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Macroscopic Characteristics of Seismic Liquefaction

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Hazard Analysis of Seismic Soil Liquefaction

Part of the book series: Springer Natural Hazards ((SPRINGERNAT))

Abstract

Both macro-phenomena and influences of soil liquefaction have been recognized for several centuries. The earliest earthquake record goes back to 1831 BC in Shandong Province, China. Descriptions of subsoil liquefaction are found in the literature of recent centuries, and liquefaction characteristics have been gradually identified since 1872 (Kuribayashi and Tatsuoka 1975). Liquefaction gained much attention after the 1964 Niigata earthquake in Japan, which led to widespread and serious liquefaction. During that earthquake, damage to buildings, subway stations and bridges, and upward float of underground facilities such as tanks, sewage conduits and manholes caused by liquefaction were widely observed. Researchers began to summarize these phenomena in detail and develop models to explain them. Since the beginning of this century, earthquakes have become more frequent. Thanks to the rapid development of technology, especially in geologically related fields, several new liquefaction phenomena have been observed. For comprehensive analysis of seismically induced liquefaction, we summarize conventional liquefaction phenomena or macroscopic characteristics (e.g., sand boiling or sand blows, ground cracking or fissures, and lateral spread) using observations from different earthquakes, especially those happened during the twenty-first century worldwide. Moreover, to better understand surveys of soil liquefaction, a detailed survey of liquefaction phenomena in the Wenchuan earthquake is conducted, and some new characteristics found in that earthquake and others are introduced here.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geotechnical Engineering, College of Civil Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, China

    Yu Huang & Miao Yu

  2. Faculty of Engineering, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, Hubei, 430074, China

    Miao Yu

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  1. Yu Huang
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  2. Miao Yu
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Correspondence to Yu Huang .

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Huang, Y., Yu, M. (2017). Macroscopic Characteristics of Seismic Liquefaction. In: Hazard Analysis of Seismic Soil Liquefaction. Springer Natural Hazards. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4379-6_2

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