The proper, concise definition for soil
liquefaction has been the subject of a continuing debate within the geotechnical
profession. While investigators have argued that liquefaction and cyclic mobility should
be carefully distinguished (Castro and Poulos 1977), “liquefaction” is commonly used to
describe all failure mechanisms resulting from the build-up of pore pressures during
undrained cyclic shear of saturated soils.
When dense sands are monotonically sheared, the soil skeleton may first
compress and then dilate as the sand particles move up and over one another. For dense,
saturated sands sheared without pore water drainage, the tendency for dilation or volume
increase results in a decrease in pore water pressure and an increase in the effective stress
and shear strength. When a dense sand sample is subjected to cycles of small shear strains
under undrained conditions, excess pore pressure may be generated in each load cycle
leading to softening and the accumulation of deformations. However, at larger shear
strains, dilation relieves the excess pore pressure resulting in an increased shear
resistance. The behavior of loose and dense sands in undrained shear is discussed further.
(1) Flow liquefaction, used for the undrained flow of a saturated, contractive soil
when the static shear stress exceeds the residual strength of the soil. Failure may
be triggered by cyclic or monotonic shear loading.
(2) Cyclic liquefaction, which occurs when cyclic shear stresses exceed the initial,
static shear stress to produce a stress reversal. A condition of zero effective stress
may be achieved during which large deformations may occur.
• Cyclic mobility, in which cyclic loads do not yield a shear stress reversal and a
condition of zero effective stress does not develop. Deformations accumulate in
each cycle of shear stress.
of a piled foundation in
(2001).
CASE STUDY 2
Inconsistency in Observations of Pile Failure with the Current Understanding
pile failure with respect to the current understanding. They are summarized below.
After the detailed investigation of the failure of piles during 1995 Kobe
earthquake, Tokimatsu and Asaka (1998) reports that: “In the liquefied level ground, most
PC piles (Prestressed Concrete pile used before 1980’s) and PHC piles (Prestressed High
Strength Concrete piles used after 1980’s) bearing on firm strata below liquefied layers
…..”. If lateral spreading is the main cause of failure, why would most of high strength
PHC piles collapse in level grounds i.e. in the absence of lateral spreading.
abutments remain stable, for example Figures 1 (a&b). Figure 1 (a) shows the collapse of
one the piers of the Million Dollar Bridge leading to bridge failure. Similar failures were
also observed of the Showa Bridge during the 1964 Niigata earthquake; see Figure 1(b).
Figure 1: Failure of bridges in earthquakes; (a): Million Dollar Bridge after the
1964 Alaska earthquake; (b): Showa Bridge after the 1964 Niigata earthquake.
CONCLUSION
2002).http://wwwciv.eng.cam.ac.uk/geotech_new/publications/TR/TR324.pdf
3. Madabhushi, S.P.G., Patel, D. and Haigh, S.K. (2001). Draft version of .EEFIT