Kokusho 1999 Water Film in Liquefied Sand and Its Effect On Lateral Spread
Kokusho 1999 Water Film in Liquefied Sand and Its Effect On Lateral Spread
ON LATERAL SPREAD
By Takeji Kokusho1
ABSTRACT: A 1D saturated sand layer of 2 m in thickness, in which a silt seam is sandwiched, is liquefied
by an instant shock. It is found that a water film is easily formed beneath the silt seam with a thickness as thin
as a few millimeters just after liquefaction in loose sand and that the film lasts longer than the post-liquefaction
settlement. The effect of the water film on pore-pressure distribution and sand settlement is intensively studied.
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1g shake table tests are then carried out for 2D models with or without seams of silt within a saturated sand
layer. In the former case, water films formed beneath silt seams just after liquefaction enable the soil mass above
them to glide due to an unbalanced force along the water films, not only during but also after shaking. In the
latter case, the soil deforms continuously, mostly during shaking, and stops afterward. Thus, a significant effect
of water films formed beneath thin, low-permeability sublayers in a liquefied loose sand, on the failure mode
and timing in lateral spread, is clearly demonstrated by these simple model tests.
the silt seam, the pore pressure starts to decrease from the
bottom of the layer and completely dissipates by point P3. In
contrast, if there is a silt seam, the pore-pressure dissipation
occurs concurrently, both in the upper and lower layers, as
indicated by the pore-pressure data (obtained from piezometers
c and e in Fig. 6(a). The pressure continues to decrease until
the end of settlement of liquefied sand in the upper layer, P3,
and after that maintains an almost constant value up to the
point P4. During that period, between P3 and P4, note that
piezometers d and e, which are located below the silt seam,
measure almost the same value, while upper piezometers a, b,
and c indicate values almost proportional to their depth from
below the surface. This implies that the stationary seepage
flow continues in this period, from the water film to the soil
surface through the silt seam and the upper sand layer. After
P4, the remainder in excess pressure completely dissipates
from the lower layer and finally returns to the initial effective
FIG. 5. Photograph of Water Film Consisting of Clear Water stress condition near P5.
Formed beneath Silt Seam Based on the time-dependent pressure change, pressure dis-
FIG. 6. Time-Dependent Variation in Excess Pore-Pressure at Five Levels of Sand Layer (a) with Seam of Silt; (b) without Seam of Silt
pore pressure in the soil layer below should be equal to the This may lead to a breakout of the silt seam at P2⬘, and at
initial effective stress applied by the soil above the water film. that instant, a part of the sand layer is again exposed to a
However, the measurements in piezometers d and e in the time hydraulic gradient higher than the critical gradient, which may
interval between P3 and P4 are actually much lower than this again cause local liquefaction. The timing of the breakout will
value, as indicated in Fig. 7(a). This can be attributable to the depend not only on the thickness but also the plasticity of the
skin friction between the lucite tube and the sand. It may not silt. For a nonplastic silt, the breakout will take place at a
be so easy to conduct this type of model test, in which the lower hydraulic gradient, while it may not occur for a high-
effect of the friction of a soil container can be effectively can- plasticity clayey silt. The breakout event will decrease the
celed. However, it may be possible to estimate the difference pressure in the lower layer down to the level of P2⬙ and make
the decay time of the water film shorter than in this model
test. Despite such quantitative differences due to the existence
of skin friction mentioned here, the fundamental behavior of
the sand layer observed in the model test will also be appli-
cable to the field condition.
Fundamental mechanisms for a water film to emerge and
decay have thus been clarified. It is of interest to investigate
the effect of basic parameters on the dimensions and time du-
ration of the water film. For this purpose, a series of tests have
been carried out under the same conditions as shown in Fig.
1, but with different density in the lower sand layer. The total
FIG. 9. Effect of Sand Density in Lower Layer on (a) Maximum FIG. 11. Schematic Chart on Postliquefaction Excess Pore-
Thickness; and (b) Time Duration of Water Film Pressure Distribution Considering Water Film Effect
FIG. 15. Photograph of Hair-Like Water Film in Lower Part of FIG. 16. 2D Saturated Sand Layer with Horizontal Seams of
Arc-Shape Silt Seam Silt Loaded by Embankment in Lucite Box on Shake Table
CONCLUSIONS
Two different types of model tests of a qualitative nature
FIG. 17. Deformation of Horizontal Sand Layer during Shaking
(Top) and after Shaking (Bottom): (a) Case 3, with Silt Seams; (b)
have been carried out in this research to investigate the effect
Case 4, without Silt Seams of water films formed beneath relatively impervious sublayers
824 / JOURNAL OF GEOTECHNICAL AND GEOENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING / OCTOBER 1999
FIG. 19. Time-Histories of Shake-Table Acceleration and Pore Pressure at Four Points in Sand Layer: (a) Case 3, with Silt Seams; (b)
Case 4, without Silt Seams
in a liquefied sand layer: a 1D saturated loose sand layer model 6. In a horizontally layered deposit, water films are formed
and a 2D model. In the former, the process of growth and horizontally and can be part of a potential slip surface
decay of the water film has been studied under simplified con- for flow failure. In this case, too, the deformation of sand
ditions. In the latter, the effect of a water film on lateral spread will take place even after the shaking ends, by exploiting
has been investigated by two soil models: a sloping ground some parts of water films.
and a level ground with a partial embankment. These model 7. Based on the above-mentioned experimental findings, it
tests have yielded the following major findings. is highly probable that the water file effect has a signif-
icant role in lateral spread or slope failure in a liquefied
1. A water film can be easily formed just after the complete loose sand layer in the field. Because water films are
liquefaction of a sand layer beneath a seam of silt as thin easily formed continuously beneath less permeable sub-
as a few millimeters. This indicates a high possibility that layers and no shear resistance is exerted along them, they
water films will actually be formed under low-permea- are surely chosen as part of a sliding surface for lateral
bility sublayers in the field due to complete liquefaction spreading failure. The failure may occur not only during
in loose sand. but also after earthquake shaking, whenever the safety
2. The maximum thickness and duration of a water film factor of the potential sliding surface exploiting water
may be approximated as inversely proportional to the films falls below unity.
sand density, indicating that the effect of a water film
will be more pronounced for looser soils.
3. A water film tends to outlast liquefaction settlement in Among differences between these qualitative model tests
each sublayer and thus may affect soil stability longer and a prototype, the significant difference in magnitude in the
than the apparent time period of liquefaction. effective overburden stress would be most controversial. In
4. If a water film is formed in a sand layer continuously general, however, the volume change characteristics in sheared
along a potential slip surface due to a low-permeability sand, which is the key mechanism controlling lateral spreading
sublayer, upper soil will deform discontinuously along and the generation of water films, tends to be more dilatant in
the water film. On the other hand, a uniform sand layer a scaled model than in a prototype because of the lower stress
without silty sublayers tends to deform quite continu- level in the model. Therefore, lateral spreading that exploits
ously without any distinct slip surface. water films, which has been actually observed in the small
5. If the water film is sustained, it is possible for a soil model under ultralow overburden stress, will be more pro-
mass to be driven only by the force of gravity, even after nounced in the field in the postliquefaction phase of loose sand
the shaking ends, as is sometimes observed in the field. deposits.
JOURNAL OF GEOTECHNICAL AND GEOENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING / OCTOBER 1999 / 825
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