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Strength variations due to re-liquefaction—indication from cyclic tests on undisturbed and remold samples of a liquefaction-recurring site

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Abstract

According to historical records, the soil in the Xinhua District of Tainan City, Taiwan, has been liquefied several times in 1946, 2010, and 2016. To assess the soil liquefaction resistance and understand the recurring liquefaction mechanism of this site, this study conducts a series of experimental tests, including the undrained dynamic triaxial tests on undisturbed and remolded soil samples retrieved from the site. Different fines contents, dry densities, and effective confining pressures are considered for the remolded samples during the test program to investigate their influence on the soil liquefaction resistance. A complete experimental soil liquefaction resistance curve of the site is constructed based on the test results. The liquefaction resistances of the undisturbed and remolded samples were found to be similar at the recurring liquefaction site in the present study. Besides, the experimental soil liquefaction resistance curve of the recurring liquefaction site was lower than the in situ empirical soil liquefaction resistance curve that is based on all site conditions, including the aging effect. This observation agrees with the other laboratory test and field investigation that the triggered liquefaction leads to the “reset” of the aging effect that lowers the liquefaction resistance. The finding of this study may explain why a recurring liquefaction site is more vulnerable to liquefaction in a seismic event.

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Funding

This research was funded by the Central Geological Survey (CGS) in the framework of the “probabilistic liquefaction hazard analysis and its application” project. The financial support by the CGS is gratefully acknowledged. The tests have been performed with the help of W.C. Lin, who is a research assistant at the NCHU soil mechanics laboratory and graduate students of NTU, Y.H Yang, and Y.H. Lin.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering, Tamkang University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Fu-Kuo Huang

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan

    Chi-Chin Tsai

  3. Department of Civil Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Louis Ge

  4. Department of Civil and Construction Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science Technology, Taipei, Taiwan

    Chih-Wei Lu

  5. Environmental Engineering Geology Division, Central Geology Survey, Taipei, Taiwan

    Chung-Chi Chi

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  1. Fu-Kuo Huang
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  2. Chi-Chin Tsai
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Correspondence to Chi-Chin Tsai.

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Huang, FK., Tsai, CC., Ge, L. et al. Strength variations due to re-liquefaction—indication from cyclic tests on undisturbed and remold samples of a liquefaction-recurring site. Bull Eng Geol Environ 81, 117 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-022-02621-2

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